Digital Journalist | Kaiwhakahaere Kaituhi Matihiko
They’re quick, easy and mess free, so it’s no wonder you might be eyeing up one for your kitchen bench. But choosing a coffee capsule machine isn’t just a matter of deciding which looks best – our testing has found big differences in the quality of the cuppa they make.
We currently have test results for 16 coffee capsule machines, ranging from a $90 model at The Warehouse to a very slick-looking $1,200 Breville. The good news is one of the best is also one of the cheapest.
This is the only coffee machine we’ve tagged with our ‘Don’t Buy’ label. It’s cheap and very easy to use, but our panel of coffee experts gave it their lowest taste score. We give our testers unlabelled shots of espresso. They score each shot on crema, aroma, flavour, mouthfeel and aftertaste.
These 3 DeLonghi coffee capsule machines all shared the next lowest score. Test writer Amy McNabb explains that, while they didn’t score well on taste, their overall scores were also low because they’re DeLonghi. “Our surveys show that DeLonghi machines get more faults than most other brands,” Amy says. “The combination of making a poor tasting brew and not being able to rely on them means they end up towards the bottom of the list.”
“There are also 5 Breville coffee capsule machines that have low taste scores. Breville machines get a similar number of faults as DeLonghis, but people love their Breville machines, so the brand satisfaction rating bumps up their overall score,” Amy says. “I wouldn’t buy any of these models, though.”
The 3 best coffee capsule machines – including a cheap Nespresso machine we love
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