Nespresso Vertuo Next review: the best pod coffee maker for most people

The Nespresso Vertuo Next review in a sentence: the perfect pod coffee machine for most people. You are probably already familiar with Nespresso machines. They make very good coffee with almost zero fuss, and nowadays Nestlé is making more of an effort to make recycling those pesky capsules easier for you. 

Vertuo was a significant upgrade to the system when it appeared a few years back and today, Vertuo Next is the pinnacle of Nespress-dom. It uses larger capsules, to make coffee that is both better (stronger) than the original machine. It is also able to make  larger drinks, which is quite important in English-speaking countries. The machines remain pretty affordable, although lovers of cappuccino and latte will need to look out for Nespresso Vertuo Nexts bundled with Nespresso’s excellent milk frother. Alternativel, you could splash out on one of the machines in our list of the best milk frothers.

Pod and capsule coffee machines have transformed the lives of caffeine lovers everywhere thanks to the speed and convenience they offer. Granted, purists will always argue that the coffee produced by these ‘production line’ machines is never going to be as good as the stuff made from freshly ground beans. But most of us have little in the way of time to fiddle around with grinding beans, especially first thing in the morning – although the best bean to cup coffee machines do successfully automate much of that coffee making ritual.

For most people, a much more accessible route to excellent tasting coffee is to buy one of the best Nespresso machines. Such as the Vertuo Next, as reviewed here. 

Nespresso Vertuo Next is actually not one machine but a range, made by different brands including Krupsm, Magimix and Delonghi. They are all functionally identical, so it will be a matter of choosing your favourite based on the looks – although they also all look very similar, apart from the brand logos – or which one happens to be cheapest today. Our pricing widgets can help you there.

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Nespresso Vertuo Next: price, availability and what is it?

The Nespresso Vertuo Next is a successor to the Vertuo Plus capsule coffee machine, which is/was in itself a great little unit. Expect to pay in the region of £149 in the UK, $159 in the US and $249 in Australia. These appliances are perfect if you’re after a quick coffee but don't have the time or inclination to start fiddling around making your own. They’re super convenient and the many and varied drink options offered by Nespresso add to the appeal.

One big difference with the Nespresso Vertuo Next is that it features a more switched on design. Adding to its street cred is a build that factors in plenty of recycled plastics, 54% in fact. That’s good news, because one of the bugbears for many with the likes of Nespresso machines is the waste inherent in using coffee pods and capsules.

Aside from that, the Nespresso Vertuo Next packs in a reasonable specification too. It makes drinks using Vertuo Nespresso pods and these are visibly more bulbous compared to others in the Nespresso range. This is a point to note if you’re thinking about using old ones with your new purchase as they will not be compatible. In fact, these Nespresso pods are quite a lot larger, which we thought would presumably bode well for the taste and strength of the coffee produced by the Vertuo Next.

Nespresso Vertuo Next: features

The Nespresso Vertuo Next is a chunky little number. It arrived in a box bigger than we anticipated and, once on a countertop takes up more space than you might expect. This is in the affordable end of the coffee machine marketplace, which is an arena occupied by plenty of diddy little appliances that often struggle to produce a consistent supply of drinks.

The Nespresso Vertuo Next, on the other hand, looks like it means business although you’ll need sufficient space to accommodate that 14cm wide, 38cm deep and 32cm high footprint. It weighs 4kg incidentally. There’s a handy built-in bin for spent coffee capsules, which can handle 10 of the little critters. This is good news as it means you’re not having to empty the thing all the time.

Onto the bigger highlights though and main points to note are its ability to produce five different drink sizes. These include a 40ml Espresso, 80ml Double Espresso and a 150ml Gran Lungo. Rounding out the line-up is a Mug option at 230ml along with the might Alto, at a very generous 414ml serving. That’s most bases covered in the drink size ratings we think. Vertuo coffee pods also have up to 15 grams of coffee in them too, which should theoretically mean you’ll get a more muscular brew.

We were impressed with the 1.1-litre water tank, which is another aspect of some lesser machines that can become irritating if you need to top up all the time. It's not the biggest if you’re working your way through regular Alto’s but to be fair the tank is also easily replenished. What might be an issue for some though is the absence of any kind of milk tool for frothing purposes, which could leave the Nespresso Vertuo Next at a disadvantage if that’s an essential requirement for you.

Nespresso Vertuo Next: performance

We’ll start by going back to the milk point made in the preceding paragraph. Recently we’ve been rather spoilt by the Nespresso Creatista Uno because it’s got a wonderful feature that lets you produce lots of frothy steaming milk. Admittedly, that’s a much more expensive machine, but going back down to the Nespresso Vertuo Next we found the lack of options on the milk front a drawback for this appliance.

You can attempt to console yourself with the inclusion of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth functionality, which come as part of the package. However, in reality we found these to be more of a novelty than anything hugely useful. Checking how much water you’ve got on board using your phone isn’t really a bonus unless the machine is going to fill itself up. Which it doesn’t. Yet.

Anyway, back to the job in hand and we found the Nespresso Vertuo Next to offer a fairly by-numbers coffee making experience. The big bonus with Nespresso capsules is the sheer range, although it can be bewildering if you’re a caffeine novice. Harsher critics often moan that it’s hard to differentiate between many of the coffees offered in the range.

We’re not too fussed about the quirkier options in the range, but that’s a personal thing. If you love the sound of Hazelino, Caramelizio and more besides then feel free to knock yourself out. Brewing a few of the more obvious basic coffee drinks on offer we found the Nespresso Vertuo Next gets the job done quickly, without hassle and the brews were robust enough. In fact, we tended to add quite a lot of milk to ours to take the slightly bitter edge of our samples.

Producing your first coffee is idiot-proof as is each successive drink. Open the lever, pop in your chosen capsule, close the lever and you’re all set. Better still, The Vertuo Next only takes 5 seconds to get to operating temperature.

We do like the way the Nespresso Vertuo Next reads the barcode on the capsule, which means that the machine works everything out and produces your drink just as it should be. We tended to customise this a little over time, tweaking the end result manually, but we’re funny that way. Want a coffee to go though and the Nespresso Vertuo Next gets it done. Easy.

So, is Nespresso Vertuo Next any good?

The Nespresso Vertuo Next is still probably the best Nespresso machine you can buy. It takes the abilities of the original Nespresso machines and adds the option of a wider range of drinks, including more mug-sized ones, as opposed to the original‘s thimble-friendly beverages. 

Remember though that it requires dedicated capsules, but the range of drink options and coffee types should keep most people happy.

It’s a quick and easy coffee-making solution that’s for sure, and although the ‘smart pods’ aspect that gets your drink made just right is good, those tech flourishes that come via the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capability didn’t get used much by us. If you can shop around and get this on a discount then it’s definitely worth picking up. Cappuccino lovers will of course have to also factor in buying a milk frother.

If you want to get your hands on the Nespresso Vertuo Next, check out the best Nespresso coffee machine deals for more.