My Definitive Guide to Nespresso Vertuo System, Machines & Capsules — Unique Methods on Creating Best Tasting & Highest Temp Coffees

INTRO

I came to the Nespresso Vertuo world from using a proper espresso machine every day for about 10 years. The type that I use is called a semi-automatic espresso machine, which utilizes the same system of extracting espresso as pro machines in cafes (it’s just made smaller for home use). I drink my espresso black, with nothing added (no sweeteners), hence I have become a very good judge of the taste of espressos and coffees. The big drawback of using a semi-automatic espresso machine is the incredible amount of maintenance, for each shot, daily and longer term. About 2 years ago I got tired of playing baristo and decided to look for alternatives to a more hassle- and maintenance-free espresso at home.

PASSED ON SUPER-AUTOS

My search initially involved looking at super-automatic espresso machines. Without getting technical, these are still real espresso machines but don’t use the portafilter (the basket with the handle to place the coffee and twist mount to the machine). My extensive research in addition to reading hundreds of reviews proved one thing, these super-autos don’t really cut down on maintenance. Also they are very finicky, expensive, don’t last and perform best only when every element is just right or they’ll break down. And they apparently waste a lot of coffee. Not what I was looking for.

WHAT ABOUT KEURIG?

People tend to compare Keurig with Nespresso for the sole reason that they both produce single serve coffees using pods. However, they have nothing else in common. Keurig is not even in the same ballpark as Nespresso. Keurig makes drip coffees using pods and they are popular only due to convenience and low generic pod pricing. The best they can achieve is a basic coffee you might order from a diner. Another reason for their popularity in the US is most people aren’t particular about coffee. However, for those who are selective yet weary of the daily maintenance of personal espresso machines, Nespresso is the only option.

NESPRESSO ORIGINAL LINE?

I had tried the Nespresso Original Line at hotels a couple of times and I was not impressed. As a serious espresso drinker, the Original Line doesn’t compare too well with an actual pressed espresso, but it is the most convenient. However, I wasn’t going in that direction. I maybe bored with playing baristo, but I do enjoy the quality of the coffee I extract from my semi-auto machine.

NESPRESSO VERTUO LINE

As I researched the Nespresso line a bit deeper, I discovered they had released a new line of machines and coffees that operate very differently from the Original Line. This new line is called Vertuo and it uses centrifugal force to extract coffee, instead of the regular pump and pressure system. Based on massive online research I decided to give it a try.

MOST YOUTUBE REVIEWERS ARE TOTALLY UNQUALIFIED

Unfortunately almost all YouTube reviewers of the Vertuo line are totally clueless about espresso. Most are those with beauty and makeup channels who somehow decided to review espressos. They mispronounce almost every word. They call the machines Ver-Chu-Ro (it’s Ver-Too-O), they say EXpresso (it’s ESpresso), they call the long espresso drink Laan-go (it’s loon-go) and so on. Then they add all sorts of dairy, creamers, syrups, fudge and sugar to their Nespresso and we’re supposed to care about their opinion. The lack of good Nespresso Vertuo Line reviews is one of 2 key reasons for this how-to guide, the other is that no one has been able to crack the code on producing real hot coffee from these Vertuo machines, until now.

HOW DOES THE VERTUO SYSTEM RATE

This is certainly a low-maintenance system and far easier than using my semi-automatic espresso machine. Capsules are made out of aluminum and both the spent coffee inside and pods are easily and readily recycleable. In fact Nespresso, quite smartly, provides prepaid UPS recycling storage bags, and very impressively has established separate used coffee and aluminum repurposing factories.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

However, all is not great with the Nespresso Vertuo system. These machines have a serious aversion to producing hot coffees. Also their coffees turn cold quite rapidly. Lastly, their Gran Lungo & Coffee sized capsules produce overtly thick and creamy coffees, which partially is caused by not being exposed to hot enough water. The centrifugal infusion of coffee, that Nespresso has dubbed “centrifusion,” produces a high amount of crema or foam on top of each cup. It’s important to understand that in the world of real espresso, crema is king and achieving great crema is the holy grail of espresso drinkers. And Nespresso has succeeded in cracking the code of crema but at a price. Some pro espresso drinkers refer to the Nespresso Vertuo top cream as foam and not real crema. They say it’s created by adding air or oxygen into the coffee during the spinning process and I tend to agree.

HOW TO IMPROVE TASTE AND CREATE HOTTEST POSSIBLE COFFEE

Here are my pointers on producing a good tasting and rather hot cup of coffee from your Nespresso Vertuo machine.

1. Don’t be in a hurry. If you MUST have your coffee 25 seconds after you turn on the machine, you’ll get a lukewarm beverage. Also the first cup is always the coolest. Before starting your coffee routine, turn the machine on first then preoccupy yourself with other things. You can’t rush the laws of physics. It takes time to bring water to a suitably warm drinking temperature. Give the machine a bit of time to warm up. I’d wait 5 mins (2 mins is the absolute minimum).

2. This is a real important trick to create a very warm first cup of Vertuo coffee and to maintain your machine properly. These machines have an easy cleaning procedure. However, instead of going through the entire cleaning cycle everyday, which would be foolish, run it for several seconds only. On most machines the cleaning is activated by tapping the On button 3 times in 2 seconds. Place your cup, run the cleaning for about 20 sec or 2 oz only then tap the On again to stop it. Now pour out the hot water from your cup.

3. That simple trick has achieved the following results. It has warmed up your cup. It has used up the cooler first cup from the machine. It has cleaned the nozzle and the pipes and has heated up the machine sufficiently.

4. Now, when you run your first coffee you’ll notice a much hotter beverage.

5. I’ve checked with Nespresso, it’s recommended to use the cleaning feature on regular basis. However, if you use my system mentioned here, you don’t need to bother with the full cleaning for maybe once a month or so. That’s because you’re cleaning it sufficiently (little by little) every day.

HOW TO SUPERCHARGE YOUR VERTUO COFFEE TO A VERY STEAMY CUP

For me the coffee coming out of this machine is not hot enough, it also gets cold rather instantly and the larger sizes are too thick and creamy. Please note by larger sizes I am referring to Coffee or Gran Lungo. I am ignoring the massive 14 oz Alto size for this review — that’s not for me. Although my above hack helps to bring up the temperature but it doesn’t produce a cup of coffee to my full satisfaction.

SECRET INGREDIENT = BOILING WATER

If you want a real steamy cup of coffee from your Nespresso Vertuo machine, you must add boiling water. This is the secret ingredient that made me decide to keep my Vertuo machine.

Here is my step-by-step procedure in producing a steamy cup of delicious coffee from the Nespresso Vertuo machines. A cup that is also not too thick and creamy. This process totally resolves all the shortcomings.

I would not recommend adding hot water to single shots of the Espresso or Double Espresso size, they don’t need it.

1. I turn on both the Vertuo machine and my semi-automatic espresso machine the same time. Almost all espresso machines also produce hot water and steam. Since I am only using mine for hot water, there is no required maintenance — it’s just an easy way to produce near-boiling water quickly. You may choose other methods in boiling a separate batch of water.

2. After 2 mins of being on, I run the cleaning cycle on the Vertuo machine for only several seconds (2 oz) to warm up the cup and clean the nozzle and pipes and heat up the machine. This process takes about 4 mins.

3. I wait about 8 mins in total. By that time, the water in my semi-automatic is nice and hot.

4. There are 2 ways to do this next step. Either adding hot water to the cup before or after running a Vertuo capsule. In my tests the best way is adding the hot water to the cup before pouring the coffee. Alternatively, if you pour hot water on top of a Vertuo coffee, you’ll melt the crema and ruin it. I recommend adding hot water to the cup before pouring the coffee; this produces a much more impressive cup of Vertuo.

5. I first pour only about 1 to 2 oz of hot water into my cup and then I select my capsule and run it through the Vertuo machine. This method will not only fully preserve the crema but will brighten the coffee and make the crema even firmer and less fluffy.

NOW FOR A REAL VERTUO HACK

Now that you’ve learned to bypass Nespresso’s notoriously lukewarm and thick coffees, here’s how to get the best flavors out of their pods.

MIX & MATCH

If you find certain pods as too weak or too strong or not flavorful enough, you of course have the option of not ordering that coffee again, but what if you ordered a few sleeves (or got them for free) and now you’re stuck with them.

1. Mix and match. Always have capsules of single shots available to enhance the flavor of other coffees. My favorite is Diavolitto. For example I received some sleeves of Coffee sized capsules (7.77 oz) from Nespresso that are way too mild for my taste, hence by adding a single shot (Espresso size 1.35 oz) of a strong capsule it immediately fixes the issue of low intensity pods.

2. Make a long and steamy cup of coffee by using 2 small size capsules and adding hot water. This hack is now my favorite. I have extra sleeves of 2 types of Double Espressos (2.7 oz) that I don’t really enjoy by themselves. I run both of these pods in a coffee sized mug mixed with hot water. I first add about 2 oz of near boiling water. Each Double Espresso pod is 2.7 oz, so mixing the capsules will create a nice 5.4 oz coffee, plus the 2 oz of hot water.

3. This process cuts down the inherent thickness and creates coffee perfection. The result is an extremely satisfying hot cup of coffee. By combining two small sized pods that may not be your favorites, you’ve skillfully reduced their negative attributes and by adding hot water first, you’ve not only raised the temperature but created a great tasting cup of coffee.

HOW TO DRINK YOUR VERTUO COFFEE

1. Don’t drink the foam. I am aware that you’d be really tempted to taste the crema, but that would be a waste.

2. First fold the crema into the coffee by gently stirring it and pushing it into the coffee with a spoon.

3. The foam on top of a Vertuo cup is part of the coffee and is not the same as a regular espresso crema. By adding the foam back into a Vertuo cup of coffee you’re in fact enhancing the flavor.

4. If you’re adding hot water, do that before extracting the coffee from the capsule.

DON’T HACK THE MACHINES OR CAPSULES

There are many YouTube videos of people hacking their Nespresso Vertuo machines, by reusing capsules, or using emptied out capsules just to get warm water out of the machines (the machine gives you near-hot water already by using the cleaning method; it produces the same exact result), or using aftermarket refillable capsule substitutes. The Nespresso Vertuo is a highly intelligent and extremely well-calibrated machine. Once you mess with its very fine tuned calibration you’ll risk a chance of damaging your machine. After watching these videos I now understand why Nespresso limits their warranty in the US. It seems we are causing damage to our machines more than other countries by not using proper capsules.

NEVER USE TAP WATER

Tap water will kill your machine and will make your coffee taste awful. Depending on the hardness of your tap water and the amount of sediments in it, it is possible that after a while no cycles of descaling can fix your machine. Frankly I don’t even recommend filtered water. During the earlier months of the pandemic as there were some issues with finding low-priced gallon-sized spring water, I started to use Brita filtered water in my espresso machine. That nearly ruined my machine. It took 5 cycles of descaling in about a month or so to bring it back to life and it’s still not quite there. As a rule both for using in the espresso machines and for your own water consumption avoid anything marked “purified” or “filtered” when you’re buying your water. Look for Spring water.

NESPRESSO VERTUO PLUS DELUXE BY DELONGHI

My own machine is a Nespresso Vertuo Plus Deluxe by DeLonghi (Deluxe version has a larger water tank), that apparently produces the hottest coffee out of the group — based on temp tests on YouTube. Coffees from other machines, such as the new Vertuo Next or the regular Vertuo, are a bit lower in temp.

I hope that this detailed guide and how-to offer you a greater satisfaction from your Nespress Vertuo machine and coffee capsules.