CASABREWS Espresso Machine for Nespresso Original Pods, 20 Bar Coffee Machine with 4 Brewing Modes and 21 oz Removable Water Tank, Compact Capsule Coffee Maker for Home or Office, Ideal Gifts for Mom

Not for the thermos crowd! Do the startup properly
I’ve never had a nespresso and only have experience with the Keurig at work. I usually just pay for coffee since we now have a smaller kitchen/less counterspace because I am not enough of a morning person to pull out my Moka pot on a work day.This coffee maker is a great fit. It is very compact, though more narrow – it is still pretty long front to back. It should be noted that the water tank is in the back so in some kitchens (like mine) you’ll be sliding it forward and backward to fill the tank, even if you plan to detach to fill instead of just pour in (I just pour in). It has these neat suction cups on the bottom that aren’t super heavy duty. It’ll keep the machine from tipping but you can still easily move it around.First, I will say YOU MUST RUN A CYCLE WITHOUT A POD. I did not do that initially and got errors. I did read the instructions but they are a smidge unclear. Once I ran the pod-less cycle, it worked no problem.Second, this is not for the big coffee cup crowd. The first pod I ran was a ristretto, which is the least volume. It is really small, like a shot, volumewise. The different options are not just exotic names for sizes. Ristretto is more concentrated vs the Americano is more watered down (lungo has twice as much water as ristretto while an Americano has more water than that). The ristretto and espresso options are nice if you’re making lattes at home.Back to “this is for small cups”: the mug in my pic is 10 or 12 oz and I had to move the drink grid/tray/cup support to accommodate it. This is literally made for the fancy, tiny espresso cups that you put on a saucer with a pastry at an outdoor cafe while you smoke and read a newspaper. This is fine for me because I don’t drink a great volume and I am super caffeine sensitive but my boyfriend is a “20oz+ black coffee and refill the thermos a few times a day” guy and there’s no way this will work for him.If you are used to a Keurig, note that these capsules go in sideways. I got the L’or espresso capsules because I heard good things about them and they work perfectly. They come in flavors but I just taste espresso. The espresso tastes good. It does remind me of when I use the Moka pot on the weekends.The drawer, the tank, and the capsule lever all move easily. The water tank seals well. I did have a little issue getting the used capsule drawer to come out and if I still had fake nails, I would’ve had a bigger issue. It was more getting a grip on the inverted handles than that the drawer was hard to get out. The knob moves easily and the power button is responsive.All in all, I think it’s a nice option! It makes coffee well. I hope down the road they’ll make a version that you can put dairy in and make lattes but I can steam my own milk separately in the meantime.

better than my Nespresso Machine
I have now used this machine in my office for the last 3 weeks and here are my most important observations:First and foremost, you must follow the instructions in the packaging and run the machine without a Nespresso pod. I recommend doing at least 2 americano shots to clean out the system. Casabrews tests all of their machines with real coffee pods as part of their quality control for proper function so you will have some leftover coffee residue! This process ensures that you clean the machine out.This machine heats up from cold in 1 minute very consistently. I have set a stop watch and have verified this multiple times. Also the machine is calibrated very accurately in that it will give you exactly the correct volume for each setting, whether it is a risretto (high concentration) to Americano, which is like a 6oz cup of coffee. I prefer to use this machine as nespresso intended, as an espresso machine, which is around 30 ml. The temperature of this unit is also very consistent, a little hotter vs my original Nespresso machine but I don’t mind that at all, specially if I want to make a latte, gives me time to froth my milk!My colleagues complimented how quiet this machine is, and it is truly quiet in comparison to my original Nespresso machine, I can barely hear it run in the office.The price point is just ok at $99, but at the time of this review, there is a $20 coupon that makes this a really great deal. The only thing I wish is if this machine was made of higher quality exterior materil. The only metal part is the little stainless steel tray which by the way is easy to remove so you can place a bigger cup. But given this price point, I assume Casabrews invested majority of the money in the internal parts of this machine. Only time will tell how long this machine will last but I will continue to use it everyday and will report back if any issues arise.