Nespresso M100 Coffee Maker reviewed

If you're on the quest for decent home cappuccino, then the Magimix Nespresso M100 may be the coffee machine for you.

Here in the ConsumerDeals office, we've been looking for a decent cappuccino maker for some time - and have tried a number of different machines in the last few years. We've tired a standard coffee machine with a steam nozzle for milk froth, a coffee machine with a whisk for stirring a metal jug of milk, and in a spectacularly daft move, we tried a Tassimo system

The Tassimo system got closest to our requirements for a machine that a) made a quick cappuccino, and b) needed no cleaning - however as it uses condensed milk in a sachet, not real milk, the cappuccino was pretty nasty. The Tassimo turned out to make a drinkable coffee, and was indeed mess-free, but it left us wanting something better.

Then we discovered the Nespresso M100. It seems, at least for now, that our quest for a decent home cappuccino maker is over.

Our review of the Nespresso M100 from Magimix:

The Coffee:

The Nespresso M100 uses special pods of coffee to make drinks. The coffee pods are designed to be used in a whole range of Nespresso machines - The Magimix M100 is a low-end basic domestic model, but the Nespresso range includes some serious heavy-duty machines, so you know you're getting decent quality. The Nespresso coffee pods aren't available in standard stores - you have to order online.

As of 2008, the basic price for a cup of coffee is 29p (and you can buy in tubes of 10 pods. There's quite a range of different coffee types - high, medium and low strengths, plus three decaf brands. To get you hooked, the M100 machine comes with a selection of pods - one pod of each brand as a taster.

The machine:

The Nespresso M100 is simplicity itself to operate. There's a water tank on the back (holds about 5 or 6 coffee's worth of water). There's a single nozzle for the coffee to pour out of, and a removable drip / pod tray.

To make a coffee, you first switch the machine on with the red button. The machine needs about 45 seconds to heat enough water for a single cup. You lift the metal lever on the top to reveal a pod-shaped hole. Drop in the pod, pull down the lever, and press the green button to start the flow of coffee into a waiting cup. The coffee will continue to flow until you press the green button again, although the coffee gets progressively weaker the more water that passes through the pod.

Next time you lift the lever, the used pod drops into a small removable tray for easy disposal. No mess - and no cleaning required.

Cappuccino?

The Nespresso M100 is actually an espresso machine, so can only cope with making black coffee. The cappuccino part comes when you combine it with the Nespresso Aeroccino milk frother. We bought our Nespresso M100 online from Waitrose, and got the Aeroccino for free. The Aeroccino is essentially a metal milk jug with a built-in heater and frother. Pour in some milk, pop the glass lid on, then plug into the mains. When you press the magic button, the jug heats the milk and uses the whisk to froth up a cup of milk. A nifty idea.

The Aeroccino is optional, it doesn't need to be attached to the M100 and it's also very easy to clean. The whisk part is actually driven magnetically, so the whisk just pulls out for cleaning, effectively just leaving a jug to rinse out and run a washing-up cloth over. The Aeroccino can only cope with one cup's worth of milk at a time - Maximum capacity: 75 ml (for milk froth preparation), 180 ml (for hot milk preparation).

The Aeroccino is 145mm tall, diameter 90mm. Mains operated.

All in all, a nice solution!

The down-side?

None that we can see. Arguably, it doesn't produce a steaming hot coffee - the milk temperature isn't all that high, and the coffee isn't scaldingly hot when it comes out of the machine - in practice, this means that you get a cappuccino that's at the right temperature to be drunk fairly quickly - but if you're used to making coffee and leaving it for 10 minutes, you'll get a cold coffee. For some, the idea of now being able to get refills at a local supermarket may be an issue. At the time of writing, we're on our second batch of mail-order coffee purchasing from the Nespresso Club, and are extremely happy with the service.

Summary

Yes. We like. Great tasting coffee, minimal cleaning and hassle, and a decent range of coffee flavours. A well thought out solution, and a solid product.

More info on the Nespresso M100

Here's the manufacturer's blurb on this model: The Nespresso M100 espresso machine combines ease of use and advanced technology to deliver great results time after time. Impressive 19 bar pressure allows the perfect espresso every time, while the stylish design of the unit makes it the perfect addition to any kitchen. After your first taste, you will immediately appreciate the difference between an espresso and a filter coffee. Its flavour is stronger, its aromas more developed and its body thicker and more velvety. This is thanks to its unique method of preparation, which consists of passing water through finely ground coffee under high pressure and rapidly extracting the soluble substances.

The quality of the results depends on various conditions: the measure of coffee, the pressure used, the water temperature, how finely ground the coffee is and the extraction time. Taking these conditions into account, using an award winning capsule system, Nespresso has created a process that allows you to prepare the perfect espresso. The Magimix Nespresso M100 comes with a FREE Aeroccino milk frother which can also be used to heat milk. Get perfect milk froth in just a few seconds.

Questions?

Got a question about the Nespresso M100? Something we've missed from our review? Get in touch and we'll try to help!

Here are some of the questions we received so far:

• Can you use any other type of pods other than the Nespresso ones in the Magimix M100? (Gladys, March 2008) - Nope. Only the Nespresso pods, like the one pictured to the right, can be used in the Nespresso M100. As far as we know, no-one other than Nespresso make pods that are compatible with Nespresso machines.
  
  
• Can the Nespresso pods be reused? (Gordon, Sept 2008) - Sorry, but no. The Nespresso pods are not reusable. They are punctured at the rear, and the foil at the front is pierced. Each pod has to be thrown away, and can't be refilled or resealed. We're not aware of anyone selling the capsules, other than Nespresso.
  
  
• Does it do any other drinks, like the Tassimo machine? (Rachael, Dec 2008) - The Nespresso M100 just handles coffee. The Tassimo copes with a wider range of hot drinks, and we had one in our office for a while. We replaced our Tassimo with the Nespresso, as it makes a better cappuccino. Still miss the Tassimo Hot Chocolate though...
  
  
• Does the M100 machine measure a standard shot automatically, or is it guess work on the users part as to how much coffee to add? (Sean, June 2009) - The Nespresso M100 doesn't measure espresso shots - there's a single on-off button, and an element of guesswork. Handy for different sizes of cups, but lacking precision.
  
  
• Does the Nespresso make a decent wappuccino? (Vinny, Mar 2009) - Yes, our teams reports that the Nespresso can make a wappuccino.

Alternatives?

Since writing this article, we've also got hands-on with the Lavazza Amodo Mio - read our review for details of an alternative to Nespresso coffee.

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