Going Pro — Capsule Espresso Style
I’ve talked before about how much I love things that make my life easier, and how I’ll pay more for things that do it if they actually deliver on what they say. I had already looked into, and kind of fell in love with, the Lattissima Plus Nespresso machine. It not only makes delicious espresso from the capsules that are so much easier to use than grinding and measuring out your espresso, but it also steams up the milk and pours it without you doing a darn thing.
While I was ogling the Plus, I caught a sight of the Lattissima Pro, and now my heart is full of wonder and delight. It’s a similarly small machine that doesn’t take up a lot of counter space, but it’s just incredible how much it does and it takes the Plus features to a completely new level. I don’t really know how anyone could be anything other than excited about this machine!
Get Touchy
The Plus works at just the push of a button, which is great. The Pro, though, has this sleek control panel that sits flat on the top of the machine and doesn’t even get noticed unless you’re looking for it. You don’t even have to push a button because it’s touch sensitive. You just set your finger on it like a wizard of some sort and it does what your thoughts want it to.
Well, ok, you have to program the touch sensitive button to do what you want beforehand, but then you can do the wannabe wizard thing. Either way, it’s fancy.
Try All The Drinks
Most of the Nespresso machines let you make two drinks from pre-programmed settings: espresso and lugo. The Lattissima Plus adds an option for cappuccino. And then there’s the Pro, which expands way beyond that to include a whole bunch of new fancy options to the previously available espresso, lugo and cappuccino, and it adds lattes, ristretto, hot milk and hot water. With all those options, you don’t have to stick to just coffee. You can even use this beauty to heat milk for babies (and give it time to cool) or make hot chocolate for the non-coffee drinkers in your life.
Leave The Milk. Take The Cappuccino
Like the Plus, the Pro has a canister you can fill which will get all the milk ready for you without you doing a stinking thing. What’s different here is that it can be used for a variety of things beyond cappuccino, and you can stand back and watch the automated fun happen without even knowing how to make a single drink. If you’re like me, and know how to make all the drinks, that’s awesome. But I still don’t want to use the few brain cells that are awake before my espresso on making it, or any other drinks, if I can avoid it.
Instant Clean
So, not only does the Pro do all the drink making work for you, but it also has an auto-clean and sanitize option that does all the actual cleaning for you, too. You’ll still have to take it apart every so often to give it a good scrub down, but there’s no daily cleaning here. How excellent is that?
Not Easy To Prime
Before you use your machine the first time, you’re supposed to run all the pieces and parts through a procedure called “priming”, where you basically set everything to zero and get it started with the making of your stuff. It shouldn’t be hard, but with this particular machine, it isn’t as easy as it is with most machines. There have been complaints about the priming process taking forever, but it’s not the worst thing in the world to have to deal with.
Not So High. Not So Low
This isn’t the most expensive machine that I’ve seen, which is, of course, a good thing. The ones that come in slightly above this one on the price ladder are the super-automated machines that grind the beans and do all the craziness right in front of you, and you don’t have to use capsules. However, most of them don’t prep the milk for you as well, so that right there is something to consider. At $500 – $600 it’s more expensive than I would have expected for a Nespresso machine, but I haven’t yet found an indication that it isn’t worth it.
I Could Go Pro
So, I haven’t totally decided on this one yet, but I think a $500 – $600 machine that does everything is much better than a $1,000 machine, right? Yes, right. That’s going to be the rationalization I share with my husband if this is the one I choose. I love how easy it tries to make everything, and how so many people swear it delivers. My limited time in the morning will actually be assisted by having my drink ready at home because it means I don’t have to stop at the coffee shop on the way to work to make sure I can handle my day without getting all grouchy and stuff.
If you’re with me and want everything in one place so getting out of the house in the morning is a dream, then we’re basically kindred spirits, and this may be the perfect tool to do it.
