When I wake I drink coffee. But sometimes brewing a fresh cup, even in a top rated drip coffee machine, can prove laborious.
Enter the Espressotoria System. It’s $99 and much like Nespresso (forgive the obvious comparison) you pop in a capsule, hit a button and in less than 60 seconds you’ve got a fresh cup of coffee or espresso.
So what did I think about this machine? Well, keep reading my review to learn more.
Review and Testing
Overview
Available: Amazon
Price: $89-99
Model: Caprisita machine
Summary: An ultra simple way to make coffee that does the same as many Nespresso machines but at half the cost, $99.
Design of the Espressotoria System
The Coffee Machine
The Caprisita espresso machine also comes in white.
Clad in an all-black plastic finish, save for a few highlights here and there, there isn’t much to write home about when it comes to the Caprisita machine, aesthetically of course. Put simply, it works, but it won’t be a discussion point in your kitchen. In fact, ours is next to our Blendtec Blender and no one, not even our occasional housemate, noticed it.
But, despite the aforementioned, it’s very functional and easy to use, taking no training and most certainly a “skip the instructions” kind of setup. Just wash the plastic tank at the back, fill with water (ideally filtered), pop in a capsule and hit one of two blue glowing buttons.
The two buttons represent large and small. And the only other decision you’ll need to make is what flavor or type of coffee you want to drink (or put in).
When the machine is out of water the buttons (and face of the machine) will flash red to let you know to fill up. Or if the capsule bay is full. Which also doubles as a drip tray and any water runoff.
A slight annoyance, but should really be expected from any machine, is that when you empty the capsule tray, you’ll have some water dripping here and there. It’s an all in one setup, but you can separate the two so you’re not spilling everywhere. Just carry the whole thing over to the trash, remove the top portion and dump it. Next is the sink. And not too much water should be in there anyway.
That said, I’m not sure if Espressotoria has a recycling program, like Nespresso. But their pods are similar.
The Milk Frother
The Caprisita Espresso Milk Frother works great with a touch of a button.
My machine came with a milk frother, a welcome addition and one that costs an additional $39.95. Well worth the price. It’s simple to use and really, really effective. Which is to say it froths milk better than most fancy machines without the hassle or mess.
Just insert milk – colder the better – then hit the button. Hit it twice for a cold froth or once for hot – denoted by red for hot and blue for cold. In a few minutes, you end up with hot frothy milk. However…
The milk is too hot IMHO. So I tend to manually turn it off instead of letting it run a full cycle. Of course, you can just let it cool. Moreover, the inside of the machine is susceptible to scratches; I stuck a metal spoon in and ended up with a few interior scratches. It didn’t hamper performance, but an annoyance no less.
There is a magnetically adhered frother mechanism that can be washed after use and lends itself to better foamed milk.
To clean the frother you just need to lightly scrub the interior with a sponge to remove the cooked milk residue. Beyond that, a bit of hot water will suffice.
Included with the frother is a base that plugs into the side of the Espressosita machine. The base of the frother has a plug that is special to it and powers it. It all works surprisingly well and requires little to ZERO knowledge when it comes to making frothed milk. Which means…
You can enjoy a latte or espresso with ultra ease, and ready for it: at far less of the cost than going into Starbucks.
Espressotoria Coffee Flavor and Mouth Feel (Performance)
I was sent three different types of coffee, which are color coded for simplicity: Espresso (gold), Latte (white), and Brazilian Breakfast Blend (red).
In my opinion and palate, the red is the best. It offers the most depth, and while a bit spicy presents that slight sweet note you expect from coffee. The other two I simply would pass on, because they’re not complex enough and taste flat to me.
I didn’t try the Decaf (green) or the Organic (bronze) or the Columbian Single Origin. You can view them all here.
Mouthfeel
Now, what’s important in any of these machines, is mouthfeel. Well, to a degree. In this case, it’s more about the crema at the top of the coffee. It’s fairly decent but not on par with some of Nespresso’s machines which spins their capsules in a centrifuge to create an exceptional amount of it. Nevertheless, for how this machine works and the cost is respectable.
Maintenance
The Caprisita Espresso Pods, pack of 12 for $10.
Like any machine, you’ll need to de-calk the machine after 2-3 months of use. It’s best you use filtered water since it’s effectively cleaner and also means your coffee will likely taste better.
Espressosita doesn’t provide any means to do this, but it can be done with white vinegar and following the internet’s instructions. And perhaps rightfully so (that they don’t provide any means) as companies usually charge a premium for what should be a very inexpensive, but an occasionally necessary process.
Final Espressotoria Caprisita Review Thoughts
If you haven’t figured it out yet, the Caprisita machine is very easy to use. So easy, I’d trust my kids to make me coffee…if I had kids and I didn’t think they’d burn themselves. But potential accidents aside, the only drawback I can detect is the flavor of the coffee.
The denoted “red” flavor is the best of the 3 I tested. But nevertheless, it still lacks depth and sweetness that I’ve come to enjoy from the many bespoke coffee shops we have here in Santa Monica, CA. Call me what you will, but that bar has been set. But that in mind, those cups of coffee cost $4+. So there is that to consider.
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