Thank you! I shall pass that on.

If I'm up all night posting here it's because my lovely U Milk arrived. Turns out not all the capsules are marked. I believe I drank one of the lungos with lovely frothy milk but it may have been a decaf (similar color). I'll know later tonight LOL.

This was a super choice (so far) and easy to use and clean. Getting to know the various coffees should be lots of fun. Already registered as I can see the starter capsules will go very fast.

Thanks to all for the great advice!

rococogurl, yay!!! I'm less than a week with my Pixie and Aeroccino and I'm in love. The first day or two I wasn't so sure I'd made a wise purchase. Did I need an espresso maker when I never drank espresso, ever? Did I get caught up in the 25% off deal when it wouldn't really get used?

Well, was I wrong. I discovered I love lattes in the afternoon. A nice 7-10 intensity lungo (whether categorized as lungo or not) in a heated mug, stirred milk, which still creates its own froth, and yes, a shot of 1/2&1/2. OMG, total heaven on earth.

I'm so glad I exchanged the Citiz with onboard Aerocinno for the Pixie with separate Aeroccino. It just fits better in my kitchen.

For now I'm still drinking two tankards of drip French Roast in the morning. I need the volume and minimal interaction. I don't like the drip later in the day (nor the mess) so I just didn't drink coffee after morning. The Pixie changes everything.

I had an Arpeggio (#9) latte yesterday at 3 and started nodding off at 10. I have 3 mystery capsules, although I believe two are Dharkan and Kazaar. Just their names reek of doom! The other nameless one is orange. Possibly decaf?

Linelle, I has a dreaded feeling of TMW (too much work) when I opened it as well. But it was a good choice for me and the water reservoir can be swiveled to the side which is so convenient. Also like separate foamer. U Milk is made in Hungary.

I also drink a whole pot in the morning so I'll see. Zabars sends me a personal blend of Vienna and French-Italian which is excellent. But I don't drink it after noon.

I also went for the unmarked orange-- thought it might be the decaf but think it is actually Linizio Lungo. Crazy they put unmarked capsules in a starter sampler.

Need to taste through out and find an after dinner decaf ristretto. Then buy another box of Crest white strips.

Rococo, the newness threw me at first. I was pulling two lungos through the same capsule and topping with billowy froth from 2% milk. It just wasn't right. The gal at Sur La Table also loves 1/2&1/2 and encouraged me to experiment. I really like a dark toasty roast.

Yeah, crazy to include unmarked capsules. "Here kid, try some of this..." I was afraid that afternoon caffeine would do me in, but so far, no sleep troubles. I'll need to order capsules in a couple of days and I think I will include some higher intensity decaf just to be on the safe side.

Thanks for starting this thread. It's what pushed me over the edge! :)

Funny, the kids got me the Nespresso at W & S for Hanukkah. I'm not an expresso drinker, but you'all make it sound good. I'll let them set it up today.

My 16-oz. daily latte. With milk and 1/2&1/2, I figure it costs me $1.00.

If you go to the website and the capsule ordering page, you can see the colors and the descriptions. The most orange looking color is Linizio Lungo -- which is not decaffeinated, btw.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Thanks, gooster. I'm loving Fortissio Lungo and Arpeggio (long pull).

I'm nearly through the sample box and just wanted to say thanks to everyone again for all the information. It's just lovely having this machine. So far my favorites are the fairly robust choices including Ristretto, Roma, and Cosi, also Capriccio, Volluto and Livanto. Linizio Lungo is a good one, too. And it's so lovely to sit in front of the fire at night with a Decaffinato Intenso.

Here's a toast back at ya gooster.

This post was edited by rococogurl on Sat, Jan 25, 14 at 6:58

Rococo, I stopped in at Bloomingdale's to pick up some capsules and mentioned that I generally like their "9s and 10s" and they told me they have some 11s and 12s now. I got them to try and like them a lot -- their names are Kazaar and Dharkan.

Rococo: You are very welcome. Glad it is working out for you! I'll have to order/pickup some Kazaar / Dharkan capsules.

I am still madly in love with my Pixie. I can't wait till 3pm rolls around and I can make myself a cappuccino/latte. I'm not really sure what you call it but there's milk and 1/2&1/2 and foam to die for. It's like what clouds taste like.

I love Arpeggio (9) the best. I really crave a nutty, toasty flavor. I can't believe I second-guessed myself after I bought this little guy. I don't know how I lived without it.

What a happy bunch! Add me to the list too. I love my Pixie.

I tried the 12 and didn't love it. Even though I love the Arpeggio (9) and wish they would make a more intense lungo (the highest is a 7), I felt like the 12 was just too strong. It may actually have been the extra caffeine. At the store they told me that the caffeine level of the different varieties is really the same across the board, with the exception of the 12 (and maybe the 11, I don't remember) which is higher. Anyone else have different info on that?

Another convert due to this thread - requested as XMAS present from DH and didn't use until 12/25 :) (thanks all!). We have the Citiz and are liking it very much. DH converted a drawer nearby to hold the capsules. I'm looking forward to my next order and trying even more different kinds.

Left two front are the espressos, right front are the lungos. I am liking using the lungos on the short setting, twice, for my morning cups. Left back is maybe decaf (haven't tried yet!) and I'll have space for some flavored coffees too (right back corner). This way, we don't have to think, just grab and go :)

P.S. rococogurl - you are so right about the white strips!

I love my Umilk with frother! Also a Christmas present to me thanks to this post. I usually have two, up to four a day, and like Rococogirl am really enjoying being able to treat myself with a decaff latte after supper. (I was never a big fan of making decaff coffee, but caffeine in any form will keep me up).

Two interesting asides, my son and his wife stayed with us for a week over Christmas, they will definitely be in the market for one. To save money while my daughter-in-law finishes her residency, they will be moving in here once my son gets posted here later this year. I wasn't planning on charging rent, so they could save for a house, but will have to charge them something to go towards all the capsules I can foresee going through! LOL

Secondly, was watching 'Anna & Kristina's Grocery Bag' (a locally produced TV show that is aired on W and OWN, if you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it!), and they did a comparison between several personal espresso machines, and Nespresso (it may have been the Pixie) won out. Turns out it is the only machine that delivers espresso at exactly the recommended temperature. It also won the taste test and convenience test!

Will definitely look for the Kazaar / Dharkan on the next round. Thanks for the tip on that sjhockey. Didn't realize Bloomingdale's had them. Can't say I've ever found coffee that's too strong LOL.

Does anyone else find the coffee hotter after a few cups? I've taken to pre-heating the cup with 2 empty pulls on lungo (which also cleans out residual coffee from the previous pull) and leaving the hot water in there until the milk is ready. Then my cup is hot when I switch to espresso and brew.

I agree -- so convenient. Though I don't get their recycling spiel. I just throw the capsules out.

oldbat -- would you remind me about the white strips? I'm drawing a blank on that.

This post was edited by rococogurl on Sat, Jan 25, 14 at 8:01

I like a big gulp, so I always pull a lungo, regardless of the capsule I use, alternating between Arpeggio and Fortissio Lungo. Arpeggio is my fave.

I thought I would have issues with caffeine in the afternoon, so I bought a bunch of Decaffeinato Intenso, but my sleep has been unaffected and I think I'll just keep the decaf for others who prefer it.

I like hot coffee. It also slows me down so I don't toss the whole thing back in a few gulps. Instead of heating my cup with filtered Pixie water (it's a smaller reservoir to begin with), I fill my cup from the tap and nuke it for a minute or so. Everything's nice and warm and ready to go.

They generally recommend running one empty run before you do your first pull. It heats up the interior (and your cup). I find my integral frother on my Lattissima works better when I start with warmer milk. The Aeroccino doesn't have this issue, of course.

Now, all in all, I think the Aeroccino is easier and more capable of flexing your milk to coffe ratio, but just not as convenient as the Lattisima. The Lattisima has the milk cannister that you just remove and pop in the fridge. The froth is a little more authentic (vs. the foam of the Aeroccino) People can save their money and get a compact model with the separate frother, I think.

This post was edited by gooster on Sat, Jan 25, 14 at 13:17

FWIW, I do recycle the Nespresso pods. I collect them and take them to Sur La Table.

Just received my little Pixie today- I am in love- it's the cutest darn thing in my kitchen (besides me, hahaha!). I just know I am going to love it- already had the Aeroccino frother, so I'm good to go. This is a wonderful & very informative thread- thanks to all of you great GW posters.

Congrats on the Pixie!

I have the lattissima plus and love it.

Have y'all seen Miele have started making a built in Nespresso machine?

I have the biggest appliance crush on it!

Here is a link that might be useful: Miele Nespresso built in machine

Tried both the 12s. Just my opinion but for me, the Dharkan is meant to appeal to Turkish coffee lovers as a ristretto. For me too smoky to be a great mix with milk. Kazaar is like a cross of Turkish and dark Espresso and had a surprising, slightly chocolatey aspect. More exotic than the up and down Italian picks like Ristretto, Roma, Cosi and very full bodied but also tilting to the exotic.

@cbink - Miele's made that machine for some time and it's the ultimate kitchen feature in these parts. You really have an eye LOL.

@rococogurl - Apparently I was slow on the uptake. Can't believe I didn't know about it beforehand.

This post was edited by cbink on Thu, Jan 30, 14 at 12:19

Tried both the 12s. Just my opinion but for me, the Dharkan is meant to appeal to Turkish coffee lovers as a ristretto. For me too smoky to be a great mix with milk. Kazaar is like a cross of Turkish and dark Espresso and had a surprising, slightly chocolatey aspect. More exotic than the up and down Italian picks like Ristretto, Roma, Cosi and very full bodied but also tilting to the exotic.

Wow, to me it's just "coffee" :-)

We have the Lattissima plus and love it. It's so nice to just push 1 button and have a fresh latte. I can never remember the names, but I like the black and purple the best. My wife likes the new 12s, but they're a little too intense for me.

We got a sleeve of the caramel on a lark, and it's quite good. I usually hate flavored coffees because they tend to be cloying and artificial tasting, but this one is really good. It's got a rich butter flavor that's really nice.

Black - ristretto
Purple - arpeggio

I'm with you - I like the both too. Also like the Caramelito as a latte. For Lungo's I like the Linizio lungo (orange and mine don't have any writing on them - they're blank on top) and the fortissio lungo

Oh no, my Aeroccino appears to have died (2 years old)!

sj, oh no!!! I'm so attached to my Aeroccino. I sometimes want to just make a pot of froth to eat on its own.

Yesterday I came *this* close to the frother (spring) going into the garbage disposal unnoticed. It would not have survived. I have to hide them from my cats who would love to bat them around.

Without my extreme foam latte every afternoon, life would have no meaning. :)

linelle, I DO have a cup of hot milk/froth on many a night! (the funny thing is, I hate cold milk, but I love hot milk). Also, I did lose the "whipper" to the garbage disposal, but fortunately, they're very inexpensive to replace. Now I have to decide if I will just replace the Aeroccino, or whether I will bite the bullet and get a whole new coffee maker that will look better in my new modern kitchen!

oh, sjhockeyfan, WIlliams and Sonoma has a sharp all new chrome Citiz. I saw it the latest catalog.

Here is a link that might be useful: Williams Sonoma

That chrome Citiz is pretty, but hello? fingerprints? If it's anything like my Aeroccino, they're nigh impossible to eliminate. I don't care so much with the frother because it lives in the cupboard, but my Pixie sits on the counter.

Originally I bought a Citiz and onboard Aeroccino 3. It had the wrong footprint for my designated counter so I exchanged it for the Pixie and separate Aeroccino Plus. A word of warning about the Aeroccino 3. Two words of warning actually. 1) It has no handle, 2) it has a slippery grip to it. It's a cool looking item, but if you don't use a death grip on it, it would easily slip out of your hand. The ribs on the side don't give it enough grip.

Thanks so much. So far, my Essenza (ugly, but it was cheap!) and Aeroccino live on the counter, but I'm thinking maybe a Pixie on the counter, and put the Aeroccino in the drawer with the toaster. I have a huge island, but unfortunately, very little counter space on the one and only wall side. I would get the Pixie because of its size (I assume its smaller than the Citiz). And thanks for the warning about the Aeroccino 3 - forget it - I definitely want a handle, so I'll just get the old unattractive Aeroccino Plus.

I have the Titan Gray Pixie. There's an orange one that's adorable. I read somewhere (GW?) that the Pixie actually delivers its brew at the warmest temp.

Oh, so sorry about the aeronccino death.

Ditto here with vote for the handle. I rinse it out right away with the sprayer. Can't imagine not having the handle as I'd drop it constantly.

That's one good lookin' Citiz at WS. But I'm with linelle about fingerprints not to mention spatter.

We had superbowl buffet so I bought some of the Bodum Pavina double-wall 2.5 oz glasses for espresso. Lovely and they keep it hot. There's a larger size as well. I may buy them instead of chocolates for Valentine's Day LOL

Here is a link that might be useful: Pavinas

Rococogurl,

You may just be my long-lost sixth sister! I bought DH these Latte (Trudeau Duetto) cups for Christmas, and 4 little espresso double-walled ones from Luigi Bormioli (happened to be on clearance at Sears for $5 for two). These are definitely our Mugs of choice, as they do a great job of keeping the coffee/tea warm. I was just thinking earlier today that I should post these as I'm sure everyone following this post would love these!

I had originally bought him some Bodum mugs, but they were much more expensive ($40 for two) ...so when I found the Trudeau ones I took them back.

Latest update: I'm on my third order and fining down what I like and don't.

But someone on FB mentioned self-addressed recycling bags they provide. So I called and they sent several along with my latest order. Each bag hold 6 pounds of used capsules. I started up a 1-quart zip lock bag for the discards which I'll keep in the freezer until I get a full recycle bag. Didn't find anywhere on the website to get this -- had to call.

So funny raehelen. You know what they say about great minds LOL!

Anyone get the new machine that takes the spinning capsules yet? Gooster put me on to it though cannot say I'm ready for even more $$$$ capsules.

Rococogurl

I looked at the new machine. I decided to take a pass for three reasons--it's more expensive to use, I have another preferred and inexpensive way to make regular coffee and it takes up too much real estate on my counter.

More detail.

As you might know, the marketing angle for the new machine is that is provides a 7 ounce cup for people that want more coffee.

There are separate capsules for coffee and for espresso. There is a limited selection of each. There are many more capsules for the regular machines. Maybe they will come out with additional ones. I would bet they would.

I tasted one or two of the coffees. They are nice. In my opinion, much better than Keurig. It's a 7 ounce cup with crema on top. So it's not like a regular cup of coffee. It's more like a tall espresso but it's coffee, if that makes sense.
] The espresso capsules are generally similar to the espresso capsules for the regular machines. For example, the purple capsule is similar to the Arpeggio, the blue one is similar to the new really strong capsule (I forget what it is called), etc.

The espresso capsules for the regular machines cannot be used in the new machine. And they are 75 cents each versus 65 cents for the regular machine. And those prices are going only one way, especially when they get you locked in.

The coffee capsules are 95 cents. They like to tell you that at 95 cents, they are cheaper than using two capsules for the regular machine. But I don't use two capsules with my Pixie. I run an Arpeggio on the lungo cycle to get a longer cup because I am just too darned cheap to use two capsules. With the new machine, the whole thing is automatic so you can't do that.

Also, it is really mixing apples and oranges (or espresso and coffee, for that matter).

So where I came out is that if I have another another preferred method to make coffee, I won't bother with this machine. And I do have that alternate method-- I like to have espresso on weekdays when making it quickly is more imporant and French press on weekends when I can linger over a cup. If I wanted an espresso, I would have to pay 20% more for that espresso than I pay with my current Pixie unless I were to use two machines, in which case, I don't need the espresso function on the new machine. I find the price difference for the espresso capsules especially irritating.

I think the machine is good for those people who are looking for a single-use machine that makes both coffee and espresso because they don't otherwise have a Nespresso machine already.

Super report nycbluedevil. thanks so much.

I'm definitely an espresso person so not personally tempted by the new machine. But there was an interesting article this week about overall coffee consumption being down while single-cup espresso drinking is up, along with k cups.

nycbluedevil, thanks for the report. Looks like we are on the same wavelength: I also use Arpeggio (my fave) with a lungo pull on my Pixie. Every day at 3 pm. I'm hopelessly addicted. Oh, plus 2% milk using the latte stirrer and then another batch dose of 2% with the frother. Mounds of cloud-like foam. Huge cup. I'm sure this is highly un-Kosher, but I don't care. I'm in love.

I echo nycbluedevil's review of the new machine. I tried a cup at W&S -- but am not convinced. Tastes great (much better than Keurig -- but more of an "americano"), but it is bigger and each cup is more expensive (and more limited in choices)

Coffee anecdote - we were in Peru last week, and at one stop on our trek, we roasted organic coffee beans on a wood-burning stove. I couldn't help but think to myself, well, this is fun and educational, now, where's my Nespresso :-)

sjhockeyfan -- if your trek was anything like mine (Inca Trail), my main thoughts were -- "where's my sit-down toilet".

Gooster, we hiked the Salkantay Trail (and met up with what our guide refers to as "the commercial Inca Trail" on the next to last day). But (and it's a very big but), we did lodge-to-lodge, not camping. A hot shower and a king-size bed along with a delicious meal go a long long way when you're hiking for 6 days (Machu Picchu was Day 7).

Well when my coffee maker died a couple of weeks ago, I decided to try the new dual machine. The verdict is still out and luckily Sur la Table has a very generous return policy.

The coffee and espresso are both very good (I have an older Nespresso so wasn't concerned about quality). I also like not having a grinder, plus the stray grounds, on my counter.

My biggest complaint about the machine is that the coffee is not as hot as I would like it and I generally zap it in the microwave for a bit after brewing which is a hassle.

I plan to use it a bit more and then decide to keep or return.

To get the coffee really hot, I do 2 no-cartridge Americano pulls in the cup I'm planning to use. That heats the cup, clears the brewing spout, and seems to heat up my ULine very well. Then I change the setting, empty out the cup, insert the cartridge and brew.

For the record, coming upon this post when we began planning for our remodel spurred DH & me to spring for a Pixie. We had forgone Christmas gifts to each other, so we felt entitled. We also bought ours the day before the holiday promotion for the $75 credit expired and were able to get in on the package deal with the frother. How could we resist?

I'm generally a tea drinker, but DH loves a good cup of coffee. Like Linelle, I usually savor mine midday. So far, we have been delighted with ours.

This post was edited by amck on Wed, Mar 26, 14 at 12:27

sjhockeyfan: there was a lodge option!?!? The higher, longer trail though was probably a greater challenge... even with the tent and pit "hole in the ground" and only on day 3 cold shower. Still a great experience, but if a return is brought up for Salkantay, I'll be sure to highlight the lodge option.

Now back to better, more pleasant thoughts of aerocino froth and Grand Crus...

Gooster, send me an email and I'll send you the link to the trip we took. We signed up through REI, although they're just an agent for the Peruvian company.

Wow - I have read through all of these and am totally sold on the nespresso now. WS was doing a hard sell on the Vetruoline - but honestly don't think I will use the coffee part (hubby still wants his travel mug full in the morning, so there will have to be a drip maker there anyhow!).

The thing I am wondering about is the difference in milk heat for the Aeorocinno versus the Lattisimo steamer. I know based on the WS demonstration the Lattissimo makes a thicker / drier froth - but does one get the milk hotter than the other?