Nespresso Mini Essenza Espresso Machine Review

nespresso mini, this is a photo of coffee on a table

Are you looking for a small single-serve coffee maker? We’re excited to share our review of the Nespresso Essenza Mini Espresso Maker and everything you need to know about it before you decide if it’s the right machine for you. 

The Nespresso Mini has a good reputation, however, we’re diving in deep to see if it’s worth all of the hype and praise. So, if you are looking to see if the Nespresso Mini is worth it and would be a good fit for you, keep reading!

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Quick Overview

The Nespresso Essenza Mini is a small but mighty single-serve coffee maker. It has a small footprint so it can easily be put in a small space such as on a desk, in an RV, dorm, small kitchen, etc. It makes high-quality coffee and has a number of features that make it superior to other single-serve coffee makers. Overall, we recommend the Nespresso Mini and think it’s an excellent machine. 

Key Features

Single Serve

The Nespresso Mini is a single-serve coffee maker. It is perfect for when you just want one cup of coffee and don’t want to make an entire pot. The Essenza also comes with two programmable cup sizes. You can make a 1.35 oz or a 5 oz coffee. 

Compact Size

The Nespresso Essenza Mini, as the name describes, is pretty mini in size! It weighs 5lbs and is 3.3in wide by 12.9in tall, and 8in deep. The small compact size of this machine makes it an excellent option if you are wanting a single-serve coffee machine in a small space. Such as in an office, dorm room, RV, small kitchen, etc.

We love that this machine is small but mighty!

Efficient

The Nespresso Mini is also quite efficient. It can heat your water up to be ready to start brewing in just 25 seconds from when you turn it on. It also has an energy-saving mode that will automatically switch off the machine after 9 minutes.

This will definitely put your mind at ease for the times you take your coffee to go and you can’t remember if you turned the coffee machine off or not! 

High Pressure Pump

This coffee maker uses a 19 bar high-pressure pump that creates a barista-style coffee drink you would typically get from your local coffee shop. The high-pressure pump extracts the flavors of each coffee pod to create a premium cup of coffee every time. 

Pros & Cons

What We Like

Small Size

We love that this machine is a small size. We think even though it is small, it is powerful and is of good quality. It’s excellent for just about anyone who wants a single-serve machine and no limit on where you can put it since it is so compact!

It gives you a lot more freedom of where you want to make your coffee and is excellent especially for anyone who wants the machine in a small space. You can even travel with it too. 

Delicious Coffee

Since the machine uses a 19 bar high-pressure pump and gourmet coffee pods, the result is always a delicious cup of joe. Consistently, you will get a full-bodied and delicious cup of coffee whenever you use this machine!

Quick Brew Time

The machine also makes your coffee pretty quickly. It takes roughly 25-30 seconds to heat up the water to start brewing and it takes about 1 minute to brew the coffee. It’s very quick and an excellent choice if you don’t like to wait for your coffee, or simply don’t have the time.

Gourmet Coffee Pods

Since the machine only uses coffee pods, the drinks it can make are coffee shop quality. Nespresso offers a variety of coffee pods and you’ll surely find a few you love. We love that there are a lot of options and that the coffee is always high-quality, full-bodied, and delicious every time you brew a cup!

What Can Be Improved

Bigger Cup Sizes

This may not be a great machine if you tend to drink a lot of coffee. Since the machine is so small the most the machine will make in a single brew cycle is 5 oz.

You can obviously add in another coffee pod and make more, however, if you are someone that frequently drinks more than 5 oz of coffee in one sitting, you may want to get a coffee maker that will make more in each brew cycle, such as the Nespresso VertuoPlus. 

Who Is the Nespresso Essenza Mini Best Suited For?

The Nespresso Mini is best for anyone who is looking for a compact single-serve coffee maker. This one is high-quality, small, and makes a really good cup of coffee.

It’s excellent if you are looking for one to keep in your office or on your desk, in a dorm, in an RV, in a tiny kitchen, etc. Or if you want a coffee maker you can travel with so you can make your own coffee. It’s a small and mighty machine and it’s a great option for those looking for a small single-serve coffee maker. 

This machine is not best for those who drink a lot of coffee. The maximum the mini can make is 5 ounces per brew cycle. This means if you want more, you will have to refill the tank and use another pod to brew more.

So, if you know that will not be enough coffee for you daily, we recommend opting for a different Nespresso machine, one that has the capability to make more coffee per brew cycle!

Pricing

The Nespresso Essenza Mini Espresso Machine is one of the higher-priced single-serve coffee machines. It is definitely the higher-end option and we think the price is fair for the product.

The machine is very compact and is well-designed. It has a 19-bar pressure pump which you will not see from very many other single-serve coffee machines. It also has a quick brew time, which is also uncommon. 

So, if you are looking for a high-quality, high-end single-serve coffee maker, the Nespresso Essenza Mini is an excellent option.


Final Verdict 

We recommend the Nespresso Essenza Mini. We think it is an excellent single-serve coffee maker. It has a lot of high-quality features and is a great option for those who want a higher-end machine that will surely last them a long time.

The Nespresso Mini is perfect if you want coffee shop quality coffee that you can make from home with very little effort and in very little time. Or even if you’re looking for a machine you can travel with or keep somewhere that doesn’t have a lot of space for a coffee maker. Overall, we recommend it and think it’s a great machine!