Nespresso D300 Automatic Espresso Machine, Gray and Chrome
by Nespresso

List Price: $399.00
Category: Kitchen
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Product Summary

• 1200-watt automatic espresso machine designed for mess-free coffee-filled capsules
• 19-bar pressure pump; Thermoblock heating element; cup-warming plate
• 1-4/5-liter removable water tank; preset buttons for single and double shots
• Steam nozzle; espresso cup, Lungo cup, and assortment of 12 capsules included
• Measures 10-2/3 by 9 by 11-1/5 inches; 1-year limited warranty

Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Nespresso D300 Automatic Espresso Machine, Gray and Chrome

Customer Review: Great machine, mediocre capsules...
Summary: 5 Stars

I have three Nespresso machines, but not a D300, so my comments concern the Nespresso system rather than any particular machine.

The idea of the capsules rather than using coffee beans requires some trade offs, but has lots of huge advantages. The capsules are super convenient, fast, clean and neat, attractive, and allow you to easily serve a variety of coffee blends (decaf, latin american, african, pure arabica, etc, which is fun). A big advantage is that they stay fresh for months at a time, so you can always have them on hand when you need them.

Comparing the Nespresso system with the conventional system shows the value of convenience. Conventional machine: you have to have fresh beans, you have to have an expensive burr grinder (more counter space, more to clean, more to break down), you have to get the fineness of the grind correct, you have to measure the ground coffee accurately, you have to tamp the coffee in the holder correctly, you have to pour the correct amount of water through. This requires a large amount of time, effort, expirementation, patience, and experience. Serving a party of 10 people like this could easily take you an hour, and you are making a lot of noise and not enjoying the party, and making a big mess to clean up later.

A conventional machine could never be used in your office or company kitchen, but a Nespresso machine works out very nicely in that situation.

On the downside, 45 cents per shot of espresso is a little expensive compared to doing it with beans. You are limited to the Nespresso capsules, nothing else will come close to working. This means you can't try out the interesting jars of beans at your local coffee shop. There may come a day when the capsules are not available, but I don't see that happening.

The big downside is the quality of the espresso produced by the capsules, and therein is my main gripe. [the website]lists some 10 varietys, and I don't like any of them. Most of them include some robusta coffee beans in the blend. That's unusual because gourmet coffee is 100% arabica, and my opinion is the robusta is a problem. I have to wonder if Nespresso is trying to cut costs in this most critical aspect of an otherwise first-rate system. However, at Christmas time Nespresso releases a "special blend" for a limited time. This is usually 100% arabica. In 1998 and 1999, the special blend was very good. In 2000 it was bad but then they released another one in June 2001 that was very good.

The final alternative is the "super-automatic" style machine, that with a single button push automatically grinds the beans, measures, tamps, pours the espresso, and dumps out the spent grounds. That may get you the best of all worlds and the price on those have come way down. The one catch is that you must have fresh beans, and that means two weeks old max. For me that's a problem, because even a half pound of beans will last me a month or two, but I've invented a solution. A vacuum pack food preserver machine. I can buy the beans, split them into lots of 4 capuccinos' worth, and then vacuum pack them up. That way I only break out a small pack at a time and the rest stay fresh. Genius, I say!

Description of Nespresso D300 Automatic Espresso Machine, Gray and Chrome

This machine uses custom capsules of espresso. The small plastic capsules are premeasured for one use each. Just plop a capsule in the capsule holder and slip it into the spout ring, which has an attachment that punctures a hole in the capsule and perforates the bottom. After making the coffee, tip the used capsule into the garbage can and you're ready to brew again. The catch is that you can only use these capsules, not any other ground espresso, so you'll be required to stock up; there are a variety of coffee types available, however, including decaffeinated. The capsules can be purchased from Nespresso, either by phone or at their web site. --Cynthia Nims

Editor's note: This item may arrive with water inside from the manufacturer's pressure test. This is a normal occurrence and doesn't point to a problem with the machine.

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