[REVIEW] Nespresso Vertuo Pop: A Brilliant Compact Coffee Machine That’s Extremely Easy to Use

Hence, it was a delight when I received the opportunity to review Nespresso’s latest Vertuo Pop, which came with a variety of capsules. After two weeks of making my own coffee at home, thanks to the convenience of having the Nespresso Vertuo Pop, here’s what I discovered:

Simple to unbox and setup

The Nespresso Vertuo Pop unboxing experience is pretty straightforward. The machine itself is one part, meaning all I had to do was lift it out of the box and plug it in—no rigorous DIY is needed!

It also came with an informative instruction booklet that explained the machine's functions and how to begin using it which was perfect for me as I had no experience with using any of Nespresso’s coffee machines beforehand.

Before I could start my journey as a home barista, the booklet that came with the machine recommended rinsing the water tank and flushing out the machine itself before using it. To do this, simply fill the tank with water, turn the machine on, and the machine will automatically flush itself out all in around five minutes. Image Credit: Provided to Rojak Daily

The booklet also explained that the Pop can connect to your phone via Bluetooth. This will give you updates on when to descale your machine, let you know if there are any detected errors, and allow you to check the water levels.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t allow you to control the machine from your phone so you can put a pause on your dreams of having a fully automated coffee machine to prepare your coffee when you get ready in the morning.

What's nice is that this is completely optional, leaving it up to you to decide whether it's necessary or not and to be perfectly honest, after completely setting the machine up, I barely opened the app once more.

Stylish & functional

The Vertuo Pop is pretty compact, measuring 5.3 x 16.7 x 9.8 inches and weighing only 3.5kg. I got the one in spicy red, which offered a bright splash of colour in my pretty plain kitchen. Some of the other colour options include Mango Yellow, Aqua Mint, Pacific Blue, Coconut White, and Liquorice Black.

If you're looking for a machine that doesn't take up too much counter space, it's a wonderful option. I was able to find a nice corner for mine, and it fits perfectly on my kitchen countertop.

The Vertuo Pop comes with just one button for operation, located on the top of the machine. Underneath is a lever that lets you open up the machine to place a capsule inside. Image Credit: Provided to Rojak Daily

A cool feature is that once you lift the lever, the used capsule automatically slides into the capsule bin, so you don’t need to pick up any hot used capsules. The capsule bin is to the side of the machine, so it's nice and accessible. However, it can only hold up to 12 capsules, so remember to take out your used capsules!

Part of its compactness is reflected in its tank size, which can hold only 600ml of water, roughly enough for two mugs of coffee. Although this shouldn’t be an issue for smaller households like mine, it may be a bit inconvenient to have to keep filling up the tank in a larger household. Image Credit: Provided to Rojak Daily The machine uses Nespresso’s patented Centrifusion technology, which essentially uses barcode scanning to find out the right amount of water according to the pod you put in.

This means it makes the coffee exactly how it should be, varying between different sizes, intensities and flavours depending on the capsule you opt for. The Vertuo Pop can make four different cup sizes: espresso (40ml), double espresso (80ml), gran lungo (150ml) and mug (230ml).

Although a drip tray comes with the machine, I realised that it only fits smaller-sized mugs and is more appropriate for espresso-sized cups, so I opted to remove it to fit my regular-sized mugs.

It’s just my cup of tea coffee

I was impressed with the Nespresso Vertuo Pop's performance, especially with how quickly it produces barista-quality coffee. After pushing the button, it takes less than 30 seconds to pour the shot (or mug, depending on the pod you've chosen).

In addition to the Nespresso Vertuo Pop and its accessories, I also got the Vertuo Trio Starter Pack​, which came with the Altissio, Double Espresso Scuro, and Intenso capsules.

Each cup of coffee came out with a wonderful crema on top, just like you’d get from coffee at cafes, and the flavours tasted bold and strong. Image Credit: MEDIUM, Provided to Rojak Daily

My personal favourites were the Intenso, which produced a deep and dense coffee with brown sugar and roasted notes, and the Altissio, which offered a strong but balanced, smooth coffee for a full-bodied and creamy cup. Both are perfect for making a cafe latte or Americano.

Meanwhile, the Double Espresso Scuro was a bit too intense for my taste. However, at the expense of freshness, I decided to make small batches of it to store in my fridge for easy access the next day.

All three capsule options produced thick crema and deep, bold flavours, which filled my kitchen with an aroma that many caffeine addicts would consider heavenly.

Overall verdict

If you're looking for a compact and stylish coffee machine that will compliment your kitchen, then the Nespresso Vertuo Pop is an amazing choice. At RM899, it’s a pretty worthwhile investment for coffee addicts as when paired with the Nespresso capsules, your daily cup of coffee would only set you back around RM3 per cup. This means that in the long run, you could potentially be looking at incurring some savings as coffees from cafes now set you back at least RM7 on average for a decent cup of joe.

It's extremely easy to use and still manages to offer a huge variety of different kinds of coffee, meaning there's a choice for everyone. Its water tank and capsule bin make the machine unsuitable for a larger family. But if you live alone or with your partner, then it’s a perfect option, especially if you’re looking to up your coffee game from the comfort of your own home.