Vertuo brews coffee, espresso, and everything in-between. From dark and intense to mild and smooth, with over 30 blends to discover and love.

Of all the espresso machine reviews I've scoured, the Nespresso Vertuo Plus consistently earns high marks for being one of the best single-serve coffeemakers that brews both coffee and espresso. Not to mention its under two-minute brew time and compact footprint.

The Vertuo allows users to brew larger coffees (up to 414 ml), using "barcoded" coffee capsules and a unique extraction system. The Vertuo offers larger drinks with thicker crema, without having to run too many capsules. However, there is a smaller variety of machines, at slightly higher prices.

Really cool so now we just push this down lock it into place. And press the coffee. Button.

• Best Overall: Nespresso VertuoPlus Deluxe by Breville at Amazon.
• Best Value: Nespresso Vertuo Next at Amazon.
• Nespresso Creatista Pro at Williams-Sonoma. Jump to Review.
• Best Small: Nespresso Mini Espresso Machine at Amazon.
• Most Versatile: Nespresso Vertuo and Milk Frother at Amazon.
• Best Splurge:

The name Vertuo derives from the word “Virtuoso”, which means mastering an expertise.

With its barcode technology, Vertuo offers an extremely high level of precision. The system recognizes each coffee capsule, then adjusts the brewing parameters – such as temperature, crema, flow, rotation speed and water/coffee contact time – to deliver the best results in every cup.

Why? Nespresso has a patent in place until the end of the decade, meaning other brands can't manufacture the larger dome shaped Vertuo coffee pods. Prices are at the premium end, sitting between 55p-65p per pod for most styles, with some larger style pods now as high as 82p.

Why? Nespresso has a patent in place until the end of the decade, meaning other brands can't manufacture the larger dome shaped Vertuo coffee pods. Prices are at the premium end, sitting between 55p-65p per pod for most styles, with some larger style pods now as high as 82p.

From 10 milliliters to 500 milliliters open the machine head by pressing the lever upwards. Insert the capsule blend you want to program close the head by pushing the lever. Down.

With its barcode technology, Vertuo offers an extremely high level of precision. The system recognizes each coffee capsule, then adjusts the brewing parameters – such as temperature, crema, flow, rotation speed and water/coffee contact time – to deliver the best results in every cup.

While the original Nespresso machines are known to produce a classic type of crema in high quality espresso, vertuo machines are known for their higher qualities of crema thanks to the high speeds used in their extraction process.