Nespresso Vertuo Lattissima: The new milky star fearless of frothing

For Israelis, with their sacred four o'clock coffee: New tastes on the shelf awaken.

By YANIV GRANOT/WALLA!

APRIL 11, 2024 15:37

Believe us when we say this isn't an easy job, not easy at all.

Trying out all the new products hitting the Israeli market (and sometimes beyond), tasting before everyone else, deliveries upon deliveries, piles of paper bags accumulating in the office (and at home), a never-ending sense of abundance.

Seriously, it's tougher than it looks, and no one pays you for your gym membership or compensates you for the rapidly developing FOMO.

However, in the section "New on the Shelf," with its loyal tastes, curiosities, and consumers, we're back on the road, determined and committed to the task. And this time - for Israelis, with their sacred four o'clock coffee. Yes, we're quite eclectic.

Bon appétit!

Nespresso could easily have rested on its capsule laurels, relying on its patent and celebrating its market share even as it loses its commercial edge and becomes part of the general landscape.

After all, you can't take away its pioneering status and its dramatic footprint. I'm old enough to remember the days when such a coffee machine at home was "wow," and even the days shortly after, when "wow" turned into the most popular gift for Passover.

In between, and even after that, you said coffee machine (and said capsules), you said Nespresso. It's not marketing, it's not sycophancy. That was the situation, in its pure business simplicity.

Exactly because of all this, it's impressive to see that Nespresso isn't resting on its laurels and isn't standing still. On the contrary. While others are busy thinking, it continues to innovate.

The latest among these innovations, more precisely, is the Vertuo Lattissima, a new machine from the brand that aims - in its own words, right? - "to continue the home premium coffee revolution."

The Lattissima (NIS 1,790), as its name suggests, is aimed at an audience that isn't satisfied with just a short (or long) espresso and needs more than its minimalistic caffeine fix. Israelis, in short, and their sacred four o'clock coffee.

It highlights a built-in milk mechanism that solves dilemmas and dismisses fuss, smoothly dispensing it into the cup with a single, elegant button press. Almost as usual for Nespresso.

Elegant, almost as usual. Nespresso's Vertuo Lattissima

The company's grandeur, and the Lattissima's own splendor, lies in the user experience. The process, as one might expect, is seamless. The froth is static. The coffee itself is kicking. The machine, well, you get it, stands. Proudly.

One needs to dwell on all of this and understand that it's not something taken for granted. The market is bustling and exploding. Products are diverse, creating quite a wide range of options and levels. Not everything is worthy, not everything is impressive. And I'm still here.

Nespresso, on the other hand, does. Dedicated buttons will give you excellent cappuccino and a milk-based latte without any further ado, based on the Expert Brewing function built into the machine. The dedicated capsules carry a unique barcode, prompting the machine to identify, understand, and start brewing. The whole process is automatic and impressive, and it could be even more so with the adaptation of the brand's international app to work in our country. The potential is there, as is the technology.

Either way, the result is specific amounts of specific beverages, without manual intervention - from Ristretto to Espresso, from Lungo to Gran Lungo, all the way to the indulgent macchiato we all love to indulge in.

And the small details wrap up the whole story, like froth on top of the espresso. The colors (black and white, for now without extravagance) sit well on the countertop, and the different parts assemble easily. All milk, by the way, goes into the dishwasher, neutralizing somewhat annoying manual rinses. Plus, it's huge.

Thirty blends and their limited editions by the company will allow you a diverse play of flavors and strengths, sweetness and milkiness directions. I, who haven't clarified my coffee for years, found myself amused and reconsidering my choices.