Nespresso vs Keurig: Which one is best?
Who doesn’t love a good shot of espresso? Or a rich and foamy latte? How about an aromatic cup of cappuccino?Once upon a time, you had to venture out to a local coffee shop and have a barista prepare these tasty beverages for you, but that’s no longer necessary in this day and age thanks to single serve espresso machines. Now, it’s possible for caffeine lovers to make their own delicious espressos, cappuccinos, and lattes right from the comfort of their own home.When it comes to home espresso machines, there are two immediately recognizable companies who are leading the charge — Nespresso and Keurig. They each make some great single serve espresso products, but which manufacturer is best?In order to answer that question, we put two of their best products — the Nespresso VertuoPlus vs Keurig Rivo — to the test in a head-to-head showdown. Which espresso machine came out as our top choice?
Direct Comparison
Breaking it down
When we set out to determine which of these espresso machines reigned supreme, we settled on three specific categories to judge them on:
- The type of coffee capsules used by the machine
- The variety of flavors offered by said capsules
- Whether or not the machine features a milk frother
With that out of the way, let’s dive right in and see how each of these products fared!
Coffee Used
Each of these espresso machines use coffee capsules to produce your selected beverage — coffee, espresso, latte, or cappuccino. Depending on your choice of machine, however, one or more of those beverage types may be unavailable.
Nespresso VertuoPlus
Nespresso produces their own range of coffee capsule products, and the VertuoPlus has the distinct advantage of being able to make regular coffee, which is a feature that the Rivo doesn’t offer.
Keurig Rivo
Meanwhile, the Rivo uses coffee capsules that are made by leading Italian coffee maker Lavazza. And while the Rivo can’t produce a regular cup of coffee like the VertuoPlus, it can make lattes and cappuccinos in addition to espresso.
Winner: For this category, we’re going to have to declare a tie. There will be many coffee lovers out there who already have a taste preference for either Nespresso or Lavazza coffee capsules. Not only that, but which machine you should pick will also largely depend on what type of beverages you enjoy and what each machine is capable of making.
Variety of Flavors
Every coffee lover has their own unique preferences when it comes to how their coffee or espresso is flavored. Some people prefer a rich, strong brew while others prefer something that is more mild and sweet. With that in mind, the availability of multiple flavor options is an important consideration when purchasing an espresso machine.
Nespresso VertuoPlus
Nespresso offers a large variety of differently flavored capsules for both coffee and espresso. They regularly offer over 20 distinct flavor options, and they also rotate in special limited edition flavors on occasion.
Keurig Rivo
While the Rivo offers more options for what type of beverage you want to brew, when it comes to options for flavors, it’s definitely lacking when compared with the VertuoPlus. There are only four espresso pods available to use with the Rivo — Intenso, Classico, Delicato, and Decaf.
Winner: The VertuoPlus claims victory in this category with ease, offering over 200% more options when it comes to flavors on a regular basis. And that doesn’t even begin to take into consideration the limited edition flavors that they regularly offer.
Milk Frother
Many customers don’t just want to purchase an espresso machine to make espresso only — they are also looking to enjoy lattes, cappuccinos, and other types of specialty coffee. Many espresso machines include a milk frother for that very purpose.
Nespresso VertuoPlus
It should come as no surprise to anyone reading this that the VertuoPlus does not include a milk frother, as it’s only designed to make coffee and espresso. If you’re looking to make lattes, you’re going to have to purchase a separate milk frother or check out another Nespresso product that includes one.
Keurig Rivo
As you would expect from a machine that markets itself as an espresso, latte, and cappuccino system, the Keurig Rivo does indeed include a milk frother. Not only that, it’s also quite a good system, with three different frothing modes — cappuccino, latte, and cold froth.
Winner:Â The Keurig Rivo unsurprisingly picks up the victory in this category on account of the complete lack of a milk frother included with the VertuoPlus.
Final Recount
Now that we’ve gone over all of our comparison categories, let’s take a brief moment to recap how each of the espresso machines performed:
- Coffee Used Winner: Tie
- Variety of Flavors Winner: Nespresso VertuoPlus
- Milk Frother Winner: Keurig Rivo
As you can see, the Nespresso VertuoPlus and Keurig Rivo ended up in a tie with a score of 2-2!We aren’t finished yet though. Before we give you our final verdict on which espresso machine is best, we’re going to briefly go over some of the pros and cons of each product in order to help you make a more informed decision.
Pros and Cons of Each
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PROS |
CONS |
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|---|---|---|
| Nespresso VertuoPlus Coffee and Espresso Machine by De'Longhi, 5 Fluid Ounces, Grey
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| The Keurig Rivo Cappuccino and Latte System (R500 Bonus)
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Final Verdict
And so, we come down to the final verdict. Nespresso vs Keurig — which one is best? In our honest opinion, the answer is that they are tied.They’re both excellent espresso machine options and the choice of which one is a superior product will all depend on what you are looking for out of your machine.Do you want to switch things up from time to time and enjoy a bigger variety of espresso flavors? Then you should probably go with the VertuoPlus.On the other hand, if you are someone who’s beverage of choice is a delicious latte, then it probably makes more sense to pick up the Rivo and spare yourself the trouble of having to purchase an espresso machine and milk frother separately.In the end, the choice of which espresso machine you go with will truly come down to a matter of personal preference. Whatever machine you end up settling on though, you can rest easy in knowing that both products get a solid recommendation from us, and you’ll most likely be more than happy with your purchase.
Amazon Disclaimer: prices updated on 2023-10-02 / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
