A Q Grader Picks the Essenza Mini for Pods and Skips Keurig

A licensed Q Grader’s new ranking of single-serve coffee makers names Nespresso’s Essenza Mini as the pick for anyone who wants zero effort, and leaves Keurig and Ninja off the list entirely. The Coffee Chronicler, a specialty coffee site, published the list Nov. 2.

The writer’s argument is that a capsule machine beats a badly kept drip brewer with stale pre-ground coffee, so pods are a fair answer if you won’t grind, measure and clean. He likes the Essenza Mini for its size, quick heat-up and programmable espresso and lungo buttons, and prefers the Original line over Vertuo because Original capsules are made by plenty of other brands, which keeps prices down. Vertuo only takes Nespresso’s own.

He’s blunt that it isn’t real espresso, though. By his measurement, a 42-gram shot came out at 2.83% TDS, a measure of strength, against roughly 10% for a true espresso, putting it somewhere between a moka pot and an Americano. The rest of the list skips pods: an Outin Nano portable that takes Nespresso capsules or grounds, a Hario Switch, an AeroPress, a small drip machine and a moka pot.

Keurig and Ninja aren’t there because, he says, they’re hard to get where he lives and he only recommends what he has used. So this isn’t a verdict against K-Cups, just a list without them.

Our take: his best advice applies to any pod machine. Clean it, descale it and don’t run it on hard tap water. Original owners chasing cheaper capsules can start with our Nespresso-compatible pods guide, and if you’re torn between the two systems, our Vertuo buying guide covers the other side.

Check the Essenza Mini’s price on Amazon