Nespresso Essenza Mini

It uses Nespresso OriginalLine capsules only, so it makes espresso and lungo, not the larger coffees of the Vertuo system. That means the hundreds of OriginalLine third-party and Nespresso capsules are compatible, but Vertuo pods will not fit.

Nespresso licenses the machine to partner manufacturers: De'Longhi makes it for most markets, while Breville-branded versions are sold in North America. The internals and capsule system are the same; only branding and trim differ.

There is no milk frother built in, so milk drinks require buying a separate frother such as the Nespresso Aeroccino. The machine itself has just two preset buttons, roughly a 40 ml espresso and a 110 ml lungo.

It is one of the most compact machines in the Nespresso lineup, only around 11 cm wide, so it fits on cramped counters and in offices. Despite the tiny footprint it still uses Nespresso's standard 19-bar pump system for espresso extraction.