For many, a cup of coffee is as much a part of their morning routines as brushing their teeth, washing their faces and putting on their pants. But not all golden brews are made equal, and starting your day with what tastes like dirty dishwater has the potential to set things into a downward spiral.

Whether you like a latte, can’t get enough of cortado or think everything pales in comparison to espresso, we all have opinions on what makes the perfect brew. While Pret puts its best foot forward with its £25 per month coffee subscription offer, some things are just better done yourself – especially when the closest branch of the sandwich store is more than a mile away.

Of course, there’s a huge range of at-home coffee machines on offer, but Nespresso is undoubtedly one of the most well-known. Bringing a level of luxury to your regular cup of Joe, you won’t find flat filter coffee or weak-looking water from this boujee B-corp brand. Instead, think vitamin-infused pods, celebrity chef collabs and weird and wonderful flavours that sound like they shouldn’t work yet somehow do – lime and cream coffee, anyone?

There’s no short supply of your everyday favourites either. In fact, the brand has more than 50 different flavoured capsules on its website right now. But you’d be right to think this luxury label comes at a cost. Current original Nespresso machines range in price from £169 to £729, depending on size, shape and added extras.

So, its latest addition, the Nespresso vertuo pop, has really caught our eye, as it’s the brand’s cheapest coffee machine to date – and we’ve reviewed it in true IndyBest fashion. So, keep reading below to see why this cheap and cheerful machine deserves a spot on your kitchen counter, and how you can get it for just £50.

How we tested

Testing a coffee machine is rather self-explanatory. Ultimately, it only needs to do one thing: make a delicious brew. But we actually found that size, shape and sound really do matter. And, of course, how easy it was to use was also a key consideration.

Testing out the entirety of the new Nespresso Christmas range, we tried making everything from shots of espresso to bigger cups of black coffee, to see what this machine was really made of.

Nespresso vertuo pop

Dimensions: W136mm x D426mm x H250mm

Weight: 3.5kg

Water tank capacity: 600ml

Energy consumption rating: A+

Heat-up time: 30 seconds

Special features: Bluetooth connectivity to phone

Design

The first thing to note about this coffee machine is its colour. While most models come in black, the vertuo pop comes in six different shades, with a pop of colour on the lid – from aqua mint (our tone of choice) to white, red, yellow or blue. There’s also a full black model for those who prefer things nice and simple.

The second thing to note is its size. Measuring in at just 25cm tall and 13.6cm wide, this machine is one of the smallest in the Nespresso coffee-machine family. Small but mighty, it should slot onto most people’s kitchen countertops without too much appliance re-jigging. Weighing in at just 3.5kg, if you have a large cupboard and won’t be using the machine every day, it’s also incredibly easy to store away until you need it.

Read more: Best independent coffee brands

The water tank – often the least aesthetic part of any coffee machine – sits at the back, meaning it’s hidden from sight, and simply pops out, so you can refill it like a cup from the tap. The small cup holder/overspill tray can be left on, to hold up tiny espresso cups, or removed completely, so bigger mugs can fit.

It’s all incredibly sleek and streamlined, so for those after fuss-free appliances, we couldn’t find any faults. All used pods are stored in a tray inside, which can be pulled out and thrown away, and one simple button on the top is all you need to press.

How to use

The official product description of this coffee machine is incredibly swanky – if tech specs get your engine going, we encourage you to give them a read. Centrifusion technology, code analysing capsules and automatic blend recognition are just a handful of the high-tech aspects of this machine.

But, for those who don’t want to be bored by the goings-on behind their brew, it’s essentially very easy to get a great cup of coffee.

Working with the Nespresso vertuo pods – the larger size of the two available – you can unlock the lid of the machine by pushing the small lever to the right. Pop in the pod, push the lid back down – it needs a fairly firm press – and push the button on the top to get the coffee pouring within 30 seconds.

As long as you have water in the tank, your pod of choice on the top and a cup ready to collect, your job is done. Just be sure to press the button again to turn off the tap, once you’ve got enough in your cup.

Once you lift the lid back up, to use the machine again, it cleverly flips the old pod into its self-contained bin compartment – so you don’t have to do too much clean-up either. Need we say more?

How to clean

Every now and again, you’ll need to clean your machine, but we promise it isn’t too much of a hardship. It’s a good idea to use fresh water in the tank daily, to keep things fresh and flowing. But if you do go for a short (or long) period of not using the machine, it’s best to do the following before making coffee again, to get any old water out of the pipes.

Fill the tank with fresh water, ensure no capsules are inside and place a large bowl or tub underneath the coffee outlet. Press the coffee button three times and let the machine do the work. It takes around seven minutes, and the coffee machine will light up when done – voila.

To descale, Nespresso recommends using the brand’s own descaling agent (£9, Nespresso.com ). If your machine starts blinking orange, it’s time to descale. Follow a similar process to the one above, with the addition of the descaler in the tank, and hold the coffee button down for seven seconds. Repeat a clean rinse cycle, dry for 10 minutes, then you’re good to go.

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The verdict: Nespresso vertuo pop

The Nespresso vertuo pop took up a tiny spot on our kitchen countertop and will be remaining in that space forever more. With its bright pop of colour, tiny size and quick and easy coffee-making capabilities, we only have good things to say about this cost-cutting coffee machine. For anyone looking for a quick and easy cup of coffee, we don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

If you want to get really fancy, you can pair your machine to the Nespresso app on your phone for updates on when to descale, when to clean and any possible system errors, too. But this definitely isn’t an essential element. There are also some very helpful YouTube step-by-step videos, explaining the setup, cleaning and trouble-shooting processes, so no need to stress about reading the instructions.

The only possible downside is that, while the machine comes in at less than £100, you will need to buy the Nespresso vertuo coffee capsules. These range in price from around 50p per pod and can be bought in larger multipacks or on a subscription basis, to keep the cost down, too.

Right now, if opting for the subscription, the machine will only cost £50, plus £25 a month if signing up to receive two latte’s a day. Which definitely works out much cheaper than store-bought coffees. You can also recycle your pods easily, by signing up to the brand’s recycling programme.

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