Review - Delonghi Nespresso Latissima Pro

We've always wanted an espresso machine. 

But the fully-automated types we liked were really expensive, and seemed to be somewhat difficult to use. 

The Delonghi Latissima Pro Nespresso machine solves one of those problems. ...

Yes, it's still expensive. 

Really expensive. 

The machine will run you $500 or more, and each espresso pod that you use will cost as much as $1.

But the Latissima Pro is just ridiculously easy to use. 

And the coffee drinks that you can create are every bit as good as what you'll pay $3-5 for at a coffee shop. 

The primary selling point for the Latissima series is that the milk process is completely automated. No wands. 

You fill the back tank with water, fill the front tank with milk. 

Push a button (i.e., "Cappucino"), and the drink is created right in front of you -- the milk is steamed and added directly to your cup, and then the espresso is added. 

There are 6 "preset" buttons - 3 different sizes of espresso on the left ("ristretto" is the smallest, then "espresso", then the largest, "lungo"). 

There are 3 different milk-based presets on the right - a latte macchiato, a cappuccino, and plain-old steamed milk. 

By the way, the blog Coffeetov.com has a handy chart showing the difference between a latte, a cappuccino and a macchiato:

The Latissima Pro takes care of all of this for you. It's literally as easy as pushing a button. 

Now, you may ask - what about other drinks? Can I make a caffe au lait? Heck, what about the latte in the graph above?

This is where the Latissima Pro really shines - you can customize just about anything. If you want your drinks larger, you can customize each preset. 

And if you're making cafe au lait, for instance (we are working our way through a Cafe du Monde coffee and chicory can, and you NEED that steamed milk!), you just use your drip coffee maker, and use the Latissima to add your milk. 

I picked up 50 Nespresso pods on Amazon Prime for about $40. 

80 cents per drink is still pricey, but it's a whole lot better than Starbucks prices (I'm paying more than $2 for drip coffee), and it's actually better than Nespresso retail prices. 

Yes, I'm also interested in the idea of third-party Nespresso pod makers, and even the "reusable" pods where you actually grind the beans yourself. But for now, the simplicity of the Nespresso system has been a major selling point. 

Four stars. Even though it's got nothing to do with Apple or iOS.