Nespresso Aeroccino [Cooking]

2008 Jun 29
I spent most of this weekend at a cottage with my brother and his wife. Amongst other things, they introduced me to their Aeroccino milk warming/frothing device. My brother originally discovered this gadget while visiting our aunt and uncle in Switzerland. He bought it in the US and had it shipped to an address in Chicago, where he visits frequently for work. Does anyone know if this device is available somewhere in Ottawa? (Home Outfitters appear to carry it, but only as part of a complete Nespresso system.) It would be an ideal companion to the Aeropress coffee maker!

It is very fast, completely silent, simple to clean, and beautiful to look at. It has a temperature sensor, so it heats the milk only as much as needed.

www.nespresso.com
www.singleservecoffee.com

This topic is strangely related to Zymurgist's "building a stir plate" (ottawafoodies.com/forum/1084), since it uses the same technology. Perhaps this could be his next project. ;-)

2008 Jun 30
Fresh Foodie - OK, I'm sold. At $ 79.95 (if I read that right) not a bad purchase... now if I could only afford an espresso machine. :-(

2008 Jun 30
FF - IIRC, I bought mine at CA Paradis. They might have broken open one of the bundle packs in order to get at it. It's what I've been using to keep me in latte-land before shelling out the $800 for the fan-damn-tastic Lattissima EN680 (with built-in cup warmer and automatic milk steamer/frother). Works great, but I haven't tried making milk froth with it so I can't comment on how good the cappuccinos are.

The other option is to call them up and order it directly through them: 800-562-1465.

Switzerland won my heart for selling Nespresso pods at half the price we can get them here.

F&T - Nespresso's still selling their bundle pack of an Essenza C100 plus Aeroccino for $300, although I don't know if that's within price limit or not.

Frigging love my Nespresso.

2008 Jun 30
.. trying ... hard ... to ... resist ... going ... off ... on ... "coffee pod" ... rant ...

2008 Jun 30
Zym.. please do! That being said.. the machine looks pretty cool. It seems that Williams-Sonoma sells it for $100 USD in their American stores, and 'may' sell it in their Canadian stores... hmmmm. road trip to Toronto anyone?

2008 Jul 1
Pete - W-S delivers as well, if you ask. Might be cheaper than the gas to Toronto, if we can't find the separate one here.

2008 Jul 1
Yeah, gas to Toronto and back would be around $100... Yikes! That doubles the price of the Aeroccino. Certainly better to get it shipped if possible.

2008 Jul 1
If any of you do decide to do a road trip to shop in Toronto, I'd be glad to check Williams-Sonoma for you to see if they have what you're looking for.

2008 Jul 5
As follow-up, we had a little dinner party here tonight and I can now attest that the Aeroccino makes an extremely convincing milk foam. Honestly, I don't know how it does it with just a wire whisk and heat.

2008 Jul 7
I bought my Nespresso and Aeroccino from C.A. Paradis (I discovered it while in Italy last year). I cannot live without it-I used to own manual Pavina in which I paid over $1500 for, and I honestly prefer my little capsule eating God! They sold my sister an Aeroccino on it's own a couple of weeks ago, but you have to ask specifically for it. I guess it's hard for them to acquire as well. Good Luck!

2009 Jan 3
An update: Home Outfitters now appear to carry the standalone Aeroccino product both in the stores and online. www.homeoutfitters.com

Price is $100. It's a nice companion for an AeroPress or a Bialetti-style stovetop espresso maker.

2010 Mar 20
I've had a nespresso C100 for 2 years, and it's excellent, quick and convenient. It was rated 5/5 for taste in consumer reports. I recommend it to anyone.

But as for the Aeroccino, save your money. It warms the milk and froths it, but it's not the same as steamed milk which is much nicer. Also, the element that warms the milk (at the bottom of the aeroccino) causes a thin film of milk to cook on the bottom interior which has a non-stick coating. The problem is if you're doing more than one latte, then you need to clean this off between each for fear of causing it to burn. It becomes a real hassle. We now microwave the milk and use a lungo capsule to make real tasty latte's. They don't have the same mouth feel as store-bought ones because of the milk, but the flavour is excellent.

All the best to you, whatever you choose!

2011 Jan 4
I sampled a espresso from the Nespresso machine yesterday at Homeoutfitters. I honestly thought it was great. I am debating in getting the machine that comes with the Aeroccino or buy them separately. Any feedback on this machine would be appreciated. I was also wondering how the ordering of the pods work, is there a shipping cost? I checked out the site and was glad to see that the pods are recyclable.

Selling my Tassimo, best offer.

2011 Jan 4
Poutine, the Nespresso with Aeroccino is by far the most successful gift I ever got my wife (Christmas 2009)! She still loves it, and I do too although I use it quite rarely. The quality is really very good.

There is a shipping cost... it is around $6 per shipment, regardless of size.

The pods are only recyclable in certain European countries. The recycling capability is increasing, but there's no word on when Canada will be included.

The Aeroccino makes surprisingly good foam for cappuccino and a great steamed milk for flat whites and lattes. I do flat whites by pouring milk just to the "cappuccino" line and then using the "latte" (non-spring) spinner attachment.

2011 Jan 4
Perfect! So, would you go for the combo, machine with Aeroccino or buy seperate. In the end, the cost is the same... The machine is 299$ and Aeroccino 99$...Do they ever go on sale?

2011 Jan 4
I still love the Aeropress the most, less waste, not confined to expensive pods, and most importantly it produces AMAZING tasting coffee/espresso'ish shots. Speaking of pod systems, I noticed a LOT of Keurig & Tassimo systems on sale over the holidays... I really hope people did not get one of these abominations. The coffee I've had from Keurig machines tastes HORRIBLE. Any other opinions on these machines? Nespresso makes good tasting coffee & related drinks, but it's an expensive habit.

2011 Jan 4

I was a big hit this holiday with my eggnog lattes from the aeroccino. Identical technique as Fresh Foodie's flat white except eggnog instead of milk. Add a grating or 2 of nutmeg on top to finish.

2011 Jan 4
Poutine, I can't decide for you whether to go with the combo or not. However, I generally lean towards avoiding combos simply because it links the two products -- if one fails, it is harder to replace it without having to replace the other. My Aeroccino is entirely separate from the Nespresso machine (although they came packaged in the same box). That works well for me.

Chimichimi, that's interesting -- I wondered how the Keurig might compare. I also use the Aeropress most of the time, but I have to admit that if I didn't roast my own beans I'd be pretty tempted by the instant gratification of the Nespresso (and the cool sound it makes as it squeezes out your liquid treat).

food fun, great idea for eggnog lattes! I may have to try that one day.

With apologies for the repeat to those of you on my facebook, here's my favourite video entertainment for today...


2011 Jan 4
FF - I've heard different things re: Keurig systems, and perhaps my experience is flawed/outdated because I was using an older model (it was our office coffee maker for a while). I've heard that quality in=quality out with the pods for Keurig, the only coffee I'd want to put through there would be Green Mtn Roasters coffee. They have developed a reusable/refillable pod thing for the Keurig, so that part does appeal to me. If anyone really loves their Keurig, please let me know your experience with it! My experience resulted in short weak cups of coffee. It was pretty terrible.

2011 Jan 4
Chimi, we have a few Keurig machines on the floor here at work. The coffee is free, a rarely use it.... that says it all I think.

FF: Thanks for the input, that is a good point about the combo unit...

2011 Jan 4
I have a Keurig in my office. It is really quite noisy, but it is convenient. I don't have to wash anything but my mug and fill it up with water once in a while.

I bought the reusable filter so I could use my own coffee and it did the JBM up a treat. Really nice. However, I usually just use the K-cups. I have a couple of different blends and a few teas. If anyone on my floor wants one because they're too lazy to go down to the cafeteria, I charge them a buck.

You are not limited to one or two producers who put out their own coffee/tea. There are dozens now. Go to eBay and search for K-cup to see a few.

The pods are available in a lot of different places now, as well: Grand&Toy, FutureShop, CA Paradis, some coffee shops too.

I've found it to be better than the cafeteria coffee and WAY better than the coin-op coffee machine in our break room. (shudder)

2011 Jan 4
Poutine: Sometimes they have "friends and family"-type sales where they have some discounts on machines, but I can't recall when the next one is scheduled. It's probably not worth the wait regardless ;)

2011 Jan 5
Momo: really? at Home Outfitters?

2011 Jan 5
My bad, I should have clarified: the friends-and-family sales are online only.

But look what I did find!

www1.nespresso.com

Buy a $299 machine (or more), get a $50 credit to your account. You need to open an account to buy new capsules, as well as accessories, new machines, etc. etc.

All you have to do is buy by Jan. 17th.

2011 Mar 17
The customer service at Nespresso never ceases to amaze me! We lost the cappuccino whisk for our Aeroccino recently, so I looked for a replacement on the "Nespresso Club" website. Didn't find anything, so I called their customer service number around 3pm yesterday.

The phone was answered immediately by a friendly and professional human being (why is this so rare!?). I explained my problem and she put me on hold for 30 seconds to check inventory. Sure enough, they had replacement whisks in stock. She then took my capsule order as well.

I found the box at my doorstep today when I got home from work. Incredible!

As a bonus, they've redesigned the whisks somewhat. I added a photo I found of the completely redesigned "steamed milk" whisk here. The "frothed milk" whisk is just like the old one but with the same long ball-tipped handle you can see here. $4.95 for the pair -- not unreasonable as far as parts go.

2011 Mar 18
Nice! I've had nothing but good experiences with their customer service people, too.

Although they aren't listed in the catalogues, I'm pretty sure that every spare part you could imagine is available, and at a pretty good price. I was thinking of getting a replacement water tank for my old C100 and they said it would cost all of $6.

They also said that, if you're looking for a spare part, you can do it on-line by asking for it in the "other comments" section of their order form.