DeLonghi Essenza Mini Review: “Espresso” on Easy-Mode

Let me start with a confession: this is the first dedicated capsule machine review on this site.

I’m a specialty coffee guy. I have a counter full of grinders, I roast my own beans, and I find the whole ritual of dialing in espresso fun. So a Nespresso machine is, on paper, everything I’m not about.

And yet, after running a small mountain of capsules through the DeLonghi Essenza Mini EN85.B, I came away with more respect for it than I expected. Not because it makes great espresso (it doesn’t), but because it absolutely nails the one job it was designed for.

Let me explain.

What This Machine Is Actually For

Here’s the thing you need to understand about the Nespresso system: you don’t buy it to make award-winning espresso or to geek out on the small details.

You buy it to get a passable coffee without knowing anything at all.

And I mean anything. The entire skill requirement is this: put in a capsule, press the button. That’s it.

Your main job as an Essenza Mini owner is trying different capsule brands until you find one you like. Sure, you could get fancy and use specially filtered water, but let’s be honest, you won’t. You bought this thing for convenience, and tinkering defeats the purpose.

Once you accept that premise, the Essenza Mini starts making a lot of sense.

The Machine Itself

The Essenza Mini is the smallest machine in Nespresso’s original line up. It’s about 11 cm wide (4.3 inch) and 32.4 cm long.

To give you some context the newer generations of iPhones are a bit longer than that. Instead, you need to imagine how long the good old iPhone 4 was — and then you exactly have the width.

The length of the device is very similar to the length of a MacBook Air. The reason I’m bringing all this up is to illustrate how absolutely tiny this is, considering it’s an espresso machine.

Inside, however, it runs the same 19-bar pump system as Nespresso machines costing twice as much.

The interface is simple. You’ve got two buttons: Espresso (40 ml) and Lungo (110 ml). Both are programmable. Hold the button during a brew, release when your cup looks right, and it remembers the volume.

Heat-up takes about 25 seconds. There’s no display, no milk frother (unless you buy the bundle with the Aeroccino), no anything else.

Specification	DeLonghi Essenza Mini EN85.B
Pump pressure	19 bar
Water tank	0.6 L, removable
Heat-up time	~25 seconds
Cup sizes	Espresso 40 ml / Lungo 110 ml (both programmable)
Capsule bin	5-6 used capsules
Width	~11 cm
Capsule system	Nespresso Original (third-party compatible)

Quick note on shopping for one. This machine actually exists in two versions: the rounded, dome-shaped one made by DeLonghi and the boxy rectangular one made by Breville (the C30). Confusing? You bet.

Inside, they’re identical: same pump, same heating element, same coffee. Pick the shape you prefer and whichever is on sale. Besides, the black model I used for the test, the Essenza Mini also comes in a few other striking colors, including red, lemon and off-white.

How Precise Is It, Really?

This is where I got curious, so I measured the output.

The espresso button targets 40 grams of output. Most shots landed right around there, but I also saw shots drift down to 35-38 grams, and occasionally stretch up to 45 grams.

Now, if you’re a coffee snob, that range should make you wince. In a traditional espresso shot, the difference between 35 and 45 grams out is actually huge. That’s the kind of variance would be a concern to a serious home barista.

But here’s the reality check: if you’re a capsule drinker, you’re probably fine with this. One day you’re effectively pulling a ristretto, the next day a slightly long espresso, and there isn’t much system to any of it. You’ll probably never notice the inconsistency.

Convenient? Oh, yes. Ultra precise? Not really.

The Coffee

For most of my testing I used Lavazza’s Tierra Bio Organic Espresso capsules. This points to one of this machine’s biggest advantages: the Essenza Mini runs on Nespresso’s O.G. capsule system. The patent ran out years ago, so it’s now open to all sorts of brands: Lavazza, Starbucks, countless supermarket labels.

Nespresso have more recently tried to reinvent the wheel (and get a new business model protected by a moat with their Vertuo system, where only official capsules work. But the original system works just as well, and you get more choice and lower running costs due to competition from other brands.

So how was the coffee? For this type of capsule: okay. Actually okay.

Let me put it in context, because I think this is the fairest way to judge a machine like this. If I were caffeine-deprived and my alternatives were gas station coffee, airline coffee, or a poorly made cup from a neglected office coffee maker, I’d take the Nespresso almost every single time.

That sounds like faint praise, but it’s actually the machine’s strongest argument.

You see, there’s an uncomfortable truth… outside of specialty coffee communities, most people are not very skilled at making perfectly extracted coffee. (Yes, I’m being diplomatic here 😬).

The Essenza Mini isn’t great, but it’s actually better than what regular homo sapiens produce. That’s a fine achievement for a machine this simple.

One detail worth calling out: the brew temperature is spot on. This isn’t one of those machines that serves up lukewarm coffee. The shots come out hot, and you can actually see steam rising from the machine as it brews.

Espresso brewed at too low a temperature turns sour, and that’s simply not a problem here.

But Is It Actually Espresso?

Here’s where I have to put on my coffee snob hat, because I measured something interesting.

I took a shot that pulled at 42 grams and measured it with a refractometer. The result: 2.83% TDS (total dissolved solids — the standard way to measure coffee strength). And I have to be blunt: that is not real espresso. It’s very far from real espresso.

For context, a standard strong espresso shot sits around 10% TDS. In Italy, it’s common to see espresso measuring 11-12% TDS, especially down in the southern part of the country. I was there last year and measured 29 espresso shots for a big article and video on exactly this topic.

To be fair to the capsules, they’re upfront about the recipe. The packaging states espresso at 40 ml, ristretto at 25 ml, and lungo at 110 ml. But follow those recommendations and you end up with coffee that’s a good deal lighter than real espresso.

So I tried to cheat. I reprogrammed the machine to output just 22 grams instead of the usual 40-42. That shot measured 4.02% TDS. Better, but still not close to espresso level. In fact, that’s very similar to what a moka pot delivers.

Let me be clear: this coffee tastes good. I’m not saying it’s wrong coffee. But it’s important context. Nespresso capsules deliver something that resembles espresso because there is crema. The crema gives it the look, the machine gives it the feeling, but strength-wise it sits somewhere between a moka pot and an americano.

For most people, this is probably not a problem at all. Real espresso is very strong, and it can be difficult to drink if you’re not used to it. Nespresso capsules gives you something that looks like the real thing without requiring taste buds of steel.

Pro tip! If you want something that approaches real espresso strength, the math is simple: reprogram the espresso button to pull a very tiny shot, around 10 grams of output per capsule.

Living With It

A few practical notes from daily use.

The small tank is a non-issue. Yes, 0.6 liters sounds tiny. But this machine sips water. Shots are around 40 grams, there’s no steam wand, and no boiler full of water slowly evaporating. It’s remarkably efficient, and when the tank does run dry, refilling takes seconds, due to its exposed and easily detached nature.

The capsule bin holds 5-6 spent capsules. If you’re like most people drinking one or two capsules in the morning, you’ll empty it every few days. Access is dead simple: pull on the drip tray, the capsule container slides out, tip it in the trash. Done.

Noise is fine. The pump isn’t whisper-quiet, but it’s not bad. And since shots pull fast, whatever noise there is doesn’t last long.

Will It Last?

I’ll be upfront: I tested this machine intensively over a shorter period, so I can’t give you first-hand long-term durability data.

But here’s what I can tell you. With any affordable espresso maker, there are going to be some issues; that’s just the reality of the price bracket. That said, DeLonghi has been in this game for ages, and the Essenza Mini is actually used in hotels, which tells me something about its expected durability. Hotels don’t buy machines that die in a year.

I also own the DeLonghi Stilosa, their budget manual espresso machine, and I really like it. Different style of machine, but I’d assume similar build philosophy: affordable, plastic, but better than the price suggests.

The Cost Question

Specialty coffee snobs like me love to point out that Nespresso capsules are expensive per gram of coffee. And if you only look at the coffee inside the capsule, that’s true.

But run the full calculation and it gets more interesting.

With real espresso, you need a machine and a grinder. You waste shots dialing in; every bag of new beans costs you a few sink shots before things taste right. With the Essenza Mini, there is no dialing in. The capsule maker already ground the coffee and sealed it. You pop it in and get a decent extraction every single time — no waste.

Add it all up and I think the per-cup price lands surprisingly close to home espresso. The trade-off isn’t money, it’s ceiling.

A skillful barista will make better coffee than this machine every day of the week. But a bad barista? They’ll make worse coffee on a real espresso machine. Stale beans, no dial-in, dirty equipment: the Essenza Mini beats all of that.

Conclusion: Espresso Without the Homework

This is ultra-compact, convenient espresso for people who just can’t be bothered.

Is it staying on my counter? No, and that shouldn’t surprise you. I’m into real coffee making, and I find the process itself fun. This machine removes the process entirely, which for me removes the point.

But I know so many people (including close family members who I have given many free lessons espresso fundamentals) who still can’t be bothered with the dedication that regular espresso demands. For them, this is an easy recommendation: it’s affordable, tiny, fast, and it produces coffee that’s better than most of the alternatives.

So overall, I understand the success that has surrounded Nespresso for years, and this is a solid machine to get into it,

Check Price