I tested the Nespresso Pixie coffee machine - it's now a morning staple in my small kitchen

The Nespresso Pixie pod coffee machine is one of Nespresso's best-selling and most stylish coffee machines. If you're looking for the best pod coffee machine it would make sense to turn to the brand that made the pod machine a staple in kitchens across the country.

Its popularity is such that everyone from large coffee chains like Starbucks to boutique coffee houses like Grind have launched coffee pods that are Nespresso compatible. However, this has also led to other brands jumping on the coffee pod bandwagon so I wanted to see if the OG could still stand out as an excellent coffee machine.

Me and my partner are coffee obsessives, I have a bean-to-cup coffee machine for weekends and a pod coffee machine that sits next to it for speedy weekday mornings. This is how the Nespresso Pixie coffee machine stood up to my kitchen's coffee demands.

Nespresso Pixie Product specs

• Dimensions: 116.6 x 324.2 x 234.6mm
• Water Tank Capacity:
• Heat-up time: 25 seconds
• Weight: 2.4772kg
• Capsule container capacity: 9-11 capsules

Unboxing and setting up

The Nespresso Pixie arrived in a neat cardboard box packed with surrounding cardboard. The only plastic was the small protective bag surrounding the coffee machine itself.

Like most Nespresso machines it was unbelievably easy to set up, simply pull it out of the box, plug it in and coffee's up. You don't need to hunt around in the box for anything that needs slotting into place. Even the drainage tray comes attached.

In a separate box you'll also receive 7 capsules to try from across the Nespresso range which is a great introduction to help you work out your favourite coffee pod type.

The only tricky part we encountered when setting up the Nespresso Pixie was running the initial run-through of water to clean the machine, as recommended by Nespresso. I had to enlist Ideal Home's Kitchen Appliances Editor and coffee machine expert to help work out if I'd correctly pressed the only two buttons to initiate the cleaning programme .

First impressions

The Pixie makes a great first impression in the looks department for a coffee machine under £200. You'll be familiar with this pod coffee machine from many hotel rooms and that's because its design is small but elegant.

The design bucks the trend of pod coffee machines that go heavy on plastic. Instead, the Pixie has a clean black and chrome finish, in a finely tuned body that waste no space on your kitchen worktop. Even the drip tray has been integrated cleverly into the design with a hinge so it can be flipped up and down to accommodate different cup sizes.

The Nespresso Pixie proudly displays that it has a Red Dot design award, 2021, which is well deserved. The only additional flourish is the simple curved handle that elevates it into a sophisticated little coffee machine.

What is it like to use?

The Nespresso Pixie is very easy use, there are only two buttons to press, one for a standard espresso (40ml) or Lungo (110ml) coffee. It uses original Nespresso pods which has the perk that you're not tied into buying coffee pods exclusively from Nespresso.

The mechanism is easy enough to work, when you pull the handle up a compartment on top opens for the pod to be dropped in, then you pull the handle down to pierce it. When the handle is down simply press the button for the size coffee you want. The water heats up very quickly taking around 25 seconds. It put my Breville bean-to-cup coffee machine to shame which takes around 2 minutes to heat up.

When the coffee came out it was in a lovely stream with a good crema, and the machince made minimal noise. However, after using the Nespresso Pixie for a couple of weeks I noticed that the pod-piercing mechanism wasn't foolproof. Occasionally, if I didn't pull hard enough or the pod fell into the slightly wrong position it would deliver a weak and drippy stream of coffee and I'd need to start over again.

Cleaning

Cleaning a Nespresso coffee machine is always quite fiddly, and the Nespresso Pixie is no different. To empty the used pods you just pull the front out which is easy enough to do. However, because the drip tray is slotted in under this compartment you have to take the whole thing out every time you want to empty the tray.

As mentioned at the start of this review I found working out how to run the cleaning programme tricky at the start, but once I figured this out it was easy enough to run regularly. Still, I can't wait for someone to invent a coffee machine or tool that makes it easy to clean in all the hard-to-reach corners of a pod coffee machine, or which there are many in the main compartment that holds the used coffee pods.

How does it compare to other coffee machines?

I unboxed the Nespresso Pixie alongside the Nespresso Vertuo Pop which is Nespresso's other best-selling pod coffee machine. While the Nespresso Pixie (£169) is more expensive than the Vertuo model (£99), you do get the pay-off that you are not tied into using only Nespresso pods with this coffee machine. The Pixie is also a lot smaller in size and only makes small espressos. If you prefer a greater variety in your at-home coffee order the Pixie might not be right for you.

It is one of the most affordable original coffee pod machines that Nespresso sell and comes in at half the price of the Grind coffee pod machine. However, compared to the Phillips L'or Barista Sublime or Lavazza pod coffee machines it is expensive for a machine with quite limited ability.

Final verdict

The only thing I was able to find fault with for the Nespresso Pixie was the price overall. However, there are ways around this if you're able to buyit on sale or opt into a coffee subcription deal.

Overall, it is a sleek and easy-to-use coffee machine that can be used with a huge range of coffee pods. It is best suited for fans of a short black coffee, if you enjoy a latte or cappuccino while you can invest in a milk frother you could save more space on your countertop with the Sage Nespresso Creatista that has a built-in milk steamer.

But if you're looking for a well-designed coffee machine that is built to last this is a great little coffee machine.