Nespresso vs. Caffeluxe: Capsule Machines Compared
Nespresso need a lot of credit for being the pioneers of capsule coffee machines and have created a remarkable culture around capsule coffee. Nespresso were not the first capsule creators but they were the first to blow it up on a big scale. Beautiful stores, coupled with beautiful marketing and of course George Clooney brings a level of excitement not seen before to the home coffee market. Although Nespresso is a premium brand, their coffee is often seen to be “overpriced” especially in markets outside of Europe. In Europe a capsule sells for around 30c (in Euros) whereas in South Africa the cost is approximately double. Because of this Caffe Luxe was born. Caffeluxe aims to bring coffee capsules to the South African (and International market) at a far lower price than Nespresso. In this article we compare Nespresso vs. Caffe Luxe in terms of cost, availability, machine reliability, aesthetics, quality and taste.
Cost:
As mentioned Caffe Luxe is your economical capsule coffee option. Coffee Machines sell for between R800-R1500 and coffee is priced at around R4.00 per capsule. Caffe Luxe has also partnered with a number of coffee brands like Vida E and offers these capsules at slightly higher prices
Nespresso coffee machines start at around R1600 and go up to the R7000 mark. The big cost however is in the capsules with capsules priced between R6.30 and R7.2o excluding delivery
Caffe Luxe 1 – 0 Nespresso
Quality and Taste
Caffe Luxe use good coffees but Nespresso has access to some of the best coffee farms around the world. Also Nespresso’s packaging process is considerably more advanced compared to Caffe Luxe and for this reason we have to go for Nespresso here. Unfortunately both pods are only 5g per pod and therefore you don’t get a true Italian espresso which is typically 7.5g
Caffe Luxe 1 – 1 Nespresso
Machine Reliability
We have tested both Nespresso and Caffe Luxe machines for a number of years and we still haven’t had one break on us. Although both these systems aren’t intended for large commercial use, for general home use you can expect both to last a good amount of time
Caffe Luxe 2 – 2 Nespresso
Aesthetics:
No doubt here the Nespresso system does look classier than the Caffe Luxe machines. If style is what you are after then Nespresso has to be the winner here
Caffe Luxe 2 – 3 Nespresso
Availability:
Nespresso capsules are only available through one of their boutique stores or through online ordering (where you need to take 5 of the same capsule and on top of that pay R150 for delivery)
Caffe Luxe is available online and through a number of outlets like Dischem, Pick n Pay and Checkers. It can be painful to not be able to get your coffee once you get hooked on it
Caffe Luxe 3 – 3 Nespresso
Conclusion
Both the Nespresso and Caffe Luxe systems are good systems and which one is right for you really depend on what you are looking for. If you feel neither of these systems are right for you have a look our article capsules vs. beans to learn more
Note that Aquaspresso and all affiliates thereof are in no way associated with or stockists of Nescafe, Nestle or Nespresso Products. The views expressed in this article are not those of the company or publisher.
