Nespresso Pixie Espresso Maker, Red

I have had the Pixie in red for three weeks now. Due to several other reviews I had read on Amazon, I purposely purchased it in a local retail store for the convenience of easy returns in case it suffered from leaks or any other issues.

I am SO glad I gave it a chance. Not only is is minuscule compared to the semi-automatic machine that it is replacing on my kitchen island, but it is very fast, problem free and really a joy to use. It truly does heat up in an instant. I click the power switch and before I've chosen a capsule from the spinner Nifty Nespresso Coffee Carousel and popped it in, the machine is ready to go.

My kitchen is such that I don't have to move the machine one bit to remove and refill the water tank, and the tank fits perfectly in my fridge door water dispenser. It may be that by not moving the... Read more

I wanted to love this Pixie, I really did. As a Nespresso addict with a C101 and a CitiZ, this seemed like a logical next step to espresso nirvana. Lower power consumption, faster start-up times, smaller footprint - what's not to like? Oh, and Made in SWITZERLAND too - my other Nespressos had already been outsourced to a foreign supplier.

Unfortunately, the Pixie arrived with the water reservoir already cracked. Odd since it was in the original, unopened box and also sent well by Amazon (double boxed).

On closer inspection, the cracks in the reservoir were along stress lines of the cover. Two design faults of the new model are 1. the cover of the reservoir has clips which go into the coffee maker and steady it - since the reservoir is plastic however, those stresses over time will crack the reservoir along where the clips are and 2. to keep a low profile, the reservoir base sits directly on the counter, not on a separate base (see CitiZ for better design). MORE... Read more

We have owned the Nespresso CitiZ for a year and have been very happy with it. Recently we also bought the Nespresso Pixie for our vacation place and are slightly disappointed with the operation of the machine. Here are our thoughts (listed in no particular order):

PROS:
- Small footprint makes this machine well suited for smaller kitchens that don't have a lot of counter space.
- Heats up very quickly, i.e. making coffee is quite fast
- Cute design
- Coffee is very good and hot, with excellent crema, just like it is with the Citiz.

CONS:
- Smaller water reservoir means frequent refilling.
- Reservoir is more difficult to remove than on the Citiz. It clicks into the machine at the top via two plastic 'hooks' which only retract when one opens the reservoir's hinged lid. With the lid open,... Read more