DeLonghi - CitiZ Limousine Black (EN167B, D112-US-BK-NE)

There's a key question you need to ask yourself (or bette yet, ask her) - Does she want to \*actually\* make real espresso, and deal with the learning curve and frustration of starting in to this hobby? Or does she want pushbutton operation that makes pseudo espresso, such as Nespresso? These are fundamentally different paths to go down, and entirely different machines. One way I'd try and gauge this, is to see if she has mentioned something like "I love the machines in Airbnb's, but the quality is disappointing compared to my favorite cafe..." If she wants better, you still have to be certain she's up for the challenge of making real espresso at home! Otherwise, she might get overwhelmed with the difficulty, because it's really easy to get discouraged and make bad espresso. Obviously after the learning part, the ability to make real espresso at home results in a much better cup than what is possible from a pod machine, but it's not necessarily an easy process. As others have mentioned, if she is completely satisfied with the coffee she gets in Airbnb's, easy decision - get her a Nespresso machine! I like this one: [https://www.nespresso.com/us/en/order/machines/original/nespresso-citiz-limousine-black-refresh](https://www.nespresso.com/us/en/order/machines/original/nespresso-citiz-limousine-black-refresh) I think the original line of Nespresso pods produces a better coffee than the centrifuge ones.

I'm a coffee snob and would never have even tried a pod machine (apart from desperation in hotel rooms) but I read, this is years ago now, that the swanky restaurants in Manhattan were all using Nespresso machines. I got one and I absolutely adore it. I thought it was so good I bought one of their new machines that do more than espresso, assuming it would be even better. It is not. The original line Nespresso is the way to go. The copyright on those pods is also expired so you can get all kinds of different coffees for the machine. You cannot do that for the new version. 

I have the Citiz as well and love it. I was just wondering how the Ninja stacks up against it. 

You don't need to pick which one is more faster cause it only took seconds to minute, I honestly dont think it matters. For Citiz and essenza, those are original line coffee machines, smaller capsule. Vertuo lines are good too. The difference between vertuo and original line is the extraction method. The original line uses pressure to extract coffee from capsules while the vertuo uses bar code for reading and then it identifies the volume of your coffee. You might consider the creatista so you could easily make coffee in just one press, it automatically adds milk depending on your coffee choice. Also the cup size, in vertuo you need larger cup size so if you like large cup of coffee you should go with vertuo. I have tried both vertuo and original line. I tried pixie, Citiz and creatista from original line and there is no big difference in the coffee extraction really. For vertuo, I tried vertuo plus and it's really good.

if you want flat blacks then the vertuo is good option as the machine is cheaper, but you are limited to buying the pods from nespresso and they are more exepensive than the original line (OL). OL line is better for espresso and milk ones - and can do a decent job with flat black (with some trial and error) - the pods are cheaper than the vertuo pods at nespresso and you can get a host of even cheaper 3rd party options (local stores - country/state dependant or via online like amazon etc) - though the cons are the machines are more expensive. If you are going for a citiz or pixie (OL) or similar I think you are hitting the sweet spot. If you are going for a more costly machine like the latissimo or sage then you might want to consider/look at decent bean to cup model as they are in similar price range and while not quite as convient and take larger space you technically can get a cheaper cup from them.

I have a Nespresso Citiz about to celebrate its 10th birthday. Quite happy with the machine.

The Ninja coffeemaker is far superior to Keurig. Keurig quality has gone downhill. I have Nespresso Citiz( which I love) used original capsules and Ninja( which is much better than keurig) it gives you many options. https://preview.redd.it/sug50ib43ybf1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f24a8abbf0c25af156d0d4e83511c489b89526af

Personally; I like the Citiz. I have had this machine for 15 years and it works the same as the first day. It’s a really heavy unit. Mostly stainless steel. There are two buttons on top that you can program how long of a drip. I use the first as a double expresso size and the second one I have programmed for 10 oz so I can make a latte or ice coffee. I use the strongest coffee capsule to accomplish this. I also have the Nespresso Frother. It will froth both hot and cold. I have never had a problem with that. I know friends that have the Nespresso Vertuo and they seem happy with that. It just depends on your needs . I like really strong coffee.

I had a sage barista express for years. Switched to OL nespresso citiz. I just needed a quick coffee in the morning without having to worry about grinding beans, throwing them away etc. the nespresso is just so much quicker. To be honest not noticed much difference in coffee taste. Wasn’t much of a connoisseur anyway and mostly used syrups. Probably prefer the nespresso because of the different flavours I can get without having to use syrups.

I personally can't stand the taste of Vertuo pods. I've had my Pixie since 2013, and it's still going strong. OLs offer me more flexibility—I can just have an espresso, or add hot water to make an Americano coffee. Pods are also cheaper than VL. I use a 3rd party Italian-made Passalacqua Manhoa pods. They're superior to some of the native pods, albeit they pull a bit slower, which is not uncommon for 3rd party. Plus, I paid $40 for 100 pods ($50 now, presumably from tarrifs). Machines like Essenza, Pixie, or Citiz are simple and have the same pressure and output as the more expensive models with frothers, milk containers, or other bells and whistles, which to me, is not worth the extra hundreds of dollars.

While I understand your take, I think it is still your best bet to offer pod style machines (I would say Nespresso Originaline for espresso, and your current K Cup machine for coffee, or upgrade it to a vertuoline for better coffee). The reality is that machines that grind beans require a lot more care AND if your client wants a specific bean, they’re better off just heading out for a nice local cafe. Anyhow, you can always just try this out but in the end it’ll likely just be at your expense with little to no upside.