When it comes to small espresso makers, Nespresso offers a large number of convenient machines for those of you who lack kitchen space or need an appliance for your office. No matter what your preferences are when it comes to your coffee, you’ll probably find what you need among their coffee makers.

Speaking of these small yet powerful appliances offered by Nespresso, one of the most pleasant surprises from this coffee machine producer is the flawless redesign of Essenza, a machine whose production was discontinued for years. Introducing the brand new Essenza Mini, the most compact Nespresso machine, this company has attracted even more customers. However, many of Nespresso’s machines users that have put their trust in Nespresso Inissia, a newer model that is quite similar to Essenza Mini, have been wondering if they’ve made the right decision.

That’s why in this article we’re providing you with detailed information about both coffee makers and the differences between them that may help you make the right decision when buying your Nespresso appliance.

Technical Review of Essenza Mini

Weighing 5 pounds and compactly designed, Essenza Mini is one of the lightest and smallest Nespresso coffee maker so far (4.3 x 8 x 12.8 inches). Additionally, it is also the appliance that lets you choose between two sleek minimalistic designs (box shape and cone shape) and three different colors (black, lime, and red) which makes it easily fit anywhere, from your kitchen to your office.

Essenza Mini uses OriginalLine capsules and it works thanks to 19-bar pressure, providing you with two programmable cup sizes, Espresso and Lungo. When it comes to its capacity, this handy appliance has an easily removable water reservoir with the capacity of 20.3 oz, while the capsule drawer may store up to six used capsules.  Additionally, it includes an eco-friendly mode that activates after three minutes of energy consumption and it also automatically switches off if you don’t use the machine for more than nine minutes, which is another valuable way of saving energy.

Technical Review of Nespresso Inissia

Until Essenza reappeared in the form of Essenza Mini, Inissia was the smallest and extremely popular espresso maker, and this is owed to its awesome performances. Let’s check what its main features are.

Inissia is a coffee maker whose dimensions are 4.7 x 12.6 x 9 inches and it can also provide you with two types of brewing options – espresso and lungo. It is available in four colors, including black, silver, titan, and red, and it provides you with coffee thanks to its 19-bar pressure pump. It also has the eco-friendly automatic shut off mode, and it comes with a removable reservoir, whose capacity is 24 oz. Just like Essenza, this appliance has a drawer for used capsules and it can store from 9 to 11 capsules at once.

Differences between Essenza Mini and Inissia

Inissia was one of the smallest and most efficient coffee makers in the market until the producer introduced Essenza Mini and discontinued the production of Inissia. This decision regarding Inissia is not surprising having in mind that these two appliances are pretty much similar in the majority of aspects:

• They come with no built-in grinders
• They cannot operate with ground coffee
• They use the same 19-bar pressure pump
• They both have the removable drip tray
• They can be programmed to brew espresso and lungo
• They both work only with the original Nespresso capsules (OriginalLine)
• They are commonly bought with milk frother since they don’t include them
• They both require from 15 to 25 seconds for the appliance to warm up enough to brew coffee

Still, there are some differences that may help the picky customers get the right coffee machine. Below, we’re going to discuss some crucial differences between Essenza Mini and Inissia, both coming from De’Longhi.

1. Essenza Mini occupies less space.

So, as you can see comparing their dimensions, Essenza Mini is a more compact solution than Inissia, since it is about 3 inches smaller in width and the incredible 5 inches smaller in depth. And even though their heights are pretty much the same, Essenza is definitely a more handy and convenient appliance since it requires less space than its rival.

2. Inissia has a larger capacity.

If you are willing to invest in a coffee machine with more capacity, you may want to go for Inissia: First of all, it provides a larger water tank – it’s reservoir is about 3.7 oz larger than the one that comes with Essenza Mini.

Secondly, while Essenza can provide you with 4 cups of lungo coffee, with Inissia, you can prepare up to 9 cups of coffee before refilling the water tank.

Finally, when it comes to the capacity of the container for used capsules, Inissia also wins the competition – while Essenza Mini can only store about 6 capsules, Inissia can store from 9 to 11 capsules at a time.

3. Essenza Mini is quiet and energy efficient.

For those of you looking for a quiet coffee machine, you may want to consider Essenza Mini since it is definitely not as noisy as Inissia and it uses the energy more efficiently, even though they both have the same automated system that turns off the appliance if you don’t use it for 9 minutes.

4. Inissia has an awesome design.

Even though Essenza comes in two different shapes and you can choose among three interesting colors, many customers actually agree that Inissia has a much modern design – the elegance of this appliance lies in its simplicity and a well-thought offer of colors that make it look more expensive than it actually is.

Which Nespresso appliance is better for you?

As it’s stated by Nespresso, both of these appliances provide a high-quality coffee in no time and that’s the most important thing for coffee lovers. But there’s always an extra feature that helps the buyers make a decision. However, when it comes to Essenza and Inissia, there’s really no major difference – they even have a pretty similar price – so you’ll really have to think about the tiny details.

On the one hand, if you want a coffee maker with a larger capacity, you should go for Inissia. On the other hand, if it’s important for you that you have a quiet machine that will occupy less space, then Essenza may be a better choice. Finally, if it’s important for you to have a coffee maker that visually fits your kitchen or your office, you may want to check which design and color suit your needs in the best way.