Nespresso CitiZ Coffee Machine Review (Our Take)

There are two most important days in your life. The day you were born, and the day you buy your first Nespresso machine. But whether you’re just joining the Nespresso party, or upgrading your existing machine, don’t fret, this article will help you out.

In this article, we’re going to take a look at the Nespresso CitiZ and Nespresso CitiZ with Milk – which comes with an inbuild docking station for Nespresso Aerocinno milk frother.

What we like the most about this machine is its simplicity. We’ve tested a lot of Nespresso machines over the years, and this one has everything you need, and nothing more than that. It features a large water tank, big capsule tray, and milk frother – which takes it to the next level over the base models like the Essenza. You also aren’t having to pay an arm and a leg for extras like a steam wand or stainless steel aesthetics that hardly get used (read: Creastista).

The CitiZ is just one of those machines every household or office can’t function without. You can count on it for your caffeine fix in the morning. Or more cups of coffee whenever you feel like sipping more coffee. 

This article will tell you why you need to get the Nespresso CitiZ with Milk for the kitchen or office. But before dive in, first things first:

What is the Nespresso CitiZ?

We recently reviewed the top four Nespresso machines and found the Nespresso CitiZ Espresso Machine by De’Longhi to be the best all-round machine on the market!

The Nespresso CitiZ is an elegant, no-frills single-serve pod espresso maker. It comes with a slim design that can fit comfortably in even the tiniest kitchens, and in a matter of seconds, you’ll be sipping your coffee.  

This machine won the red dot design award in 2017. Its sleek and stylish design complements any kitchen counter or office kitchenette. The Nespresso CitiZ espresso machine is our overall winner for being the best balance of value for money, providing great functionality, and looks great in any setting. It also makes a pretty good coffee!

Key Features:

• Red Dot Design Award Winner
• Warm up: 25 – 30 seconds
• Energy saver: 9 minutes auto shutdown
• Removable water reservoir: 1L
• Used pods tray: 9 pods
• Weight: 4.05 Kg

This machine features the standard 2 buttons for espresso and lungo options. You can also make a restretto by presing the start button again to tell the machine to stop early.

The CitiZ can be ordered with or without the Aeroccino milk frother, though we recommend paying the little bit extra to get barista quality milk at the touch of a button.

The used capsule holder will accommodate 9 to 11 pods and the water tank holds a massive 1 litre (34 ounces) which is a little bigger than the Essenza mini. This means the Nespresso CitiZ is well equipped for large families or small office kitchenettes where you need to pump out a lot of coffees in one day.

The CitiZ has an auto-off feature that kicks in after 9 minutes of non-use to help you save money on the energy bill. It also is more durable than most machines because it’s made with mostly steel components, rather than the plastic substitutes used in the cheaper models. This means you should be able to keep making quality coffees long into the future.

We firmly believe The Nespresso CitiZ Is the best all-round Nespresso machine on the market at the moment and it’s the one we use every day here at The Green Pods. You can pick one up for yourself here on Amazon, which is usually slightly cheaper than you can get in-store.

What kind of coffee can I make with Nespresso CitiZ with Milk?

The good thing about Nespresso is, regardless of what machine you buy, and how much it cost, you’ll always get the same great tasting cuyp of coffee – because (with the exception of VertuoLine) the pods don’t vary between machine.

With the CitiZ we can choose from the Espresso (40ml) and Lungo (110ml), the fast 25-second heat-up time, and simple one-touch buttons means that you can go from “I want coffee” to “I have coffee” in less than 60 seconds!

You can go from “I want coffee” to “I have coffee” in less than 60 seconds!

You can use it to prepare perfect milk froth or hot milk. Also, to brew an endless number of milk-based coffee recipes for you and your family. It comes with a 19 bar high-performance pump that extracts each coffee capsule’s delicate flavor and premium aromas. Indeed, the Nespresso CitiZ with milk lives up to its hype. To say it performs well, will be an understatement. It delivers the kind of coffee that is out of this world. Something that will make you look forward to your coffee every morning. 

Dimensions of the CitiZ 

One thing I like about the CitiZ is that it doesn’t take a lot of space. You have an option to put it in your compact home kitchen or office. This user-friendly machine has a width of 5.1″, a height of 10.9″, and a depth of 14.6″.

Durability

If you are looking for a coffee maker that will last you a lifetime, then the CitiZ is for you. Once you buy it, you know that it will last you for many years before you replace it.

• It has a sturdy design.
• It comes with a two-year warranty.
• Its stainless frame allows it to stand up to daily use.

If you’re interested in getting the most out of your new purchase, then follow our guide on how to increase the life of your Nespresso machine, for a few tips.

What makes Nespresso CitiZ unique? 

There are few capsule coffee maker that comes with unique features like the Nespresso Citiz. You will love everything about it, from its design to its magnificent design that adds a touch of elegance to your coffee drinking rituals. 

Here is what makes it a sought after coffee machine:

• It can prepare perfect milk froth and hot milk fast.
• It has a stunning design that sets it apart from other coffee makers.
• It has an auto shut-off feature that turns it off after every nine minutes.
• It takes only 25 seconds to heat up your cup of coffee.
• It has a 19-bar pressure.
• It comes with a retro-modern design with options for stainless steel, and all black.

Is the Nespresso Citiz easy to use?

Yes! Every coffee lover deserves a machine that doesn’t take forever to figure out. Something that you can unpack, plug, and start brewing coffee instantly.

The Nespresso Citiz with Milk fits that category very well. All the features of the Nespresso Citiz are easy to use. Take, for instance, the two programmable buttons with automatic flow-stop. All you have to do is press one of those two buttons, then the wall, your machine will start brewing your cup of coffee. You don’t have to wait for minutes to taste your first cup of coffee. 

What I love most is that each button is one-touch. You can program it to suit your needs by selecting the right volume for each brew. This allows you to exactly dial in the amount of coffee to water you are getting – which barista call the ‘brew ratio’!

Aeroccino milk frother

Fancy a light and creamy cup of coffee? Try the Aeroccino milk frother. I’ve got one phrase to describe it, “super cool.”  And you don’t have to take out your manual to use it. Even technophobes would love it. 

 Pour in the milk, press the button and wait. The Aeroccino will prepare your cup of coffee in seconds!

• The Aeroccino frother works like magic.
• You can adjust amount of foam pressing and holding the brew button.

Cleaning your CitiZ 

We’ve done the research and found 4 easy tips to improve the lifespan of your Nespresso machine and the most important thing we found was that regular cleaning and descaling is crucial to getting the most out of your coffee machine.

To clean the CitiZ we generally follow the procedure below:

Cleaning after each use:

• Close the lever and run through an espresso extraction without a capsule to rinse the machine.
• Empty the used capsule tray and rinse out if required.
• Wipe down the body of the machine with hot soapy water
• Refil the water tank.
• Wash the aeroccino frother with hot water (don’t use soap as this can ruin your next milk foam).

Cleaning once a month:

• Start by following the Nespresso CitiZ descaling process below.
• Wait for a few minutes before you wash it. First, allow cooling down, especially before putting on or taking off parts. 
• Unplug your machine before cleaning it.
• Use an old toothbrush to scrub the coffee gunk from inside the capusle holder.
• Always make sure the Aeroccino area is dry before you resume using it.
• Never put the bottom nor the Aeroccino in water or other cleaning liquid as this will corrode the electrical contacts!
• Do not use a dishwasher to clean it.

Descaling

One expense we tend to forget is the cost (and time) involved in properly caring for and cleaning your coffee machine. But like any piece of equipment, a coffee machine needs to be looked after in a regular maintenance cycle to make sure it lasts for years to come.

The Nespresso user manual recommends you descale your machine every three months. If you drink a lot of coffee, you should also descale it every 300 capsules (or whatever comes first). Some models have a light on the machine that blinks when you need to descale which serves as a helpful reminder.

Descaling is a process where you pass an acidic solution through the machine’s pipework to dissolve the calcification and mineral built up from salts in your tap water.

The descaling kit sold on the Nespresso website cost $20 and contains 2 doses. That’ll last you six months. So, we’ll add a total of $40 per year to the bill.

[link to biodegradable cleaner]

You may also like to check out our complete guide on how to clean your Nespresso machines below:

• How to descale your Nespresso Inissia coffee machine.
• How to descale your Nespresso Pixie coffee machine.
• How to descale your Nespresso U coffee machine
• How to descale your Lattissima Touch coffee machine
• How to descale your Nespresso CitiZ coffee machine

How is the performance of Nespresso CitiZ?

Pros:

Overall, I was impressed with the performance of the Nespresso CitiZ. It just made brewing a cup of coffee fun and easy.

When it comes to performance, the Nespresso CitiZ is leading the pack. When we bought our machine, there was an entire set of taster capsules to try out. This is a nice little bonus when you are so excited to get your new machine unboxed and running!

Comiing from recently using the Essenza mini, it was also nice to have a larger water tank and used capsule tray.

Cons:

There’s not much to dislike about the CitiZ.

It would be nice to have a dedicated Ristretto button. We had to stop the Espresso shot early to get a ristretto which is fine, but not ideal on a $300 coffee machine.

How much power does a Nespresso machine use?

Another expense that is often ignored is the cost of electricity needed to run your appliance. Fortunately, Nespresso machines have been designed to only heat up water when it’s needed which makes them incredibly electrically efficient.

Your Nespresso machine only draws a lot of power when it’s first turned on (to heat the water from room temperature) and when you run the extraction (bringing new cold water into the boiler).

If we look at the Nespresso Citiz, it takes 25 seconds to heat up and then will take around 30-40 seconds to extract your coffee. Its built-in energy saver mode will then automatically shut down the machine 9 minutes later.

The CitiZ is rated to use 1710W of electricity. Making 4 cups of coffee each day (with the info we have), we can estimate an annual power consumption of around 42kWh. At a power price of $0.25/kWh, the cost of electricity will be around $10 annually to run your machine.

How does the Nespresso CitiZ with Milk fare against other coffee makers?

Over the years, I owned several terrible espresso makers, and the CitiZ is not one of them. I can’t imagine life without this straightforward coffee machine. The best part is, it doesn’t cost a lot but can still offer what other expensive devices can’t. 

Features that set it apart from other machines:

• A programmable auto-off feature and turns off my machine after running for nine minutes. With other devices, you still have to switch them off manually after every brew.
• It comes with a capsule container that holds between nine and eleven capsules. What’s more, the CitiZ does not eject used capsules automatically after the brewing is complete, which means it’s super safe.
• It is affordable than some other machines in the market.
• You get the same great tasting coffee as other more expensive coffee machines.

After all this experimentation and research, we’re happy to claim that the CitiZ is our favorite Nespresso machine as it gives you exactly the features you need and nothing you don’t. All for less than $300! Bargain.

Summary and recommendations

Firstly, remember this is just the opinion of a couple of people who have tried using many Nespresso machines and reckon this is the perfect fit for our homes. Whether or not it’s the right machine for you, we can’t say, but hope the information provided is enough to help you on your way to that decision.

Enjoy your fresh coffee every day with your Nespresso CitiZ with milk.