With the warmer days settling in, iced coffee season is officially here. While it’s easy enough to throw together a glass using instant coffee or a batch of cold brew, the results often fall short of that smooth, barista-made finish – and cold brew itself takes hours of planning ahead.
If you want something quicker without compromising on taste, Nespresso’s vertuo up is designed to bridge that gap, delivering café-style iced coffee at the touch of a button (as well as hot drinks for when the sunshine inevitably fades).
Nespresso has long dominated the pod coffee scene, but its “vertuo machines are next level,” explained Rachael Penn when she tested a range of the best coffee machines. Pushing things further with more versatility and consistently strong results, this particular model is impressive, especially for those who want convenience without sacrificing quality.
Released in the UK earlier this April, the vertuo up can brew everything from a quick lungo to a full mug or even a carafe, making it adaptable to whatever your day – or the weather – calls for. After hands-on testing, Penn described it as the standout option. “If you’re looking for an excellent pod model, this is the best Nespresso coffee machine I’ve tested,” she concluded.
If you’re considering a coffee machine that can handle iced drinks just as well as your morning hot cup, here’s how the vertuo up stacks up.
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Nespresso vertuo up
When it comes to ice drinks, this is where the vertuo up excels. With its new dedicated button for a concentrated brew, you can make an ice coffee in an instant. Just pop in the iced coffee pod, select the ice brew function and voila.
Our tester tried an iced latte and was “really impressed”, adding that it didn’t taste bitter. “If it was in a takeout cup, I’d have been convinced it was from a well-known coffee chain”, Penn praised.
Aside from cold brew, she noted that one of her favourite features is how quickly the new model heats up, making it ideal for those moments when you’re craving a hot drink and don’t want to wait around for the kettle to boil.
Not only that, Penn loved that you can adjust where the water tank sits, which is a life saver if you have a smaller kitchen. “It can go to the left, right or directly behind the machine, making it ideal for pushing into the corner,” she explained.
So, if you want a machine that can whip up refreshing iced coffees in the summer and still deliver a great hot cup when the temperature drops, the vertuo up is well worth a look.
Buy now £179.99, Amazon.co.uk
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