Nespresso Latissima Touch

I love good coffee but cannot justify splurging on a high-end fully-automatic machine, so I’ve settled for more affordable models that offer a decent brew. In the past, I’ve had a Starbucks Barista home espresso machine and a CBTL Kaldi with accompanying milk frother. Late last year, I was persuaded to try out a latte macchiato at a Nespresso pop-up store, and that sealed the deal for the Latissima Touch. Here’s my longterm review.

- Maribelle Alba

DESIGN

The Nespresso Latissima Touch is the newest addition to the Nespresso line of coffee machines and has a built-in milk dispenser. It comes in black, gray, or white with chrome accents on the coffee capsule lever on top and the drip trays below. It is compact and industrial-looking and sits nicely on the kitchen counter without taking up too much space.

Made of hard plastic materials, the Latissima Touch weighs only 4.5kg and can be easily stowed out of the way when not in use. In front, on the left-hand side, is a round nozzle for dispensing coffee above which is a lever that you lift to access the capsule container. Below the round coffee outlet is the used capsule drawer which can take about 9-10 capsules. Underneath that is a drip tray that you can push in to accommodate tall drinks.

On the right-hand side, the top surface contains the on/off button, 2 LED indicators for descaling and cleaning, and six tactile beverage buttons. In front, there is a steam connector door that you slide open to attach the milk container. Below this a platform inside which is the descaling pipe.

The milk container itself is cleverly designed with durable plastic parts attached to the lid that are easy to dismantle and clean. There’s a connector to attach the container to the machine, an aspiration tube to suck the milk up through the spout, a milk froth regulator knob, and a cleaning button.

At the rear is the clear plastic water reservoir. To fill up, you can just flip the lid up and pour water in, or you can lift the entire water tank out.

HARDWARE