Best Nespresso Capsules for Original and Vertuo Machines

The cheapest way to run an Original machine — 120 compatible capsules, six blends, about 32 cents each.

Bestpresso is a third-party aluminum capsule for OriginalLine machines. The coffee is decent rather than great, but at a third of Nespresso's own price and with six blends to rotate, it is the value anchor of this page.

The best-tasting Original capsule by most accounts that isn't Nespresso's own — Lavazza's four-blend box at about 50 cents.

Lavazza's aluminum capsules are the closest a third-party gets to Nespresso's extraction, and the Maestro blends are proper Italian espresso: crema, sweetness, no harshness. The variety box covers light to dark.

A Cuban-style dark espresso in an 80-count aluminum box at about 55 cents — the bulk dark-roast pick.

La Llave is Don Francisco's Latin espresso brand, and the capsule is bold, sweet and dark without the ash. If you like Ristretto-strength coffee and want 80 at once, this is it.

Starbucks' licensed Original capsules, five blends across roasts, about 57 cents each — the sampler with the Starbucks taste.

Made by Nespresso under license, so these brew exactly like Nespresso's own. Five blends from Blonde Espresso to Espresso Roast; a good way to find which Starbucks roast you want in the 50-count single boxes.

Pike Place as a lungo-style Original capsule, 50 count at about 57 cents — the Starbucks medium in your machine.

A medium roast designed for the longer pour, so it drinks like a Starbucks coffee rather than a tight espresso. The 50-count is the only size, and the per-capsule price matches the variety box.

The big Nespresso box — 100 Ispirazione capsules across the Italian-city blends, about 87 cents each.

Same reference quality as the 50-count, in the size that makes sense for a daily drinker. The Ispirazione range is Nespresso's Italian-style core: Napoli, Roma, Firenze Arpeggio and friends.