Home: Nespresso Pixie espresso maker $100 (orig. $220), Philips Saeco auto espresso maker $350 (orig. $1500), more

Williams-Sonoma is offering the Nespresso Pixie Espresso Maker for $99.99 shipped today. You may need to use code SHIP4FREE to receive free shipping on orders over $45 . Note: While the William Sonoma listing says “Chrome” in the title, this appears to be the Aluminum model (both are regular $176 – $179 on Amazon and elsewhere). That’s $130 under the original listing, $79 better than both Amazon and Nespresso direct and the best price we’ve seen on this highly rated brewer.

This brewer works exclusively with Nespresso’s premium coffee capsules (16 are included) and features a 19-bar pressure pump, “precise” temperature control, shot size selection, and is able to heat up in 25 to 30 seconds. All of Nespresso’s Pixie makers have 4+ star reviews and this model has a 4.6/5 star rating from over 100 Amazon customers.

Next up, Newegg is offering the manufacturer refurbished Philips Saeco Syntia Focus Automatic Espresso Machine in black (HD8833/47) for $349.99 shipped (available on eBay with an extended warranty for $359.99). That’s $1,150 under the original listing, $390 under Amazon’s new price, within $20 of the lowest all-time price we’ve ever seen and the best current price we can find.

It features an adjustable built-in ceramic disc grinder with auto shut off, water filtration, air-tight uv protected coffee bean hopper, one touch drink preferences, and front access to all features so you don’t have to pull it out from under the cabinets every time you want to use it. It comes with a 90 day parts and labor warranty and has received a 3.8/5 star rating among Amazon customers.

Head below for the rest of today’s notable Home Deals: 

Kitchen:

Home/Other:

Starbucks continues to offer $25 off purchases of $100 or more site-wide using code RMN25SEPT. Orders of $75 or more ship free. The code works on everything including coffee and tea,mugs/drinkwear, Starbucks gifts/extras and the Verismo coffee machines (providing orders are over $100).

 

Review by By S. Kozlowski on: Nespresso Pixie Espresso Maker, Steel Blue (Kitchen):

Addendum, 2012: In order to remove the water tank effortlessly, you need to OPEN the lid of the water container. There are latches on the lid itself which engage when the lid is closed! If you open the lid, the tank comes off without any resistance. If you keep it closed and try to remove the tank, you will have to force it and and will break the plastic. II’ve been using my Pixie for a year multiple times a day and it still runs perfectly. I descale the unit every 4-5 months and I’ve never had any problems with leakage after it’s been descaled. One year in and my Pixie is jsut as good as the day I bought it.

I previously used a Tassimo system as my primary coffee maker but moved to a Nespresso Pixie when Starbucks dropped Tassimo. Since I’ve switched to the Pixie, I couldn’t be happier and I’ve never had coffee this good at home.

First of all, the Pixie is a very stylish machine and it seems extremely solid in construction. The Pixie is made of aluminum and heavy plastic and it feels very substantial to handle/use. Secondly, the machine has a surprisingly small footprint, which is very nice if space is at a premium. I’ve only had my Pixie for a month but I use it about three times a day and so far, nary a whiff of any reliability issues. No leaking or inconsistent coffee temperatures, as reported by one reviewer.

The coffee produced by this machine is wondrous! No it doesn’t produced shots which are equivalent to those coming out of an $8000.00 industrial espresso machine however, for a single shot pod system, the coffee the Nespresso Pixie makes is excellent. Consistently good aroma, body, taste and crema, commensurate with the stated characteristics listed in the Nesspresso classification for each type I’ve tried. I tend to drink lattes most of the time however I’ve consumed at least one of each type I received in the LARGE (200 shot) “Welcome order” as a strait espresso/lungo and all of them were firmly between good and great to my tastes.

Operation of this machine is drop-dead simple. Lift the large bar up and the Pixie top opens up, drop in a Nespresso pod, pull the bar down and press one of the two brew buttons (espresso & lungo) on the top. Thirty seconds later, enjoy your beverage. One beautiful design feature is that the next time you swing the bar up and open the Pixie, the previous Nespresso pod falls into a catch basin which holds 12 or so spent pods. When the container is full, the entire piece pulls away from the unit along with a drip tray for disposal or recycling of the used pods. No fuss, no mess, a 25 second boot time from power-on to brewing and great coffee to boot.

If you like espresso drinks and are extremely busy or don’t want to deal with the mess, hassle and complication of a traditional machine, it’s really hard to beat the Nespresso Pixie in form, function and price. I love mine so much I might have to order a second unit for my parents house. Each time I go back to visit them, I can’t stand the fact that I don’t have access to good coffee without driving out to Starbucks and throwing 5 dollars down a hole. With my Pixie (along with my Capresso milk frother) I can quickly make a latte which is almost as good for less than $1.50. In my opinion, if any product ever deserved a mythic sixth star, the Nespresso Pixie is it!

Addendum, June 2012: I’ve had my Pixie for about nine months now and I have zero problems to report. This little work horse keeps chugging along through multiple uses each day without incident. I did have to descale the Pixie after six months and I used the Nespresso descaling kit to accomplish the task…also worked like a charm. My water reservoir hasn’t developed any cracks, as described by another reviewer, and I still heartily recommend my Nespresso Pixie.

Update, January 2013: My Pixie is still chugging along without incident. I use it daily and descale it every six months and so far, not a whiff of any mechanical problems. The Pixie is built like a tank.

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