Nespresso Breville vs Delonghi – what is the difference?
All you wanted was a Nespresso machine, and now you’ve ended up where so many others have been before you – facing a bevvy of possibilities and different options, including the decision of whether to go with a Nespresso Breville or a Delonghi manifactured coffee machine.
If you are not already familiar with Nespresso’s extensive line of coffee machines, the sheer volume of choices can seem overwhelming at first. Not only do you have to decide on whether to go with a Nespresso machine from the Original or the Vertuo line, you are also faced with having to gage whether a Breville or Delonghi manifactured Nespresso machine is going to be the right choice for you.
When you purchase a Nespresso machine either in a Nespresso store or from the Nespresso website, there is a good chance that you will find that your new coffee machine carries two brand names – Nespresso, as well as either De’Longhi or Breville.
You see, while Nespresso invent all of their Nespresso machines in-house, they outsource part of the manufacturing process to some of the most renowned coffee machine manifacturers in the wold, including the two giants, Breville and De’Longhi. This is why you’ll hear and see expressions like ‘Nespresso Breville’ and ‘Delonghi Nespresso’ getting bandied about.
But which make is better? While some coffee aficionados are going to be familiar with both Breville and De’Longhi coffee machines, the differences between the two brands is not obvious to the vast majority of people. So how do you decide?
In this article, we’ll help you answer that question for yourself by looking at what makes the Breville and the Delonghi Nespresso machines special, and what sets them apart from each other. Hopefully by the time you have made it through to the end, you’ll have gained a much clearer understanding of what your options are.
Nespresso machines covered in this article
Not all Nespresso machines come with parts that have been manufactored by either Breville or De’Longhi, so looking at any of those is beyond the scope of this article. What we will do instead is to take a good look at every single Nespresso machine that either De’Longhi or Breville have been involved in the manufacturing of.
Here is an overview over the Nespresso machines covered in this article. De’Longhi Nespresso machines: VertuoPlus, Citiz, Essenza Mini, Lattissima One, Lattissima Touch, Lattissima Plus and Lattissima Pro. Breville Nespresso machines: VertuoPlus, Citiz, Essenza Mini, Creatista Uno and Creatista Plus.
Without further ado, let us begin.
DeLonghi vs Breville Nespresso machines
First of all, let us take a look at the Nespresso machines that both Breville and DeLonghi produce, before looking at the machines that either brand exclusively produces.
If you were expecting the same Nespresso machine to be radically different depending on whether it was produced by Breville or DeLonghi, you are in for a surprise when you learn that the same Nespresso machine produced by different manufacturers is going to be of exactly the same high quality and standard – and both are going to brew essentially the same coffee.
The simple reason for this is that every Nespresso machine is always going to be driven by the revolutionary design and coffee brewing technology that makes a Nespresso machine, well, a Nespresso machine, and so a DeLonghi Nespresso machine is going to be indistinguishable from a Breville Nespresso machine, right down to the individual coffee cup.
There are exceptions to this rule of thumb, however, in the cases where De’Longhi and Breville produce different Nespresso machines. But we’ll start with the machines that are the same – meaning the machines that both DeLonghi and Breville manufacture for Nespresso – before we move onto looking at the machines that are different.
Nespresso Vertuo Plus
The VertuoPlus is one of the most popular and innovative machines in the Nespresso Vertuo line of espresso makers.
The VertuoPlus coffee maker relies on the same revolutionary centrifusion technology that characterises the rest of the Vertuo line of coffee makers. It also features one-touch brewing and an almost instant heat-up time, all to make the coffee brewing process as fast as frictionless as possible. The VertuoPlus coffee machine fits five different Nespresso cup sizes: Alto (414ml), Mug (230ml), Gran Lungo (150ml), Double Espresso (80ml) and Espresso (4oml).
What makes the VertuoPlus a wonderful machine for most coffee lovers is how versatile, fast and approachable it is – all at the same time.
Even though Vertuo Plus Nespresso machines produced by DeLonghi and Breville both yield the same great tasting coffee, there are a few cosmetic differences between a Nespresso Breville VertuoPlus and a De’Longhi Nespresso VertuoPlus. One small cosmetic difference you will immediately notice between the Breville and the De’Longi VertuoPlus is the rounded top on the Breville machine versus the flat top on the De’Longhi equivalent.
Nespresso Citiz
Another great Nespresso coffee maker produced by both Breville and De’Longhi is the Nespresso Citiz, a compact machine that fits into almost any space.
The Citiz coffee maker is part of the Original line of coffee makers by Nespresso. It features the lightning-quick heat-up time of 25 seconds and 19 bar pressure, all intended to make your life easier for coffee drinkers everywhere by removing any friction or delay between the desire for coffee and holding a freshly brewed cup in your hand. The Citiz Nespresso machine fits two different cup sizes: Lungo and Espresso, as well as a removable drip tray for taller coffee drinks if required.
As is the case with the Nespresso Vertuo Plus model, De’Longhi and Breville-made Nespresso Citiz coffee makers vary slightly in appearance – you will notice slight spout and tray design differences between the two.
Nespresso Essenza Mini
The third and final Nespresso machine that both DeLonghi and Breville produce is the Essenza Mini. It is also the machine where you are going to notice the greatest visual differences between a Breville and a DeLonghi-produced machine.
The Nespresso Essenza Mini features an ultra compact design, Nespresso’s signature 19 bar pressure pump for perfect espresso shots and 25 second heat-up time. The Essenza Mini fits two cup sizes: Lungo and Espresso. It is also the perfect coffee machine for environmentally conscious espresso drinkers, as the Nespresso Essenza Mini also has an Eco Mode, which means that it saves on its energy consumption after only 3 seconds of use.
Note that, despite its compact size and energy efficiency, the Nespresso Essenza Mini doesn’t compromise on taste. No other espresso machine in the Nespresso line of machines will brew a better espresso than the Essenza Mini.
As for the visual differences between a Breville produced Essenza Mini and its De’Longhi produced counterpart, they are quite striking. Where Breville’s version of the Nespresso Essenza Mini has a distrinct, rounded triangular shape and a slatted design on the front, the De’Longhi version of the Nespresso Essenza Mini is much more reminiscent of the Nespresso Citiz, with a slimmer design and honeycomb front. Despite their visual dissimilarities, the two versions of the Nespresso Citiz are operated in exactly the same way.
Delonghi Nespresso machines
De’Longhi is an Italian coffee company that was founded in the early 1900s – in other words, the De’Longhi brand has built up its expertise and stellar reputation in the coffee industry for over a hundred years. De’Longhi is a legacy coffee brand, if ever there was one. Although De’Longhi produces a number of different high-quality kitchen and household appliances, it is the expertly crafted espresso machines that the brand has become best known for.
De’Longhi is responsible for manifactoring some of the most popular Nespresso machines, from every latte lover’s favourite, the classic Nespresso VertuoPlus to the De’Longhi exclusive line of Nespresso machines, the Lattissima machines. The Lattissima range used to feature the Lattissima Touch and the Lattissima Pro, in addition to the two machines mentioned here.
In this part of the article, we’ll be looking at the four Nespresso machines in the Lattissima line of machines, which are only manufactured by De’Longhi.
Nespresso Lattissima One
As its name indicates, the Nespresso Lattissima One is the perfect coffee maker for milky coffee lovers. With the Nespresso Lattissima One, you are able to brew all of your favourite milky coffee recipes instantly at the click of a button. The Lattissima One brews everything from latte macchiato to a classic Caffe Latte equally well.
Preparing your favourite cafe-quality milky coffee recipes has never been easier than it is with the Nespresso Lattissima One. The machine’s intuitive presets allow you to instantly brew everything from espresso to creamy lattes and cappuccinos.
The Lattissima One features a sleek and modern design, dishwasher safe parts, a complimentary milk jug, auto shut off after two minutes of disuse, and three easy coffee brewing pre-sets: Espresso, Lungo and Milk.
Nespresso Gran Lattissima
The Nespresso Gran Lattissima replaces the Lattissima Touch and the Lattissima Pro, and then some. Here is a beast of a professional quality coffee maker, with a number of intuitive presets and advanced features that make it just as suitable for your cafe venture as for your kitchen at home.
De’Longhi’s Gran Lattissima brings the aromas of Nespresso to any coffee recipe of your choice. Its strengths are milky coffee recipes, from creamy lattes to cappuccinos to flat whites, which is of course not to say that the Gran Lattissima doesn’t also brew a fantastic classic espresso.
Breville espresso machines
Breville is an Australian household appliance brand that was established in the 1930s – which makes Breville just a little bit younger than De’Longhi. The Breville brant built its renown by producing kettles, blenders and toasters, and of course, coffee makers.
Breville exclusively produces two of Nespresso’s most advanced and well-loved coffee makers, and in this part of the article, we’ll be looking at them both.
Nespresso Creatista Uno
The Nespresso Creatista Uno features the iconic Breville steam pipe, which makes it absolutely perfect for creating your very own latte art. In the Nespresso Creatista Uno, Breville has manufactured a machine that somehow manages to be both approachable and advanced enough to suit anyone from the enthusiastic coffee lover without any barista skills to the professional barista in action.
The Nespresso Creatista Uno heats up in just 3 seconds, comes with a stainless steel Creatista milk jug, and features the 19 bar pressure and removable drip tray you would expect from a professional Nespresso espresso machine.
What’s more, the Nespresso Creatista Uno has three different milk temperature and texture settings – allowing you to really get creative with the coffee you make.
Nespresso Creatista Plus
The Nespresso Creatista Plus enables anyone to enjoy barista-quality coffee at home in a matter of seconds.
The presets on the machine’s digital display allow you to enjoy any of your favourite milk-based barista recipes at the click of a button. Specifically, these are your eight beverage selections: Espresso, Ristretto, Macchiato, Lungo, Cappuccino, Flat White, Latte Macchiato and Cafe Latte.
Like its lower-end counterpart, the Nespresso Creatista Plus features 3 second heat-up time, 19 bar pressure and a stainless steel milk jug.
In addition to all of this, the Creatista Plus features no less than 11 milk temperature settings and auto frothing with eight different texture levels.
Nespresso Creatista Pro
The Nespresso Creatista Pro is the ultimate in milky coffee preparation at a professional level. With the Creatista Pro, there is never any lag or delay. This machine heats up the milk and brews the coffee simultaneously, enabling you to unleash your inner barista and craft several professional quality coffee recipes per minute.
Like the Creatista Plus, the Creatista Pro benefits from 3 second heat-up time, 19 bar pressure, eleven different milk temperature and eight different milk texture settings, and of course, a complimentary Creatista milk jug.
In addition to all of this, the Nespresso Creatista Pro is self-clearning, saving you even more time and effort. Its presets also make it easy and effortless to craft all of your best loved barista recipes: Espresso, Ristretto, Lungo, Americano, Cappucino, Caffe Latte, Latte Macchiato and Flat White.
Nespresso machine Q & A
We have gone over all of the different Nespresso machines that are produced by either De’Longhi or Breville, but even so, you might still be left with some questions on your mind. If so, we hope you will find the answers you need in this Q & A section.
What is the difference between Breville and DeLonghi Nespresso?
The pure and simple difference between a Nespresso by Breville coffee maker and a Nespresso by De’Longhi coffee maker is that Nespresso outsource part of their manufactoring process to other renowned coffee machine brands, namely Breville and De’Longhi.
If your particular Nespresso coffee machine has has ‘Nespresso by Breville’ imprinted anywhere on it, it simply means that part of the machine was manufactured by the Breville brand. By the same token, if your Nespresso coffee maker has ‘Nespresso by De’Longhi’ imprinted on it, it means that your coffee machine was partially manufactured by De’Longhi.
Both Delonghi and Breville Nespresso machines are of the same high quality, as Nespresso only outsources the manufacturing of their world-famous Nespresso machines to the very best coffee machine producers in the industry. In other words, you don’t have to worry about whether your Nespresso coffee maker was co-created with Breville or De’Longhi – there is no difference in the quality of the coffee that a De’Longhi Nespresso machine and a Breville Nespresso machine is able to produce. They all rely on the same Nespresso technology that makes Nespresso the undisputed king of coffee and espresso machines.
Are DeLonghi and Nespresso the same?
De’Longhi and Nespresso are two separate brands. The reason for the (very understandable) confusion is that some of Nespresso’s coffee machines are co-manufactured by other coffee manufactorers – and De’Longhi is one of them. So when you see ‘Nespresso by De’Longhi,’ it doesn’t mean that Nespresso and De’Longhi are the same brand, but rather that they have co-manufactured the specific product you are looking at.
Here is a brief overview over the different Nespresso by De’Longhi coffee makers that are available as of this writing: VertuoPlus, Citiz, Essenza Mini, Lattissima One, Lattissima Touch, Lattissima Plus and Lattissima Pro.
Is Nespresso owned by Breville?
No, the Nespresso brand is not owned by Breville – nor the other way around. However, it is easy to get confused when you see, read and hear expressions like ‘Nespresso by Breville’ or ‘Breville Nespresso machines.’
Nespresso and Breville are two different coffee brands, but Nespresso is known to outsource part of the manufactoring of its machines to the very best coffee machine manufactorers in the industry – and Breville is one of them.
Which Nespresso manufacturer is best?
When it comes to the quality of both the machines and the delicious coffee they produce, there is no difference between Nespresso DeLonghi vs Breville produced coffee makers.
Having said that, Breville and De’Longhi only produce some of the same Nespresso models, specifically the Nespresso Vertuo Plus, the Nespresso Citiz and the Nespresso Essenza Mini. Apart from these three Nespresso models, De’Longhi and Breville don’t produce any of the same Nespresso machines. So while you shouldn’t be able to tell the difference between freshly brewed coffee from Nespresso VertuoPlus machines produced by De’Longhi vs Breville, you will find multiple differences between the other Breville vs DeLonghi Nespresso machines on the market, though these differences have more to do with the designs of the specific Nespresso machines than with quality differences in manufacturing between Breville and De’Longhi.
DeLongi vs Breville Nespresso machines – final thoughts
Congratulations! You have made it through to the end of this article, and hopefully, you have grown a lot wiser along the way.
To summarise, you now know that the difference between DeLonghi vs Breville Nespresso machines lies in their manufacturing, rather than in their design. You also know that Nespresso DeLonghi vs Breville espresso machines are on par with each other in terms of quality, sturdiness and reliability, and that you won’t be able to tell whether the double espresso you are sipping has been brewed by a Nespresso Vertuo Plus by Breville or De’Longhi. Ultimately, it is the innovative design that makes Nespresso machines so spectacular, and not whether your specific machine was manufactured by Breville or DeLonghi. The same machine by either brand is going to be equally good.
That being said, there are some Nespresso machines that you can only get from one or the other coffee machine manufacturer. For example, if you want one of the Nespresso Creatista machines, you need to know that only Breville produces them, while the Nespresso Lattissima machines are all De’Longhi machines. In other words, depending on which machine you personally consider to be the best Nespresso machine, you might prefer either a DeLonghior a Breville produced Nespresso machine.