hurdy:
Great price, but the quality and value of the nespresso pods is appalling. The espresso is the same as black instant nescafe - flat, bitter and no crema.
Gaggia are doing refribished cubikas with £27 worth of pods for just under a ton. Works out the
same, but better looks, better quality and the ability to use your own choice of coffee
Crumble:
You must of had a bad one.
I've had just about every type of coffee machine, including Pavoni, Gaggia SIemens etc.
The one thing about Nespresso is that it consistently produces a good Espresso with a thick crema without any fuss. The pods are expensive 21p for a coffee. They have a selection of blends and strengths to suit most people. I currently have a Nespresso and a bean to cup system. Both produce great coffee but the pods give more choice and no cleaning up.
+1 to that, I've had pretty much every system going from purely manual bean to cup, to machine, Nespresso etc. For ease of use and cleaning you can't beat the Nespresso - only slightly pipped on manual method for taste. To say there is no crema, you must really have had a bad one as there is plenty of it!