Starbucks’ Verismo, the new single serving home coffee/latte maker, hit the street this week. I’m not a huge coffee drinker, but I do love me some candy coffee drinks (vanilla latte is my poison of choice right now). So, when I heard Verismo’s tagline “Our lattes. Our espresso. Our brewed coffee. Your Home. Impossible until now.” I knew I had to try this thing. Hell, I’ve been slowly bleeding almost $4 a day to the Seattle Syndicate for years now. So, at $199 for their entry level model and about $1 a pod, this was going to be an easy buy if the thing measured up.
Unfortunately, it didn’t. There’s a pretty big gap between the latte you bleed for and the one you can make with the Verismo. It wasn’t bad, mind you…and it was super fast (like 30 seconds). But it wasn’t Starbucks…or any other cafe’s for that matter (except maybe a bad one). It also wasn’t as good as the ones I make at home with my craigslist espresso machine (descent one, but not awesome), my Froth Au Lait, and Starbuck vanilla syrup.
If you’re just a coffee drinking and considering the Keurig, then you should definitely try the Verismo before deciding. But if you’re like me…a candy coffee drinker…then the Verismo missed the target.
