Can Nespresso Make Hot Water For Tea, Etc.?

When making coffee, a Nespresso machine heats water to somewhere in the range of 170 to 180 degrees Fahrenheit. But what if you just want hot water for tea or something else? Can Nespresso make hot water for a cup of tea or hot chocolate? Yes, but how to get it will depend on whether you have an Original or Vertuo machine.

How To Get Hot Water From OriginalLine Nespresso Machines

The two newest Original machines, the Essenza Plus and the Citiz Platinum, have a dedicated hot water button. On other Original models, like the Essenza Mini, Pixie, CitiZ, Inissia, Lattissima or Creatista, getting hot water from an Original Nespresso machine is still super easy even though there isn’t a button.

All you need to do is open the lever, eject any used pod, close the lever without putting a new pod in, and then select the Lungo (larger cup) button. 3.7 oz of hot water will dispense into your cup. If you haven’t regularly cleaned your Nespresso, the water may have a brown tint and/or coffee grinds floating in it. Brew a Lungo a few more times with no pod in the chamber until the water comes out clear. Running the machine a few times is also a great way to make sure that cup of water you get is really hot.

Can Nespresso Vertuo Machines Make Hot Water?

Making hot water with a Vertuo machine is a bit more complicated than it is with an Original machine. That’s because VertuoLine models have to be able to read a barcode on the pod to determine how much water to pull through. This helps it, for example, know whether you are making an 1.35 oz espresso or a 7.7 oz coffee. Unfortunately, you’ll get an blinking orange or red light error message if you hit the brew button without a pod in the chamber.

However, there is a work around that you can try. Hopefully you’ve already learned how to regularly clean your machine. If so, you may remember that the cleaning cycle on the Vertuo actually dispenses hot water without a capsule in the chamber. If you haven’t cleaned your machine recently, you’ll want to run a full cleaning cycle first. This process may take a little longer than you’d like, but you’ll get hot water.

Nespresso Vertuo Next, Pop, Creatista, Lattissima, Vertuo or Evoluo

1. Fill the water reservoir with fresh drinking water and put it back on the machine.
2. Place a large one quart glass measuring cup under the outlet
3. Eject any used capsule from the holder
4. Turn the machine on and turn the lever left to the lock position
5. Push the brew button 3 times within 2 seconds
6. Within 2 minutes, water will start flowing out of the machine. Hot water will dispense for 2-5 minutes depending on your model. The orange light will blink during this process. You can stop the process once you have the desired amount of hot water by just pushing the button once.
7. If the water has a lot of coffee grinds in it or a brown color to it like in the image below, you may want to discard the water, rinse the measuring cup, repeat steps 4-6 letting the full cycle run. The water should be cleaner the second time.

Nespresso VertuoPlus

1. Fill the water reservoir with fresh drinking water
2. Place a large one quart glass measuring cup under the outlet
3. Eject any used capsule from the holder
4. Turn the machine on
5. Push the brew button 3 times within 2 seconds
6. Within 2 minutes, hot water will start flowing out of the machine for 2-5 minutes. The light will blink orange when the process is complete. You can stop the process once you have the desired amount of hot water by just pushing the button once.
7. If the water has a lot of coffee grinds in it or a brown color to it like in the image above, you may want to discard the water, rinse the measuring cup, repeat steps 4-6 letting the full cleaning cycle run. The water should be cleaner the next time.

Does Nespresso Make Tea Pods?

Nespresso only makes coffee and espresso pods, not tea pods. If you have an OriginalLine machine, you may be able to find some tea pods from third-party, unauthorized manufacturers. Read the reviews carefully as I have seen many complaints about the pods not working correctly. If you have a Vertuo machine, there are no third party pods for tea (or coffee for that matter) because of the Nespresso patent on the Vertuo pod design. Instead of tea pods, I suggest using the Nespresso to get hot water and then brewing a tea bag so you can steep it for the proper amount of time.

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How To Keep Your Drink Hotter Longer

If you are like me and you like to drink your coffee slowly, a thermal mug is a great way to keep your water or tea warm. See my related post for a review of the popular Ember Mug.

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