Nespresso Vertuo Pop

I really wanted to like this Nespresso Next as it was intended to replace an existing Nespresso machine that we've had for several years that is now 'stuck' on descale (no matter how many times we've run the descaling programme). The first things out of the box were the two complimentary sleeves of coffee pods. Both sleeves were crushed, rendering the pods inside totally unusable (crushed edges meant that the barcode could not be read in order for the machine to recognise what to do with it!). If Nespresso is going to add a couple of sleeves of coffee pods into the box, they need to make sure they are protected. So silly and such a waste of product. Once the Nespresso Next was out of the box it didn't feel particularly well built/resilient. The manual lid needs both hands to both open and close/lock into place and is difficult for my arthritic fingers (it slipped out of my grasp several times). I didn't realise that it would be so tricky! The water container was also difficult to extract from the base, and water base itself was in a fixed position at the back of the machine instead of using a swing hinge enabling it to sit to the left or right of the machine. This means that the machine sticks out further from the wall. The lead seems a tad short and we had to move our equipment around to place the Next within easy reach of the socket. We're in a relatively new build (2021) with a minimum number of sockets and probably too many appliances! Once flushed out, up and running, we couldn't believe how noisy it is! You can hear exactly what it's doing at each stage of the coffee cycle. After brewing your delicious cup of coffee, and you open the machine to discharge the spent pod, it drops into the pod receptacle along with an amount of water/condensation. You have to take care when emptying so that the residue doesn't spill everywhere. My husband didn't realise this the first time around, so we ended up with a trail of 'coffee water' and grouts across the floor to and up the outside of the kitchen bin! Don't get me wrong. Nespresso is a purveyor of the most splendid coffee, and their machines make us all efficient baristas. The pods are self contained, simple to use and result in a fabulous cup of coffee, whatever rocks your boat from rich and intense to decaffinated. No fuss. No muss. No waste. This particular machine uses only 'Vertuo' pods (the ones that look like little flying saucers), but you can buy Vertuo pods of all different strengths and volumes. One machine makes a variety of different brews making it really versatile. However, this review is supposed to be for the machine itself and not the coffee! Sadly I find the Nespresso Next clunky, noisy and difficult for my arthritic fingers. We will persevere to see whether it will get easier over the coming days before making a final decision of whether or not to return.