Don't let the name fool you. Although the word "pixie" is commonly associated with dainty fairies and forest sprites, the Nespresso Pixie isn't some lightweight.
It's a little espresso maker with a small footprint. Of course, a full-sized pro machine – the shining, hissing beast that belches steam as your bescarfed barista sweats over its many handles – will undeniably make better espresso than anything you can buy for less than a month's salary. But as smaller machines go, the Pixie pumps out surprisingly tasty and well-structured shots of espresso.
Nespresso, the company that makes the Pixie, has a range of home espresso makers and coffee machines that utilize single-use capsules – little, prepackaged aluminum pucks with ground coffee inside. The Pixie is the smallest of the lot, though there is one model, the Essenza, that's cheaper.
Preparing an espresso with this thing is dead simple. Fill the 1-liter, detachable water tank. Place a Nespresso coffee capsule in the top chamber, pull down the silver handle, press the power button, wait 25 seconds for it to warm up, and press either the Espresso or Lungo button. Your drink is ready in 10 to 20 seconds. Chose from the 16 different coffee capsules, each with a different character and flavor (but not flavored). Most are expressly for the 1.35-ounce espresso, and four are dedicated to the taller 3.75-ounce Lungo style. Capsules are 57 cents each and come in boxes of 10.
Lifting the handle ejects the capsule into a used capsule container, which has room for 10 of them. But make sure you have a cup or saucer under the spigot, as the last savory drops of coffee inevitably drip out as you're ejecting the capsule.
You're out of luck if you want to add foamed milk for a latte, macchiato, or cappuccino. You'll need a milk-foamer, which can costs as little as two bucks or as much as $100.