Introduction

This is a review of the Nespresso Cape Town Envivo Lungo for the Original Line machines. In January 2021, Nespresso did a redesign of its existing series of Lungos. The Nespresso Cape Town Envivo Lungo is a redesign of the previous Envivo Lungo. In my Nespresso 2021 New Lungos Information article, I outline all the various changes. The changes to the Envivo are intensity increase from 9 to 10, some coffee sourcing changes, and potentially new aroma/taste changes. The slogan that Nespresso is using for the redesigned Lungos (and new ones) is “World Explorations”, which refers to the use of city names in the naming of the Lungos.

The Cape Town Envivo Lungo uses Indian arabicas and robustas, and a washed Mexican robusta. Typical split roast techniques are used to get the best aroma/taste profile from the coffees.

The original Envivo Lungo has been one of my regular morning favorites, as I would have one almost every other day. So when I heard Nespresso was doing a redesign, I had concerns. I may later do a side-by-side comparison of the two, but for now, this is just a review of the Cape Town Envivo Lungo.

Aroma

The Nespresso Cape Town Envivo Lungo has a spicy and a strong woody aroma to it. It seems like a more powerful aroma as compared to the original Envivo Lungo, the aroma is very pleasant and compares to the original; however, it is missing that usual caramel type aroma that the original Envivo Lungo has.

NOTE: For those people learning to pick up the aromas, don’t stir up the coffee after it has been brewed. The coffee will have its best aromas after just brewing and the aromas come off the crema. You can stir (swirl) after smelling the coffee and figuring out the aromas.

Taste

The Nespresso Cape Town Envivo Lungo has a bitter taste on the tongue. The bitterness is very light and has a nice feeling in that is not overpowering, and the bitterness lingers. I’m getting very light tastes of mint (as in real mint leaves) in the coffee, but otherwise the taste is woody like and very strong tasting. The Cape Town Envivo Lungo does taste different than the original Envivo Lungo, which is somewhat disappointing, however it is a strong tasting with good character coffee; so it may take some time to get used to the changes. It’s also missing those light caramel/gingerbread notes that the original Envivo Lungo has.

Result

The Nespresso Cape Town Envivo Lungo is the most intense of all the Nespresso Lungos. This Lungo makes a great morning coffee, and best served black. The new redesign of the Cape Town Envivo Lungo is very close to the original Envivo Lungo, but keep in mind that there are definitely differences. If you really like the original Envivo Lungo, you may want to search around and buy up all the stock quickly!

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