Old Arpeggio vs new Ispirazione Firenze Arpeggio

One of the most contested changes was the new Ispirazione Firenze Arpeggio, substituting the old favourite of many Arpeggio. We received lots of comments complaining the new capsule isn’t as good as the old one. Let’s see the main differences then.

This is not a review of either capsules. You can find the full review of old Arpeggio here and of the new Ispirazione Firenze Arpeggio here. This is instead a direct comparison of the two versions, highlighting only the differences.

Aroma

The old Arpeggio had definitely a stronger aroma. The cocoa notes in it are immediately recognizable, making a striking difference with the new Ispirazione Firenze Arpeggio, which lacks them almost completely.

Arpeggio also had a feeble acidity that can be smelled. The new capsule has none.

Body and crema

Arpeggio had a fuller body. Definitely heavier than the medium body that is a feature of Ispirazione Firenze Arpeggio.

Crema is virtually identical between the two capsules.

Acidity

In the old Arpeggio acidity could be gleaned already in the aroma. Yet Ispirazione Firenze Arpeggio has a more pronounced acidity, overall. This is also due to it not having such a strong dark cocoa flavor, that partly covers the acidity in the old Arpeggio.

Especially when the coffee is hot, Ispirazione Firenze Arpeggio has a taste profile more skewed towards the acidic, berries-like, compared to Arpeggio, which is more heavily leaning to the bitter, dark cocoa. That creates the feeling of a much more bitter, darker roasts, in the old Arpeggio.

At lower temperatures both capsules’ acidity shines more, making them taste closer. Not identical, though.

Taste profile

Both capsules don’t show extreme differences in taste, as you’d expect with capsules sharing the same name and color. It is more a matter of acidity, body and balance than actually different flavours.

Arpeggio has definitely more dark cocoa tones. Some caramel too, which is quite vaguely felt in Ispirazione Firenze Arpeggio. The new capsule has more berries and fruits-like acidity, and that makes it feel like less bitter. The aftertaste is longer in Ispirazione Firenze Arpeggio.

The switch from a blend of Central and South America’s beans from Arpeggio to 100% Costa Rica’s coffee in Ispirazione Firenze Arpeggio is the only cause of the change in taste profile. No roasting or Robusta/Arabica ratio changes as far as we know happened.

Conclusion

It is understandable the reason why many lamented the change to the new Arpeggio. It’s right at the beginning that the two capsules differ the most: less cocoa, more acidity and a blander taste caused much outrage among old fans of the original Arpeggio.

Yet at lower temperatures, after the very first sips, the new Ispirazione Firenze Arpeggio emerges as a well-balanced, more complex capsule than the old Arpeggio. It is much less a cocoa-leaning one, but a richer experience overall. Admittedly if you love cocoa flavors in your coffee, the new Cocoa Truffle will more closely satisfy your needs, probably. That’s what at Nespresso must have thought when they created the new Ispirazione Firenze Arpeggio. The new capsule isn’t a direct substitute but an evolution.

As previously, let us know if you identified a different flavor which we didn’t. Or if you felt something in either capsules that we didn’t recognize.

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