Old Kazaar vs new Ispirazione Palermo Kazaar

Last of our direct comparison between old and new capsules, it’s the time for Kazaar vs Ispirazione Palermo Kazaar.

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

Aroma

Aroma of both capsules is the same: a cocoa, nutty, caramel and spicey smell that is pretty strong. Kazaar has a barely noticeable stronger aroma, but that’s about the only difference.

Body and crema

Both capsules are full-bodied. A velvety mouthfeel is very present in both types of Kazaar, with a very smooth and creamy, nearly dense, consistence. Virtually no differences here.

Acidity

The old Kazaar was a dark roast of both Robusta and Arabica beans. Meaning that acidity was barely felt. The new Kazaar doesn’t change this formula. There’s for most of the drinking experience no acidity whatsoever to be tasted.

Only exception is that at very low temperatures, in Ispirazione Palermo it is possible to taste acidity, mostly in the aftertaste. It is a low, barely present, acidity but nonetheless signals a slight change in the beans used for the new capsule.

Taste profile

Kazaar has been always a strong, high-intensity, cocoa, nutty and spices type of capsule. The new Ispirazione Palermo doesn’t change this formula, and the two capsules share the same taste profile. Dryness, bitterness and intensity are equal in both pods, with no acidity and sweetness for most of the tasting experience.

Both capsules have a salty finish but Ispirazione Palermo has also a “burning” feeling on the palate, at lower temperatures. This is probably what some of you readers noticed and spoke about as “nasty taste”. We are unsure of the origin of this, feeble, feeling.

In contrast with the old Kazaar, the new Ispirazione Palermo has a vague sweetness, banana-like, in the aftertaste, at very low temperatures. It’s there but can be easily missed.

Conclusion

We are going to be totally honest here: the two capsules are different but barely so. We tried multiple times to find more characteristics in either that would justify the change of name, even drinking both capsules cold and with a splash of milk.

The change of name is hardly justified. Yes, the old Kazaar tasted differently than the new one, but the differences are so few that Nespresso could have simply shipped the new one with the same name and most casual drinkers wouldn’t have noticed. We guess that a change in the origin of the Arabica part in Ispirazione Palermo is the main, and perhaps only, difference: a bit more sweetness and acidity in the aftertaste, that “burning” feeling and a weaker aroma. But that’s about it.

Let us know as usual if you found more differences or tasted something that we missed, in either capsules.

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