Not for me (Gaggia Classic here thanks) but for my mum’s 70th birthday – she wouldn’t want the faff of a ‘proper’ coffee machine but loves her coffee.

I don’t know the first thing about them so is there a particular make or system I should go for or avoid?

Budget of around £120-ish

Cheers

My delonghi iconica has a pod fitting to it, does normal expresso too, its a good machine, think they are £150 ish

tassimo….love mine 😀

Can you get decaffeinated Capuchino pods for any of them?

You can for Nespresso machines.

Read up on the systems before choosing a machine.

Tassimo
Nespresso
The Nescafe one
Those ones like compacted tea bags

Been very happy with our Nespresso and the aeroccino (makes frothy milk) is fantastic. (Came from a Gaggia Cubika which I just could never be bothered to use whereas I’m using the Nespresso all the time – as is my wife (and even MiL!) which never happened – she could never get her head around the Gaggia).

Decent choice of coffee too – the strong decaf one is pretty good too – good enough to drink as an espresso and is great for a coffee late at night.

£130 all in: http://www.houseoffraser.co.uk/Magimix+M100+Eco+Grey+Nespresso+Coffee+Maker+Aeroccino/143306315,default,pd.html?cm_mmc=Googlebase-_-Electricals-_-Kitchen_and_Household_Appliances-_-Magimix_M100_Eco_Grey_Nespresso_Coffee_Maker_%2B_Aeroccino

BTW been using a Nespresso about 3 years now and love it but never had the decaf coffee.