[Closed] Pod Coffee Machines....

It's nt an upgrade from a Moka, but they make decent coffee. If I've time, the Moka goes on.

I have a dolce gusto at home and work. you can get re-useable pods from Amazon so you can use your own coffee. Dead handy for a quick half decent cuppa before a meeting.

Nespresso probably better for Espresso coffee over the Dolce Gusto, but I'm no espresso drinker - americano !

We’ve recently got a Nespresso machine at work, it’s great for work as it takes 30 seconds to make a quick coffee.

I prefer the coffee I make at home though with an Aeropress or Mokka pot. We end up with big bags off empty pods too, which at least get recycled but still….

I'm really interested to know of using your own grinds in one of the reusable pods in these machines would be a replacement for my aeropress...

I could be wrong but I think nespresso makes ristretto, espresso and lungo, whereas the vertuo makes a bigger americano size coffee. I’ve had a nespresso for years you can make a longer coffee if needed buy changing the pour time although it can be a bit weak.

Is any STW coffee thread complete without a video from James Hoffmann? It is not.

Here he is talking about the nespresso vertuo system in a bit of detail:

I'm no pod machine expert, but I'd probably rather go for the most 'open source' one so I could have more choice of flavour/pod/cost, personally.

I could be wrong but I think nespresso makes ristretto, espresso and lungo, whereas the vertuo makes a bigger americano size coffee.

You are correct - the Vertuo has different size also though, kind of half a mug, a whole mug, and 1.5 mugs. I have one and find it very useful as a very quick "fill up my vaccuum cup thingy as I exit the door and jump in the car to..." early doors and avoid the Starbucks expense.

fadda
Full Member

I’m really interested to know of using your own grinds in one of the reusable pods in these machines would be a replacement for my aeropress…

I had a Nespresso and tried that for a while. Ended up being far more hassle than an aero press with worse results

We’re Tassimo fans here, when we sampled them all, some years back, they did the best Americano to our taste. If you’re getting one, watch out for the reservoir size, some machines will only do two long drinks. The Tassimo Joy machine at Argos has the bigger tank and is only £35 at the minute.

As for recycling the pods, there used to be a local collection point half a mile away which I would cycle to when we had a couple of pannier loads, but they’ve just switched to something called Podback which I haven’t used yet.

We got a Vertuo machine at Christmas.

It came with a selection of pods and then with the “Buy a machine at Christmas” offer we got another 200 pods of various descriptions delivered today.

I have to say thus far I’m reasonably impressed with it for occasional use but it won’t replace my filter coffee machine for day to day “caffeine drip feed” use.

Dolce Gusto

Rubbish.

It isnt automatic shut off on the switch, so dont forget about it or you'll empty the water store all over the kitchen.

Also, i cut open one of the pads and in it was granulated coffee, not grinds. I use the tasimo, and after use(no point in wasting one) if you open one of their pods it is full of coffee grinds, but the dolce gusto pods are empty, meaning its just instant coffee that is in some of them.

I'd also say the tasimo was hotter than the gusto one.

Were I to buy another, it would be the nespresso.

One thing the tassimo has going for it is for making very large milky lattes

We have had a Nespresso machine for about 5 years - the coffee is kinda nice but the reason the machines are cheap is because they make the big money on the pods.
3 years ago I bought a Magnifica b2c machine off here and it's been faultless.
A 1kg bag of lavazza beans can be bought for the same money as 20 pods!
(I've recently been buying 800g bags of organic beans from Costco for £5.... Very nice too!
I've not used the Nespresso since getting the Magnifica.

FWIW, I don't drink long coffees, ever. A double espresso is the biggest one I'll drink.

Seems like the Nespresso Vertuo wouldn't be that good for me, since it's about making bigger drinks and ties you in to limited, expensive pods.

I had a Nespresso original at home for 5 years. Now have a vertuo for 2 or 3 years with the original relegated to work.

For an espresso fan I'd suggest an original machine. Loads of aftermarket options for pods so you have the option of different flavours and/or cheaper.
The vertuo is expensive to run at 35p/pod minimum for basic espresso to 65p for posh larger drinks. It does me well but not for everyone.

Actually, if I was to start again I would go for a bean2cup. Far cheaper to run with the convenience of a pod machine.

As a slightly different option I bought a Lavazza Modo Mio Desea a couple of years ago. I have been impressed with it. The downside is you are limited to Lavazza pods and a only a few after mark brands, but the Lavazza pods are compostable, so seem less wasteful than the Nespresso equivalents. I normally just use it to make a few 60ml expressos during the day, but the machine can also steam and froth milk and can produce a reasonable latte drink as well as hot chocolate. They do make a couple of smaller machines that make coffee only.

I had one issue with the machine after a year or so. Lavazza’s customer support was very good.

Ridiculous self-indulgences in my view.

Yeah, I was just looking at this for £30.
https://www.ryman.co.uk/lavazza-tiny-pod-coffee-machine

Seems perfect for just making espressos, you can get compatible pods from loads of places and they are compostable.

I had a nespresso for years. I was happy with it, but the cost/wastage of the pods got to me. I tried reusable but they were never that good.

We got a Bean2Cup last year. Factory refurbished from Delonghi. Yes it’s expensive (£300 ish?) but we drink a lot of coffee, and the cost of pods versus beans has already paid for itself in under a year.

Anyone tried the Rave coffee compostible pods?

I saw you can get a Dualit doohickey that cleans out the pods so you can put them in the recycling. Costs a tenner

The way I justify a coffee machine is the cost over time. Even just one coffee every other day at 40p a shot comes in at over £70 per year. It depends what coffee you drink but Aldi do beans for about £2 which are actually pretty good and will cost you a fraction of that. 2 or 3 years with a £200 machine will be barely any difference in cost. If it lasts longer you're quids in.

The pods aren't actually bad if you don't mind the synthetic thing. I could imagine some people might even prefer them. As mentioned above though, even just the waste alone is a bit of a deal breaker in this day and age.

Is any STW coffee thread complete without a video from James Hoffmann? It is not.

Surely peak STW:

I had a Nespresso (not Vertuo) for years until it broke recently and I spent £££ on a refurbished Sage Oracle (but it’s worth it for the lack of waste 😇)
Used to keep a stock of Amazon own brand pods for a quick caffeine hit which weren’t amazing but under 10p a go! A place local to me roasted & made their own (compostable) pods which were amazing, better even than Nespresso ones, but similarly spendy.
Tried the re-usable pods once, bag of shite.
If you drink espresso etc it’s the only machine worth considering, most other pod machines are just hot drinks machines really & don’t make actual espresso (under pressure).

I saw you can get a Dualit doohickey that cleans out the pods so you can put them in the recycling. Costs a tenner

Got one, very good and therapeutic to use. Used grinds go in the compost and rinse out the used metal and they go in the recycling bin.

Had a Nespresso Vertuo, has been replaced 4 times so far, each one developed leaks and also electrical issues, I expect due to the leaks. My dad also has one, he has experienced the first break and sorting out a new machine at the moment. My sister now has my latest replacement. I've moved to an aeropress.

I previously had the smaller pod Nespresso machine which lasted 8 years until it started leaking badly. Vertuo took 4-5 months from new to break.

Aeropress coffee tastes far superior to both Nespressos I had.

So, I'm guessing if the machine specs don't list the pressure it runs at then they're not really worth it?

For your espresso only requirement I second the Lavazza a modo mio. Bought one as a stop gap while my "proper" machine was being repaired about 5 years ago and have ended up sticking with it ever since.

Saw an interesting take on pod coffee while staying at a friend's recently. They have a Sage machine that takes (original) Nespresso pods. That of course means they can use any of the generic/ own brand pods that use the same shape - Waitrose do some, for example.
But they take it a step further and have some stainless steel reusable pods. They grind up coffee beans, fill the pods and then bung them in the machine; once they're done they wash them and fill them up again.

It raises the question of why you'd bother over a bean to cup machine, but it at least means they have options.

I kept a small Krups nespresso machine at work in a plastic box. It’s clean, makes a decent coffee and packs away easily. At home I have b2c, aeropress and cafetière. I found the nespresso coffee fine and I recycled the pods.

The nestle patent expired and now pods are available from multiple sources which made purchasing very simple. Since lockdown I’ve lent it out. Son2 has the same model in his room at college for the above reasons.

I have generally found that I like the Lavvaza coffee best out of all the main brands I've tried....

Ok, ordered a Lavazza mini one - checked and it does 15 bar pressure, has compostable pods and you can get non-proprietary ones. It is also very small and looks decent enough which helps with the whole girlfriend/kitchen thing.

£30 from Rymans so not a huge investment to see how I get on.

Nespresso introduced Vertuo pods as the patent on classic pods expired a couple of years ago, hence why you can now buy cheap classic pods. Is Vertuo better? Maybe, but I bought my parents a classic pod machine recently to access the cheaper pods even though the machine was more expensive. They only have occasional coffee so easy for them, but I'm drinking more and went bean to cup mainly due to the pod waste.

I bought one of these :

https://www.delonghi.com/en-gb/en510-w-lattissima-one-nespresso-coffee-machine/p/EN510.W

Factory refurb for slightly over £100 about two years ago when I started WFH. Its great - I'm the only person who uses it so spending more on fancy bean to cup etc is simply pointless. It makes signifcantly better/nicer coffee than instant, its very quick, easy to clean, has worked flawlessly.

I usually get pods from https://www.cafepod.com/ - dont pay full price, theres always offers and discount codes etc.

Hiya,

I've never been a fan of pod machines because of the environment. I'm too poor to buy a bean to cup machines, they seem awfully expensive for the money. However I do like my coffee and I'm not pouring scorn on people with more money than me to invest in a really expensive coffee maker. I actually quite like grinding my own beans and measuring out the amount of coffee into the filter holder.
I tend to grind up the coffee on a weekly basis for the machine and store it in an sealed airtight container.
Currently I'm using a Delonghi Icona machine and I'm very happy with it. I look after it and it has lasted very well, with no real problems.

BR
JeZ

cloudnine
Free Member

Anyone tried the Rave coffee compostible pods?

We tried them in two machines. They worked well 90% of the time in an 'Essenza' machine but failed most of the time in an 'Inissia' machine. They tend to clog up and pressure builds up in the machine which is not good. I would say it is worth a try, if they work well in your machine they are nice.

When I started working from home we really noticed the coffee cost per month shoot up so we switched from Nespresso to a De'Longhi Dedica Espresso Machine and it has paid for itself in a short time and it is hardly any harder to use

The Lavazza Tiny showed up today.

Makes a nice coffee - hot and with the foam on top I don't get with the Moka pot. It came with a few different pods so will need to work through them and see what I like.

Easy to use and nice and small on the kitchen bunkers. And only cost £30.
Will need to take it with me next time I go out in the campervan!

Got a bean to cup for home use but have had a Krups Nespresso in the camper for the last 5 years, Usually stock up on the pods when we are in France. Have noticed that Tesco have started to have a good selection that are usually on offer. Tend to go for the stronger blends