Please explain coffee pod machines to me

[Lagirl20]

Can someone please explain coffee pod machines to me? I want to be able to make good coffee at home. Cappuccinos. Can I use (recyclable) pods in a machine to make espresso? What’s in all the other flavoured pods, how do they work - is it powdered / dried milk? Or do you add milk to the machine? I’m clueless!

They are an expensive way to make nasty, lukewarm coffee.

If you want a good cappuccino, get a stove top coffee pot and a milk frother.

I have an (old) dolce gusto, not sure about the others. Espresso, americano, variations on those and hot chocolate I do with a single pod. Cappuccino, latte and variations on those you do with two pods - one coffee and one powdered milk. There are loads of different types and flavours of drink to choose from. Cold/iced varieties also. I really like mine. It's pretty low maintenance. I'm not a coffee connoisseur by any means but I'm fussier than someone who is happy with a crappy Nescafe - for someone like me the pod coffee is enjoyable, if you're very knowledgeable and technical about coffee it may be crap, I'm not sure.

Agree with the pp. Recently got one as a gift and forgot how much I dislike the taste of uht milk. I'm going to get a milk frother for Christmas and just use that for milky drinks.

My mum had a Nespresso which I thought was mediocre at best. I had to use 2 pods to make an ok strength coffee. ( making it expensive per cup). It’s also slow so if you were making 4 or 5 cups you’d be there some time and it’s wasteful. They sell a separate milk heater / frother which you needed if you want a latte etc When the coffee maker broke she didn’t replace it. She’s now looking to replace it with a stove top pot ( Mokka) which uses any ground coffee and is easy to clean. Most importantly creates great tasting espresso without the waste . She still uses the frother.

They are rubbish. Honestly, I love my low tech cafetiere so much more.

Not sure about recycling aspect but my sister has one, much of the appeal seems to be in making ‘branded’ drinks. My understanding is it’s all powdered/uht milk, bit like those sachets you can buy and add hot water to.

If you’re after good coffee a Moka pot will do. Alternatively, I have a proper coffee machine. You can get bean to cup or ones where you use ground coffee to make espresso. Mine also has a steamer, like in a coffee shop. I get crema on my espresso and it’s as good as any shop with far less packaging than pods.

Delonghi bean to cup machine , amazing. No hassle, nice coffee!

I think we've been through them all now. Dh has had dolce gusto and nespresso machines both of which have gone to our kids as he didn't use them. He now has a fancy breville thing that pumps milk in etc but is so much of a pain in the arse to clean he usually uses instant coffee.

I prefer a filter coffee and his fancy machine wouldn't do that, so I bought myself a lovely little Melitta filter machine with a thermal pot that keeps warm for hours and I bloody love it. Amusingly dh is now using that and concedes that for us simpler is probably much better.

@MissKeithsNeice

They are an expensive way to make nasty, lukewarm coffee.

If you want a good cappuccino, get a stove top coffee pot and a milk frother.

Exactly this!

After trialling most of the coffee machines and milk frothers on the market over a few years I was recommended this milk steamer product by a cafe owner:

https://www.nisbets.co.uk/dualit-cino-milk-steamer/cn452?vatToggle=incvat&plaid=1&cmmmc=PLAA1449031436767--121825138730---CN452&cmmmca1=goo144903143671218251387300542937850549pla-14130362034666m&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIiJHK1ZZR9AIVA-ztCh0miwPOEAQYASABEgI1VDD_BwE

I can honestly say the secret is in the caramelisation of the milk. I've since not had a bad coffee even with instant granules. But it's sublime with real coffee from a stove top pot (Italian coffee pots).

So we had a self serve one at work and used espresso pods and a separate milk frothy (bit like the dualit one linked above) it was great and I liked it a lot.

Personally I think nespresso tastes just fine. And the mess of making fresh coffee is too much faff (unless it's a weekend and my dh is doing it 🙃)

We use a Bialetti Moka stovetop pot. Perfect every time. I also find the Aeropress is pretty good.