Talk to me about coffee pod machines

[KarenOH]

Just come back from holiday and they had a Delongi pod coffee machine and I fell in love with how easy it was and now I want one for home.

but where do I start? Am I likely to only be tied into a specific type of pod with some machines?

coffee folks - please don’t come for me. I already have my own bean grinder, a moka pot, a french press and drip filter machine. I want a pod machine for convenience!

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/review/best-coffee-pod-machines

why not just get the delonghi one you loved?

That's exactly what we did! Most seem to be Nespresso compatible... in fact we got lots of Nespresso pods with the machine and liked them but haven't seen them anywhere since! Most of the independent pod brands fit them. We get compostible ones.

We got one that heats and froths milk too - find the finished coffee is too cold otherwise. (Never used to make little espressos).

I have a phillips L’Or. It takes neapresso shape pods. Don’t get cheap plastic ones as it can spoil the machine. Mine was within warranty luckily so I got a new one. The milk frothed is awesome, even though I drink black coffee!

It’s about £2 for ten pods in Aldi. There’s an online shop that offers a lot of variety for not much more, with pods that are near their date.

I use it instead of my mocha pot for my morning caffeinated coffee, then drink decaf filter the rest of the day.

I have had a Lavazza a modo mio machine for a couple of years. The pods are very airtight so the coffee says fresh. The quality of the coffee is imo very good.
Previously I had a Dolce Gusto type pod machine, the pods were never airtight so the coffee was not the greatest

You can get a machine free with a L’Or coffee subscription. You recycle the pods with them, too.

It only took a specific type of coffee pod which seemed to limit what you could get. I would ideally kale a wide choice to pick from

Thanks all! Looking at the L’Or and the Lavazza ones now….

Get the nespresso sage machine with the built in steam wand rather than a separate frother. Think it's called creatista. Bit pricey, but you can often get customer returned as new ones on ebay and amazon loads cheaper.

The wand is so much better at making frothy milk, and excellent for hot chocolate.

Imo, starbucks pods are the best. Apparently made in the nespresso factory and often on special in one supermarket or other for 2.75 a pack (waitrose currently)

We have a bog standard small Nespresso and it's great. Also really easy to clean. DH found it on a discount site for 1€ (brand new). I buy the capsules at the Nespresso shop and it's 18€ something for 4 packs of 10. It's the only decaff I can drink without getting acid reflux. I take back the pods to the Nespresso shop and they 'recycle' them.

Thanks for the Starbucks info re: nespresso. I only use nespresso pods as find all the others rubbish - even Harrods house blend ones! I don’t like Starbucks coffee - are the pods v similar in taste??

OP I used to have a very fancy bean to cup machine that broke a lot and in the end I traded occasionally amazing coffee for consistently average coffee and got a nespresso machine. I’ve had 2 in about 12 years and they get a daily battering. Well worth the money IMO. I buy the smallest cheapest machine as I’m the only user in our home.

Another vote for the L’Or one - they nearly always have offers on, and if you buy their pods online they’re very reasonable (though are happily compatible with other “nespresso “ pods). You can also buy large pods which make a mug’s worth of coffee.

Do the large ones go in any Nespresso machine? Think i tried "lungo" ones but the ones I got weren't great. Would love a longer drink, although tbh could just use two pods!

@Hardlyworking I think that's the machine we have. Used another one recently in another holiday let and it was rubbish so I really appreciate ours!

I don't drink Starbucks coffee actually as I'm not a fan 😂

Someone turned me onto the Starbucks pods ages ago. They taste as good as the best nespresso own pods. No resemblance to the coffee available in the cafes!

I’ve got a small nespresso and use the compostible pods from Grind- they mail them monthly. I have an hotbin so compost them but even if you don’t compost and just chuck them in the bin they’ll still break down in landfill within a year. I use a separate milk frother- it’s Lavazzo.

We have a small Nespresso machine and drink black lungos so don't need anything else. Love it - we've found a nespresso pod we both really like (we have tried other brands but found none really worked properly in the machine) and recycle our pods via Nespresso so don't feel too guilty about it.

Small Nespresso machine here. About £100 from Amazon. Get my pods monthly from Wonky Coffee a great little company who rescue dented and otherwise going to landfill pods (seem to get loads of the pink ones from Grind). Great variety in each box of 100 pods. I recycle the pods using the Dualit gadget - used coffee decants into pot then put in composter, empty aluminium pods get rinsed and going recycling bin.

I've got the Creatista touch screen Nespresso machine - it's amazing!

Can buy pods from anywhere (love the Starbucks ones) and the steam wand + customisation settings make it a win for me. It also looks good!

You can get pods for espresso shots / lungo etc and just run hot water through it too.

@DistantConstellation - no the large pods only fit the L'Or machine. It knows what size it's got and dispenses the right amount of water.

Yes we have this one too. The kids also use it for hot chocolate/ frothy milk and my daughter uses it for green tea instead of boiling the kettle.

We had a bean to cup before. Although more expensive i wouldn't go back. This is just much more convenient and consistent and doesn't make a mess. I love it. Coffee is as good as costa etc. but i do use 2 pods a coffee.

We’ve got the Sage Nespresso machine, it’s got a
milk frother and goes with all the normal pods that you buy in supermarkets. We like the Nespresso pods best though, proper coffee shop style latte and flat whites.

Awesome! Thank you!!