Coffee pod machines

[tootsieglitterballs]

Any recommendations?!

Would love to get us one as a little ‘family’ Christmas pressie from Father Christmas (I do this every year) , but have no idea what to look for, which are good makes, reasonable price pods, nicest coffee etc...

Thinking this week / Black Friday will be the best time to buy one.

We love coffee and hot chocolate in our home. But I tend to stick to decaf coffee (migraines), hubby likes lattes, I love things like chai latte too.

Any help would be awesome - thank you!

We have a Dolce Gusto machine. It does all the drinks you mention.
I've started using some compatible pods from another company which are a bit cheaper, but I can usually find offers on the pods and I stock up a bit.
We use ours every day.
Someone will now be along to tell you to grind your own beans and brew it on the stove, but I like our machine!

Can't help but I'm interested in answers too!

We have a Dolce Gusto as well - it's good!

We had a dolci gusto too but it was short lived. Pods too expensive to use all the time and we ended up replacing it with a filter coffee machine. We love hot chocolate too but just make it ourselves

We’ve had a nespresso Delonghi for about 3years. The coffee from nespresso is always lovely (and they will pick up and recycle the used ones for free!), and you can get compatible pods in supermarkets too- but I’ve found these can be variable in terms of quality. We do really like it but descaling it is a bit of a pain!

Depending on how green you are, you may be interested in learning more about the environmental impact before you hit the buy button: www.honestcoffees.com/blog/environmental-impact-of-using-coffee-pods/

(I'm not judging anyone either way, as we all have an impact on the planet - just mentioning it in case you were unaware.)

You should be able to get a bargain on the Dolce Gusto. I get the pods online as they have more flavours than you can get in supermarkets. Just beware that most boxes contain 16 pods, so if you want a straight coffee they make 16 drinks, but only 8 if you buy capu or lattes.

I forgot to say that we have the DG at work, but at home we have a stove top pot and a Lavassa induction milk frother. We definitely make far better coffee at home with those two.

Having stayed several times with friends who have the coffee pod machines (and other coffee machines), I’ve never been tempted to move away from my trusty cafetieres. Too much faffing.

Another vote for Nespresso here. So easy to use; we got our machine for a quid with a subscription deal. I think it's about £18 a month normally we buy 200 capsules (about sixty quid) to get free delivery every three months.

They recycle our old capsules too so my conscience is clear :)

I do agree that the environmental impact of these things is good to consider before you buy. I think the idea of convenience is a big factor in a lot of what we buy without perhaps checking on the wider impact. Blue Planet 2 is showing is why we need to consider what our lifestyle choices are doing to the planet.
There are compostable versions of these pods, which is great if you have a garden and do that sort of thing already, but otherwise please read that very good article by shotsfired before you go ahead.

I'd definitely recommend a Nespresso machine if you enjoy coffee. You can get the cheaper machines that just do espresso and then you add your own milk. Or you can get slightly more expensive machines that you add fresh milk to that will make lattes and cappuccinos for you, as a pp said you can buy compatible pods cheaper and I've also seen a company that does hot chocolate pods. We've had a tasimo and the dulce gusto and found the taste not so nice the milk tastes very artificial.

woman recycling is great if indeed they actually do?! There's lots of speculation that these companies don't do as well as they should on that front, and there is much support for just not producing things that need to be recycled in the first place....

A Lavazza machine - the A Modo MIA - not as well known as some of the other brands, but every coffee aficionado I know thinks the quality and flavour of the coffee is better. I couldn't be without mine! And the decaf pods are excellent.

In your position I'd be more tempted by a milk warmer/frother machine. Cheaper and lower environmental impact.

I've had a Dolce Gusto and I've now got a Tassimo, much prefer my Tassimo and there's a wider range of drinks available. Would never go back to a Dolce Gusto now. Just my thoughts though.

Love my nespresso machine! It does only do coffee, but there are a lot of decaf options and some flavoured coffees like caramel, vanilla, chocolate.
I use mine daily and I’d be gutted if it broke ha ha! Still going after 3 years

I have a Lavazza Modo Mia by my bed for my decadent first morning coffee - but I drink it black so don't know if it does all the different 'flavours'.

We have an espresso machine downstairs to try and minimise my pod guilt though, just compostable grounds to dispose of. Previously we had the senseo machine that used little 'bags' that could also be composted but found it was falling out of popularity so struggled to find the refills.

I’ve had a Dolce Gusto, Tassimo and currently have a Nespresso so can rate all three.

Whilst I love my Nespresso, it is limited in options, and definitely suits a person who has a love and appreciation of different coffees more than anything.

Dolce Gusto is great and does various options of drinks rather than just coffee, I’ve also seen it at a really low price in Asda this week (can’t remember how much though).

I would say Tassimo is the best though for the whole family and if you’re wanting various drink options from it. Tassimo probably had the widest range of choices and all the ones I ever tried were nice.
I recently gave mine to my little sister though as she loves the Oreo hot chocolate pods available.

We have a Dolce Gusto and it does all the things you’ve mentioned. You can also buy reusable pods that you put your own ground coffee in. My parents have a tassimo and i think there’s a bigger range of drinks you can get for that, including lots of hot chocolates, and more compatible pods. Can get nice decaf coffee for both.

girlandboy what are the compatible pods you use with the Dolce Gusto?? I’ve never managed to find any!

Thank you everyone for such great info for a complete novice!

Not looking for something for ‘every brew’ use - more of a ‘weekend / day off treat’ I expect.

Wowcher and stuff always have offers on combo deals for the pods for
Dolce gusto

It is nice you could also get some
Post lattee glasses from
IKEA or such which make it nice and fancy.

No!!! Plastic is ruining our planet!!!

Please instead buy a machine you can put coffee beans in!

I do send my capsules back to be recycled, I don't think the problem lies with the not recycling of capsules when they get them but a failure of people to return them for recycling.

Whilst I do get we should reduce what we need to use and I do try; it's got to be a balance. Should we condemn the world to drinking only instant forevermore? Bizarrely in contrast I drink loose leaf tea which I think is better for composting as bags are often sealed with plastic which doesn't degrade properly. Which most people would roll their eyes at. I suppose we've all got to make our own decisions and try our best to minimise any damage by recycling etc.

@Spam88 I'm currently trying some pods for our Dolce Gusto from Cafe Royal, here - uk.cafe-royal.com/capsules-nescafe-dolce-gusto-system Partly because they do separate milk pods. The creamy layer/froth is nicer than proper Dolce Gusto ones, it's much creamier.

The other place I've had some from is Cafe Pod which I actually bought in Sainsbury's, but here they are - www.cafepod.com/collections/dolce-gusto-compatible-pods

I'm using up a rather strong Lungo with a milk pod to make my own variation of a latte!