POD coffee machine - which one

[anonymous-user]

Bullett said:

Another vote for Nespresso.
Use mine 2 or 3 times a day (work from home). Very happy with the coffee in comparison with the faf of my stove top bialetti.

2 or 3 times a day? I admire your powers of abstinence.

I've got mine in my office (there's 5 of us) and we go through around 25 pods a day, I myself will drain at least 6 up until about 4 in the afternoon.

[CRB14]

uncinqsix said:

As processed food products go, it is actually pretty simple - there's a lot less handling, processing and packaging than most.

Process with loose beans:

1.) Coffee grower puts dried green beans into a big hessian sack
2.) Coffee grower/co-op/exporter ships the sack of green beans from country of origin to a roaster in the destination market (NZ in my case).
3.) Roaster roasts beans, and puts them into a paper bag.
4.) Beans get put into a van and driven across town to retailer.
5.) I buy the beans and use them, then throw the paper bag in the normal household paper recycling, and add the used grounds to the compost.

Process with Nespresso

1.) Coffee grower puts dried green beans into a hessian sack
2.) Beans get shipped to Nestle's manufacturing plant (wherever that is. Likely not in the final destination market).
3.) Somewhere else in the world, either bauxite or used aluminium is processed into new aluminium billets. (pods are only 30% recycled aluminium)
4.) Billets get shipped to Nestle's pod manufacturing plant, turned into pod cases and shipped to the plant in (2)
5.) Beans get roasted, ground and put into pods.
6.) Pods get put into shiny retail packaging
7.) Pods get shipped from manufacturing country to distribution centre in destination country
8.) Pods get shipped to retailers
9.) Consumer buys pods, uses them and either puts the used pods into landfill (majority, according to Nestle themselves) or stores them up for recycling
10.) If recycling, the consumer/courier transports pods back to Nestle
11.) Nestle transports used pods to recycling centre capable of processing the used pods (I would be surprised if all nespresso market countries had a recycling program, so additional shipping may be needed to get pods to recycling facilities)
12.) Pods get recycled

There's a bit of a difference in terms of energy used, resources consumed and general faffing about.

To be realistic the average consumer that wants pod coffee isn't really going to consider the environmental impact of their purchase. I know I didn't until this was brought up.

Pods are all about convenience. Convenience comes at a price. Both environmental and cost wise

[Podie]

uncinqsix said:

Oakey said:

The simple process of making coffee, using coffee beans shipped from halfway around the world?

As processed food products go, it is actually pretty simple - there's a lot less handling, processing and packaging than most.

Process with loose beans:

1.) Coffee grower puts dried green beans into a big hessian sack
2.) Coffee grower/co-op/exporter ships the sack of green beans from country of origin to a roaster in the destination market (NZ in my case).
3.) Roaster roasts beans, and puts them into a paper bag.
4.) Beans get put into a van and driven across town to retailer.
5.) I buy the beans and use them, then throw the paper bag in the normal household paper recycling, and add the used grounds to the compost.

Process with Nespresso

1.) Coffee grower puts dried green beans into a hessian sack
2.) Beans get shipped to Nestle's manufacturing plant (wherever that is. Likely not in the final destination market).
3.) Somewhere else in the world, either bauxite or used aluminium is processed into new aluminium billets. (pods are only 30% recycled aluminium)
4.) Billets get shipped to Nestle's pod manufacturing plant, turned into pod cases and shipped to the plant in (2)
5.) Beans get roasted, ground and put into pods.
6.) Pods get put into shiny retail packaging
7.) Pods get shipped from manufacturing country to distribution centre in destination country
8.) Pods get shipped to retailers
9.) Consumer buys pods, uses them and either puts the used pods into landfill (majority, according to Nestle themselves) or stores them up for recycling
10.) If recycling, the consumer/courier transports pods back to Nestle
11.) Nestle transports used pods to recycling centre capable of processing the used pods (I would be surprised if all nespresso market countries had a recycling program, so additional shipping may be needed to get pods to recycling facilities)
12.) Pods get recycled

There's a bit of a difference in terms of energy used, resources consumed and general faffing about.

You neglected to mention where the paper bag is manufactured.

Get rid of your fossil fuel burning car, and then perhaps I'll take your green credentials seriously.

My comment was about the fact that Nespresso / Nestle make an effort to recycle. If you want to take that to the nth degree, then fine. I hope you dont use electricity to run your coffee machine, and God help us all if it's made from plastic or metal.

[uncinqsix]

Podie said:

You neglected to mention where the paper bag is manufactured.

Get rid of your fossil fuel burning car, and then perhaps I'll take your green credentials seriously.

My comment was about the fact that Nespresso / Nestle make an effort to recycle. If you want to take that to the nth degree, then fine. I hope you dont use electricity to run your coffee machine, and God help us all if it's made from plastic or metal.

I never claimed any particular green credentials. Someone else claimed that Nespresso are environmentally friendly, which isn't really true. I'm not going to give credit to Nestlé for making an effort to recycle: it's the very least they should do given that they created the situation in the first place.

By all means use Nespresso because you like it or it's convenient or whatever, but don't get taken in by the marketing BS about their "green credentials"

[Oakey]

Didn't they only say it's more environmentally friendly than Tassimo pods which are primarily plastic?

[Max M4X WW]

I've only been drinking coffee for a couple of months and have only had Cappuccino's, make of that what you will.

Regardless, I'm hooked and want a POD machine at home. My favourite Cappuccino is from Costa, I usually end up using the Express machines as they are convenient for work. M&S Cafe Coffee seemed pretty good to me and I try and avoid McDonalds though its not bad for the price.

Which machine will give a similar drink to a Costa Cappuccino? Tassimo do Costa branded pods but everyone here seems to prefer Nespresso - I guess it depends on what drink you like?

Thanks in advance

[sirbadger]

C0ffin D0dger said:

That's what I've got. Very good for Espresso, Latte and Cappuccino and you can make a long coffee with it too (I run the program twice on the Lungno pod).

But, it's a Nespresso so you have to buy the pods online, and it won't make hot chocolate although on the latte setting you could get it to make you a fairly large cup of frothy milk removing the cup before the water comes through for the espresso shot, then add you chocolate.

Instead of rumning the program twice for a lungo you can program the button to supply more water by holding it down and releasing it when you have enough coffee.

Also, if you want just hot milk you can press the latte button again just before the espresso shot comes through and it stops the machine.

[mcflurry]

Max M4X WW said:

My favourite Cappuccino is from Costa, I usually end up using the Express machines as they are convenient for work. M&S Cafe Coffee seemed pretty good to me and I try and avoid McDonalds though its not bad for the price.

Which machine will give a similar drink to a Costa Cappuccino? Tassimo do Costa branded pods but everyone here seems to prefer Nespresso - I guess it depends on what drink you like?

Sounds like the Tassimo fits your requirements-

Costa - check
Cappuccino - check

[simonej]

I've got a Nespresso, and they're probably the best option as they're readily available.

However, the Lucaffe pod machines are in a different league! Much better than Nespresso but hard to get hold of. Anyone else tried them?

[HTP99]

Ive asked for a Nespresso for Christmas, nothing fancy as I'm the only one in the house who drinks coffee and it is always black so one of the cheaper machines that just produces a black coffee is fine for me and as a bonus my daughter works in a department store that sells Nespresso and the capsules and she can get 20% off.

[sgrimshaw]

mcflurry said:

Sounds like the Tassimo fits your requirements-

Costa - check
Cappuccino - check

Tassimo Cappuccino is vile though ... and absolutely nothing like a Costa

[Max M4X WW]

sgrimshaw said:

mcflurry said:

Sounds like the Tassimo fits your requirements-

Costa - check
Cappuccino - check

Tassimo Cappuccino is vile though ... and absolutely nothing like a Costa

Seems to be a common comment.

Which Nespresso is best though - Aeroccino or Lattissima? Then there seems to be 100 types of Espresso, I have no idea! Try them I gues!

[Sy1441]

Aerocino is better.

[sirbadger]

Sy1441 said:

Aerocino is better.

What makes you say the aeroccino better? I have a latissima and love the simplicity of just getting the milk tank from the fridge, plugging it in and pressing one button for a latte. Only complaint I have is that it makes quite a lot of foam even on its lowest setting.

[williaa68]

I have a nespresso machine and like it a lot. However i recently stayed in a hotel where they had an illy version - one of these:

http://www.illy.com/wps/wcm/connect/en/coffee-at-h...

It was really good. Probably better than the nespresso if i am honest.

[Ben Jk]

Another massive vote for Nespresso here.

I'm a coffee geek. Nespresso is the closest to fresh ground coffee you can get with pods.

Ideally we'd all have espresso machines and grind our own beans etc. but for ease of use for the busy working/family man/woman, then the Nespresso is absolutley spot on.

I've got a Citiz & Milk. The Aerrocino is awesome.

[Ben Jk]

williaa68 said:

I have a nespresso machine and like it a lot. However i recently stayed in a hotel where they had an illy version - one of these:

http://www.illy.com/wps/wcm/connect/en/coffee-at-h...

It was really good. Probably better than the nespresso if i am honest.

Ooooh. I've used Francis Francis Illy capsule machines in the past within the hotel industry but didn't know they did them for home use now! Might have to take a look!

[sgrimshaw]

I've got a Latissima Plus and an Aeroccino.

The former is more convenient, the latter more flexible.

For making more than one drink at a time the Latissima is much better.

[sneijder]

sirbadger said:

Instead of rumning the program twice for a lungo you can program the button to supply more water by holding it down and releasing it when you have enough coffee.

I read that whilst half cut last night and remembered this morning.

I made a bigger Lungo to hit the spot, with a mug.

I've just used a normal smaller coffee cup and swamped the kitchen top, not realising I'd reprogrammed the bloody thing.

Thanks though, I've fixed it so I get a slightly bigger Lungo whilst watching Postman Pat tomorrow morning ...

[okgo]

I must be doing it wrong. I've got a nespresso machine at work which takes the flying saucer shape discs rather than the pods the domestic machines use and I can't get on with the coffee it makes.

My usual is 2 of the weaker pods with two shots of hot milk. Yet when I go to my local coffee shop (Fleet street press) the stuff they do is 10x better.

Am I doing it wrong?