Best Coffee Pods for Your Single Serve Coffee Machine
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This is an article on the best coffee pods you can find on the market today for your single serve coffee machine aka coffee pod machine.
In the last decade, there’s been a revolution happening when it comes to coffee consumption at home. This is the huge uptake of the single serve coffee machine all around the world. Today, this is the go to coffee maker for those who want to have good quality coffee at home. The machine is easy to use and makes a great cup of coffee, whatever type of coffee you like to drink.
If you are looking at buying a coffee pod machine, why not read our article on the best coffee pod machines available on the market? This is a review of some of the most popular single serve coffee makers available.
Before you buy
Don’t forget that once you’ve made the decision to buy one of these machines, you will be locked to that type of coffee pods. This means that you will be able to change from one of the same type of machine to another and continue to use your stock of coffee pods. However, you can’t move across the types of single serve machines since the coffee pods are quite different in construction.
Are coffee pods bad for the environment?
Friends are telling you that coffee pods are bad for the environment. You are either feeling guilty about your machine or wondering if you should go ahead and buy one. One of the articles we wrote is exactly on this subject of sustainability of coffee pods and whether they are an environmental challenge.
The Best Coffee Pods
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Let’s move forward and look at a situation where you are now the proud owner of a single serve coffee machine. One of the things that you definitely want is to find the best coffee pods for your machine so that you can enjoy a great cup of coffee at home.
This article is written keeping in mind the different types of coffee machines and the types of coffee drinks that you may be looking for. We are British and so what you’ll find is that we’ve covered the coffee pods for some of the most popular machines that you can buy in the UK.
Look at the heading below and you can either jump straight to the coffee pods for your machine and type of drink or have a read through of all the options available.
Quick NavigationBest coffee pods for Tassimo MachinesVariety packsAmericano/EspressoCappuccino/Latte/Latte MacchiatoDecafBest Coffee Pods for Dolce Gusto MachinesVariety PacksAmericano/EspressoCappuccino/Latte/LungoDecafBest coffee pods for Nespresso MachinesVariety PacksDecaf
Best coffee pods for Tassimo Machines
The Tassimo brand became a budget competitor to the original Nespresso brand of single serve coffee machines. Consumers love them for their versatility of being able to do just about any type of hot drink in a café style. Yes, this means they do not just coffees, but hot chocolates and teas as well. Discover the best Tassimo coffee machine on the market here.
Variety packs
Tassimo Costa Coffee Mix
If you are the kind of household that loves to drink a variety of coffees, then a value for money option is to get the Tassimo Costa coffee mix pack.
This consists of one pack of Americano and three packs of milk-based coffees namely the Latte, Cappuccino and Caramel Latte. If you are just getting started with a Tassimo machine, this is useful since it gives you a variety.
Americano/Espresso
If you love your black coffees, then the following are the ones to try for your Tassimo single serve coffee machine. You can always add milk or the milk pod, and convert the black coffee into a cappuccino or latte at home.
Tassimo Kenco Colombian Americano
This is a favourite Tassimo blend for many because its smooth and well rounded.
Tassimo Costa Americano
If you like strong black coffee, this is one of the best loved Tassimo coffee pods.
Tassimo Kenco Americano Smooth Coffee
This makes a smooth strong coffee that’s well loved.
Tassimo L’Or Espresso
Strong and intense if you love an espresso. Remember that an espresso is a very small shot of coffee. If you are looking at a longer milk-based coffee, you may find this is weak.
Look at the Kenco Colombian Americano for a long black coffee that’s great with milk too.
Tassimo Carte Noire Espresso
These espresso pods are a firm favourite for the taste of real coffee.
Cappuccino/Latte/Latte Macchiato
If you only like your coffees with the creamer/milk provided by Tassimo, these are the ones to consider for your Tassimo coffee pod machine.
Tassimo Costa Cappuccino
A favourite Costa cappuccino to enjoy at home.
Tassimo Costa Latte
If you love the Costa latte, this works really well to enjoy at home
Tassimo L’Or Latte Macchiato
A quality coffee with a smooth creamy taste. The velvety foam on top makes it a delicious drink.
Decaf
If you want the taste of coffee without the caffeine, the decaf Tassimo coffee pods are the ones for you. Decaf is also useful if you find that sleep is affected if you have a coffee late in the evenings or at night.
Tassimo Decaf Variety Bundle
This variety bundle is made of the following four coffees
- TASSIMO Kenco Americano Decaf
- Tassimo Cafe HAG Crema Decaffeinated
- TASSIMO L’Or Decaf Espresso
- TASSIMO Marcilla Espresso Decaf
It’s a good way to taste a variety of decafs till you find the one that you like the most.
Tassimo L’Or Espresso Decaf
This is a firm favourite because of the well-rounded flavour
Tassimo Kenco Americano Decaf
This is another good decaf coffee if you like long black coffees.
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Best Coffee Pods for Dolce Gusto Machines
The Dolce Gusto was Nestle’s budget option to the Nespresso brand. Seeing the success of Tassimo & Keurig machines that do a variety of drinks, Nestle introduced the Dolce Gusto that also does a variety of hot drinks. If you are looking for the best coffee pods for the Dolce Gusto machines, read on.
Variety Packs
Dolce Gusto Capsules All Inclusive Set
This set is a useful way to try out a dozen of the Dolce Gusto flavours. The pack includes espresso, both the regular and intenso, Grande (regular and mild), Mocha, Cappuccino, Latte Macchiato, Americano, Lungo (regular and decaf), Cortado decaf and Chococino.
Dolce Gusto Four Flavour Variety Pack
If a large variety is overwhelming or you don’t want decaf options, the Dolce Gusto Four Flavour variety pack is handy. It has a Cappuccino, Espresso, Latte Macchiato & a Chococino.
Americano/Espresso
Every one of the brands of coffee pod machines create their own lingo. In the case of Dolce Gusto, if you are looking for espresso you’ve got four options – Espresso, Espresso Intenso, Espresso Ristretto & Espresso Barista. The first two give you about 50 ml with Espresso Intenso being more intense than the Espresso. The Ristretto & Barista are espresso drinks like you’d get in a proper coffee shop with the Barista being the more intense of the two.
DOLCE GUSTO CAFFE AMERICANO
For a long black coffee, the Dolce Gusto Caffe Americano is a go to choice.
Dolce Gusto Espresso Barista
To create your own espresso to cappuccino at home with the Dolce Gusto, our preference is the Dolce Gusto Espresso Barista. With fresh milk and a milk frother, you can create delicious cappuccinos or lattes as well as have a strong espresso after a meal.
Cappuccino/Latte/Lungo
Dolce Gusto Café Au Lait
This is a firm favourite with a lot of Dolce Gusto owners and is a long milky coffee. This is not fresh coffee but rather instant coffee with milk that comes from a pod. The flavour is great if you are looking for that kind of well made instant coffee.
Dolce Gusto Cappuccino
For a lot of Dolce Gusto owners who love milk based coffees, the Dolce Gusto Cappuccino is the go to set of pods.
Decaf
Dolce Gusto Decaff Café Au Lait
A decaf version of the Café Au Lait described above.
Dolce Gusto Decaff Cortado
Loved as a wonderful tasting decaf coffee. The volume is small at around 80ml but it makes up for in flavour.
Dolce Gusto Intenso Decaffeinated
See above for our description of what a Dolce Gusto Espresso Intenso is. This is a decaffeinated version that hits the spot if you want an intense tasting black coffee.
Best coffee pods for Nespresso Machines
Nespresso machines are the original single serve coffee machines invented in the 1980s. You can use the Nespresso integrated milk frothers or a separate frother to create stunning coffees at home.
The George Clooney coffee machine is sleek, sophisticated and great quality. If you want great coffee and a machine you are proud to display in your kitchen, the Nespresso machine should be your option.
Nespresso pods come in a variety of intensities and types. You have mild and aromatic coffees, then you have the intenso series that have much a higher strength of the coffee flavour. There are the lungo coffees, if you like long black coffees. Finally there are the single origin coffees, the decaffeinated series and the exotic flavours.
The best thing to do also is to step into a Nespresso shop, try out some of the different coffee strengths and then buy a set of your favourites. Otherwise, you can always buy a mix of capsules which gives you a set options for a variety of moods.
The list below is our favourite Nespresso pods.
Variety Packs
Nespresso Original Mixed Variety
If it is your first Nespresso machine, having a variety of the Nespresso original capsules is a good way to find the flavours you like. The Livanto and Arpeggio are two of our favourites in this mix.
Nespresso Luxury Mixed
This is a nicer variety and is more expensive. The Rosabaya is one of our favourite Nespresso coffees. The Indriya is strong and intense, something for certain moods. The Livanto is also a wonderful flavour of coffee.
Barista Italiano Mixed Capsules
The Barista Italiano is a Nespresso compatible set of capsules. With six different coffees that vary in intensity from 6-9, it’s great alternate to Nespresso own capsules.
Starbucks Fairtrade Espresso Roast capsules
If you like cold coffees in Starbucks, the Fairtrade Espresso Roast capsules allow you to recreate the cold coffees at home.
Decaf
Nespresso Decaf Variety
The Nespresso coffee flavours in a decaf variety if you don’t want the caffeine.
Decaffeinated Espresso Torino
For an intense and rich aroma with a great flavour in a decaf version, the pods from RealCoffee are worth a try.
Recap
This was an article on the best coffee pods for a variety of different single serve coffee machines. Coffee pods come in a variety based on the type of coffee and machine. It can take time to you’re your favourite. We hope this short list helped you with that. Drop us a line and let us know which ones your favourites are. Have we missed any that should be on this list?