Coffee pod machine

coffeehound

twopenny said:

As I now use a whistling kettle on the gas hob (saved £10 a month less the gas cost ;-) I did consider a stove top coffee maker but would have to learn a whole new skill + washing up.

I didn't know that the machines under discussion only heated just one cup of water. They seem to come with a biggish tank.

@twopenny Pod machines heat up the water as it is needed, and only to about 80C, so probably a bit more efficient that making an instant as Grumpy mentioned.

Stove top moka pots are fairly easy to use once you get the hang, and make a nice strong brew.  

My favorite quick coffee method is the old swissgold one-cup 



I think it must be the easiest way to make good coffee

twopenny

Oh that looks good. I've bookmarked it.
I can get paper filters but not the jug thing you use with them.
And filter isn't the same as the ones you tamp.

I've been inspired to try the bean to cup but it's an outlay.

GDB2222

twopenny said:

Oh that looks good. I've bookmarked it.
I can get paper filters but not the jug thing you use with them.
And filter isn't the same as the ones you tamp.

I've been inspired to try the bean to cup but it's an outlay.

Aeropress is similar to Swiss Gold. There's a plunger, so you can push the water through the ground coffee. Many millions of people swear by Aeropress, me included, whereas I had never heard of Swiss Gold. 

I'd suggest looking carefully at both. The outlay for either is fairly small compared to a bean to cup machine. However, be aware that you are not comparing like with like. The bean to cup machine gives you freshly ground coffee, but you will need a grinder if you want freshly ground coffee with either Swiss Gold of Aeropress.

Pre-ground coffee is convenient, but it really does not taste as good as fresh ground.



 

Mnoee

I'm team bean to cup - most mornings I wake up, press on, then tap espresso twice and I have my perfect coffee, which is all I can manage before a coffee. The most arduous it ever gets is also topping up beans and water.

One thing that hasn't come up yet - The environmental bonus is also a big factor for me. I'm aware that most pods can be cleaned and recycled, but reducing the plastic and aluminium from 100 or so pods, plus any cardboard packaging to a single 1kg bag is dramatically less packaging. Definitely a good thing.

Edit: oops, just spotted people mentioning the 'landfill' aspect of pod machines early on in the discussion, but I'll leave it here just because I feel it cannot be said enough! 

DullGreyGuy

Mnoee said:
I'm aware that most pods can be cleaned and recycled, but reducing the plastic and aluminium from 100 or so pods, plus any cardboard packaging to a single 1kg bag is dramatically less packaging. 

There are some doing better in the pod space... Grind's Nespresso compatible pods are biodegradable for example and others will debate if cardboard made from sustainable/recycled materials is better than the plastic bag most beans are sold in. Thankfully they are also cheaper in bulk than the originals but cannot compete with Lidl etc. 

We've come a long way from if you need to match pod to coffee type which is actually what was asked and only a couple commented on before we got distracted mainly by price and occasionally by taste. 

Emmia

DullGreyGuy said:

Mnoee said:
I'm aware that most pods can be cleaned and recycled, but reducing the plastic and aluminium from 100 or so pods, plus any cardboard packaging to a single 1kg bag is dramatically less packaging. 

There are some doing better in the pod space... Grind's Nespresso compatible pods are biodegradable for example and others will debate if cardboard made from sustainable/recycled materials is better than the plastic bag most beans are sold in. Thankfully they are also cheaper in bulk than the originals but cannot compete with Lidl etc. 

We've come a long way from if you need to match pod to coffee type which is actually what was asked and only a couple commented on before we got distracted mainly by price and occasionally by taste. 

I use aluminium pods which I crush and dismantle (to remove the seal) before recycling (at home).

Work has pod machines with a bin for the used capsules which I think are recycled with Podback.  

I've switched to pods at work to avoid the lure of the local indy coffee shop,  where unfortunately (as I like to support independent small businesses vs. the Pret/Leon/Starbucks/Nero...) the prices have gone up several times this year.

Exodi

These are some of the things I've found over the few years of using a coffee machine (I've owned 6 to date).

1) Convenience is king - I find the most convenient machines I have get used the most!
2) A milk compartment is no bueno - you will spend your life cleaning it, steam wands/dedicated milk frothers are best.
3) Pods don't have to be expensive (can be picked up form as little as 10p online)... unless you buy a Vertuo machine then you've made a big oopsie.

Bean To Cup is probably the best option, if you can remove as many manual steps as possible. E.g I'd consider upgrading my Sage Creatista Pro to a Sage Barista Touch Impress or even a fully automated one like the Franke ones they use in Wetherspoons (assuming I won the lottery).

That said you lose the benefit you get with pod coffee in drinking a Peruvian espresso in the morning, following it up with a Colombian at lunch and ending with a decaf coffee at night. With a bean-to-cup I guess you commit to drinking the same coffee for the whole month.

Glad

I've stopped using the pod machine since the children left home, but when I was using it often, I had this to empty the used pods, coffee grounds for gardens and aluminium pod recycled 

Emmia

Glad said:

I've stopped using the pod machine since the children left home, but when I was using it often, I had this to empty the used pods, coffee grounds for gardens and aluminium pod recycled 

I use a similar device purchased from Cru Kafe, although the Dualit one seems a little cheaper.

https://www.crukafe.com/products/pod-recycler

lordmountararat

I have a had a basic Nespresso machine for some years now and it makes excellent espresso coffee. The pods can be expensive, but my local Tesco often have Starbucks compatible pods at £2.75 for ten, (with a Clubcard) which is a hell of a lot cheaper than going to a a high street barista.