The Greatest Nespresso Pods of 2024, Examined & Reviewed

Espresso and wine are sometimes fancifully described. For espresso, frequent tasting notes embrace chocolate, caramel, fruit, and baking spice. These descriptors are supposed to be expressive and attractive—studying them ought to make you wish to take a sip. 

Sadly, they typically appear to scare individuals a bit. As an authorized sommelier, I’ve seen this occur numerous occasions. It makes me unhappy after I hear somebody shrug off a tasting observe by claiming “I can’t style the distinction anyway.” You possibly can style it—I consider in you! The key is that variations are way more obvious once you pattern a number of varieties aspect by aspect. It is a large a part of skilled coaching, however it’s not the best way most of us drink our morning espresso (or night wine). 

Tasting plenty of espresso is one of the simplest ways to find what you want. To assist get you began, I brewed 14 Nespresso pods for his or her Unique and Vertuo machines (utilizing our favourite fashions of every).  

The Winners, at a Look

The Nespresso Scuro is balanced and flavorful. Darkish roast espresso can lean a little bit one-note—all you style is the bitter roast. This model retains wealthy particular person notes of fruit and chocolate. It makes a tasty espresso or espresso and it’s flavorful sufficient to yield a stunning iced espresso or latte. It’s obtainable for each the Vertuo and Original Nespresso machines.

The Nespresso Colombia is constructed from 100% Colombian Arabica espresso beans. It is a gentle roast brew with gentle bitterness and sharp acidity. Nespresso recommends serving the Colombia as a espresso or espresso to understand its pink fruit bouquet and wine-like complexity.

The Nespresso Vaniglia was by far the perfect of the flavored pods. It’s surprisingly refined—the espresso doesn’t style synthetic or overly candy. It blends effectively with milk for a latte or cappuccino.

That is my decide for individuals who keep away from caffeine. It had caramel notes and stood up effectively to a splash of milk.

The Checks

• Plain Brew Take a look at: I brewed a plain espresso or espresso with every pod to judge its odor and style. I took notes on the aroma, taste, and texture to assist me evaluate cups.
• Specialty Drink Take a look at: I examined Nespresso’s advisable brewing model (latte, iced, espresso) for every of the top-performing pods, utilizing complete milk the place relevant. I took notes on the aroma, taste, and texture.

What We Realized

Go Daring for Lattes and Iced Drinks 

When pairing wine with food, sommeliers purpose to match depth. For instance, in case you drink a fragile Chablis alongside spicy barbecued ribs, the meals will overpower the style of the wine. I discovered {that a} comparable precept utilized to creating Nespresso’s espresso-like drinks. Medium roast brews are pretty on their very own, however the taste of a daring darkish roast blends effectively with milk.   

When you begin your morning with a latte or iced espresso, go for a darker choice. Roasting brings out espresso’s daring, smoky, and nutty flavors. These notes can stand as much as milk or ice with out being muted. Creamy milk additionally helps steadiness out the bitterness in bolder coffees. Nespresso recommends pods just like the Nocciola and Freddo Intenso for lattes. It additionally presents Vertuo pods just like the Forte and Leggero particularly designed for iced espresso. 

Use Nespresso’s Information 

Every pod has its personal profile web page on Nespresso’s web site. Nespresso offers tasting notes, brewing suggestions, and particular person scales for physique, bitterness, roast, and acidity. I didn’t at all times decide up on the precise tasting notes talked about by the corporate, however I did discover that I agreed with the general depth rating for every pod. As soon as you discover a couple of pods that you simply like, strive utilizing Nespresso’s web site to seek out comparable brews. 

Know Your Machine: Vertuo vs. Unique

Nespresso makes two forms of machines: the Unique and Vertuo. The Unique makes use of a high-pressure pump to power heated water by means of the espresso pods and make espresso and employs the identical water temperature and quantity of stress for every pod. These machines deal with espresso or lungo espressos. A number of main espresso producers, together with Peet’s and Starbucks, make suitable espresso pods. 

Vertuo machines are a little bit extra high-tech. Every Vertuo pod features a barcode. The machine scans this code and adjusts the brewing course of to enhance the espresso. Reasonably than merely permitting water to drip by means of the grounds, the machine injects a small quantity of water into every pod and spins it whereas the espresso infuses. Vertuo machines could make espresso or espresso and the pods are proprietary.  

The Standards: What to Search for in a Nespresso Pod

The perfect Nespresso coffees are clean and balanced with only a contact of bitterness. Search for a pod model that may work together with your favourite drink—bolder choices are higher fitted to creamy and iced drinks. If you wish to strive a brand new espresso model, peruse the Nespresso web site’s tasting notes to seek out pods with an identical depth. 

Our Favourite Nespresso Pods

What we preferred: The Scuro is a well-balanced espresso. Nespresso charges Scuro pods three out of give on the roastiness scale. I discovered that the medium-dark roast added fulfilling richness and toastiness with out overpowering the espresso’s extra refined flavors. The mid-level depth makes this brew versatile—Nespresso recommends having fun with it as an espresso or iced espresso. Even chilled, loads of daring flavors come by means of. 

What we didn’t like: The Scuro is a mix of Robusta and Arabica espresso from Central America. There’s nothing incorrect with blended espresso, however it may be tougher for producers to make sure consistent flavor in each batch they make. Some tasters discovered the Scuro too toasty. 

Key Specs

• Tasting notes: Cacao, vanilla, chocolate
• Really helpful brew model: Espresso, double espresso, iced

What we preferred: Colombia espresso pods are a part of Nespresso’s Grasp Crafted Single Origins line of 100% Arabica espresso beans sourced from Colombia. In my view, ingesting single-origin espresso is fulfilling even with out a ton of background information—it’s a simple technique to admire the complexity and be taught a bit about totally different espresso areas. Nespresso charges the Colombia pods a one out of 5 on the roastiness scale. The sunshine roast preserves loads of the beans’ distinctive traits. When brewed, it has notes of pink berries and a wine-like complexity. 

What we didn’t like: Nespresso’s Colombia pods may not be the only option for morning latte drinkers, as this delicate, fragrant espresso will be overpowered by milk. Mild roast coffees have extra caffeine than their darker counterparts—I’ll allow you to determine if that’s a pink flag or an added perk.  

Key Specs

• Tasting notes: Candied apple, pink berry, wine
• Really helpful brew model: Espresso, lungo, espresso

What we preferred: This vanilla-flavored espresso is surprisingly refined. The Nespresso web site lists “pure vanilla aroma” and “different pure aromas” as flavoring brokers. When brewed, Vaniglia lacks the cloying sweetness and harsh synthetic edge present in some flavored coffees. Nespresso suggests ingesting Vaniglia espresso as a lungo or cappuccino, latte, or macchiato. Throughout testing, I discovered that this espresso paired properly with milk. Vaniglia lattes have been delicate, creamy, and evenly candy. 

What we didn’t like: Vaniglia pods are solely obtainable in espresso format—they aren’t suitable with the Vertuo machine. 

Key Specs

• Tasting notes: Vanilla, candy biscuit, cereal
• Really helpful brew model: Espresso, lungo, latte

What we preferred: The Nespresso Fortado mix is a strong choice for the caffeine-averse. It is a darkish roast with medium-high depth. It yields a satisfyingly sturdy cup of espresso with toasty caramel notes. Nespresso recommends serving the Fortado as a Gran Lungo, however I discovered that the flavour stood up effectively to a splash of milk.

What we didn’t like: Fortado Decaffeinato pods are solely obtainable in Vertuo format—they aren’t suitable with the unique Nespresso machine. When you’re in search of a decaf espresso after dinner, this gained’t do the trick. 

Key Specs

• Tasting notes: Cacao, oak, caramel
• Really helpful brew model: Gran Lungo

The Competitors

• Nespresso Ristretto: This darkish roast was overly bitter—it had a burnt end and a skinny mouthfeel.
• Nespresso Ice Forte: The Ice Forte had a nice fruit and pepper aroma and lingering bitter almond on the palate—a strong selection for ice espresso devotees
• Nespresso Ice Leggero: This mix was pleasantly toasty and fruity however as soon as it was mixed with milk and ice it produced a particularly gentle drink.
• Nespresso Napoli: This was an intense darkish roast—creamier and extra balanced than the Ristretto however nonetheless a little bit too bitter for my style.
• Nespresso Sweet Vanilla: This flavored pod was overly candy and tasted synthetic.
• Nespresso Intenso: This was a strong and daring darkish espresso that labored effectively with milk however it was barely too bitter by itself.
• Nespresso Roasted Hazelnut: This pod yielded a cloyingly candy and artificial-tasting drink.
• Starbucks by Nespresso Blonde Roast: This woody blonde roast lacked complexity.
• Peet’s Coffee Crema Scura: Sadly, this was an intense darkish espresso with a powerful bitter end and minimal depth.

FAQs

How do you recycle Nespresso pods? 

Nespresso pods are constructed from recyclable aluminum. You possibly can’t throw them into your house recycling bin, however the firm presents a number of methods to return used pods. Capsules will be dropped off at a Nespresso retailer or shipped to a waste middle with a offered recycling bag. Nespresso has additionally created a community of assortment factors for in-person returns—use its website to seek out one close to you. 

How a lot caffeine is in a Nespresso pod?

Caffeine content material varies relying on the kind of bean, diploma of roast, and pod measurement. Nespresso espresso pods typically include between 70 to 150 mg of caffeine. Vertuo pods are barely bigger and vary from 170 to 200 mg.

Can you employ Nespresso pods twice?

No—Nespresso pods are single-use. Brewing an espresso or cup of espresso extracts many of the taste from the grounds. Reusing a pod would lead to a weak, flavorless cup. 

Why We’re the Consultants

• Madeline Muzzi is a daily Critical Eats contributor, reviewing kitchen objects like flatware and toaster ovens.
• As an authorized sommelier, Madeline is formally educated in deductive tasting.
• Madeline tasted 14 totally different Nespresso coffees a number of occasions to conduct this evaluate.
• We’ve additionally reviewed Nespresso espresso makers.