Nespresso - Tests and Thoughtss on Non Nespresso Pods

photosmart

Hi All

I've had a nespresso machine for almost a year now and did numerous searches on the internet for advice on cheaper pods to run in the machine however there's a lack of a decent all in one review so I thought I'd add my tuppence.

I've tested the following pods

Robert Roberts
Bewleys
Aldi
Lidl
Supervalue

The machine is an inissia and I descaled it prior to tests

Before I go into results I wanted to go through some basics.

The first issue is whether the alternative pods will actually work in the machine. This is an issue as nespresso obviously don't want you to buy cheaper pods as the pods are where they make their money.

The second issue is the taste. I'm not going to get too far into the taste issue as my view is that if you want a premium coffee you should roast your own beans and use a brew method to suit your own tastebuds (which I also do by the way).


In terms of which pods worked well it depends on a number of issues

1. Shape of Pod
2. Material used
3. Fineness of the coffee grounds in the pod

The shape issue is important as the machine much create a proper seal if the pressurised water is to all pass through the pod and not end up in the drip tray.

The material used for the pod is an issue since the original nespresso pods are made of aluminium which is easily pierced by the machine however the alternative pods are more difficult to pierce and if there the holes are too small the water will again end up in the drip tray and not pass through the pod and into your cup

Assuming that the shape of the pod is okay and there are enough holes of a sufficient size made then the last issue is the size of the coffee grounds. too fine and again most of the water will end up in the drip tray, too coarse and you get a poor extraction / cup of coffee.

Okay so here we go

Bewleys and Robert Roberts

As they are as expensive as the nespresso originals, don't taste as good and cause problems with the machine (see above) I don't recommend.

Aldi
Pod is wrong shape
Material is too hard so machine can't puncture correctly
Coffee is too fine
Taste is watery / bitter at same time

Result - Rubbish, they will break your machine

Lidl

Pod is okay but may depend on individual machine
Material is too hard however they have holes already made so thats not the main issue
Coffee is too fine so machine struggles to push water through
Taste is okay, not as good as original but acceptable given price if there were no issues with pods but there are

Result - Will generally work with new machine or when descaled but struggle
with older machines or if its been a few weeks since descaling

Supervalue

Shape is closest to original
Material is soft where the machine pierces but the holes made are too small
Coffee grind is good in my opinion
Taste is okay - again not bad at all given price point and better than lidl

Result - Best of the cheap alternatives however I would recommend making three small holes in each capsule yourself using a small punch (compass or very small screwdriver works well) before use.
I generally use these even if its a little fiddley as they are effectively half the cost of the nespresso ones and are readily available locally.

Hope this is of some help to y'all

Cheers

P

maxwell smart

Great info!

Agree on the Bewleys pods, only the convenience of them can make people buy them at their current price.

This is the best article I've seen on Nespresso written by a real coffee expert, some very interesting points

http://www.jimseven.com/2015/05/21/an-analysis-of-nespresso-part-i/

photosmart

Thanks for the link

Also

Robert Roberts are sometimes on sale in Tesco and are it seems the same as the supervalue pods

photosmart

An Addendum

Aldi have changed their Nespresso compatible pods. New Shape, different material and to my taste different coffee. In short a huge improvement over the previous iteration which were unusable.

Would now recommend them but while they work when machine is descaled, again the grind seems a tad too fine so machines that haven't been descaled may struggle to push the water through.

LCD

I have tried the Aldi ones & like them. The Lidl are not great & each pod is individually wrapped, doubling up on the amount of waste!

whiskeyman

Just came on looking for a post like this.
Thanks a million!
Think I'll be giving the Aldi ones a try so.

photosmart

Glad it was helpful

adocholiday

Slightly off topic but what's this about descaling the machine? I have the inissia machine or whatever it's called and I only use official Nespresso pods. Is this something I need to do? How do you descale it?

SteoL

adocholiday wrote: »

Slightly off topic but what's this about descaling the machine? I have the inissia machine or whatever it's called and I only use official Nespresso pods. Is this something I need to do? How do you descale it?

You need to buy a descale solution from Nespresso. You fill the water tank with solution and run it through once or twice. You press the buttons a certain way to tell the machine you are descaling. You are supposed to do it at regular intervals depending on how often you use your machine but think it's recommended to do it quarterly (or biannually).

colm_mcm

I find the Aldi ones don't let coffee flow freely out of the machine compared to the Lidl or original nespresso ones.

BlinkingLights

It very much depends on your water quality too.
If youve hard water (you'll notice buildup of lime in your kettle) you should be using filter jug(eg Brita) to fill your coffee machine.

You should also be descaling regularly.

In soft water areas (no or very very little evidence or lime scale) maybe once a quarter or twice a year might be more than enough.

Most populated areas of Ireland use very soft river water from areas wirh granite or similar hard rock as their sources - there are exceptions, particularly the water supply in North Dublin which is very limey. You'll get some extremely hard water in limestone areas of the west too.

Lime is just calcium and other minerals in the water. It's probably good for you but it's not great for plumbing systems and instant water heaters like coffee machines.

maxwell smart

maxwell smart wrote: »

Great info!

Agree on the Bewleys pods, only the convenience of them can make people buy them at their current price.

This is the best article I've seen on Nespresso written by a real coffee expert, some very interesting points

http://www.jimseven.com/2015/05/21/an-analysis-of-nespresso-part-i/

What qualifies him as an expert on coffee, any more than, say you or I?

Thanks for the OP. It is a small pity the coffee weight is not mentioned for the different caps. I received a machine for my birthday last year and didn't find a coffee for it that is like espresso, and I think it is because there is not enough in the caps. A good espresso in Italy may have 11g coffee, but I think the caps are only half?

photosmart

Re Descaling

I tend to do it every 6 to 8 weeks. Nespresso sell the descaling solution however its too expensive so instead I just use "kilrock" descaler which is a lot cheaper and available in Aldi or Lidl periodically.

Another option is Lemon Juice and Water 50:50 mix -use about 100ml water and 100ml lemon juice and run it through the machine a couple of times.

RE water I have very hard water so use tesco water as it has a low level of dissolved minerals and particularly calcium.

photosmart

Re Amount of Coffee

I agree.

For a decent espresso just use less water, also for a decent americano I use 2x capsules.

Final point - Aldi capsules run slow because the grind is bit too fine however it gives a nice crema / extraction

colm_mcm

Would I be right to think that the Aldi capsules are putting more pressure on the pump?

photosmart

I'm no appliance engineer but yes I would think so however the machines themselves are quite cheap and come with a three year guarantee

whiskeyman

Bought the supervalu ones and find them very good.
Java type very nice.

I bought the Aldi ones after seeing the post about the improvement, but I've the same problem that existed before the fix? Machine wouldn't puncture and pods seemed wrong fit.
Maybe I got an old batch? Seems odd. Couldn't close machine properly with them and didn't watch to brake it.
Machine is the basic Inissia model

maxwell smart

Deleted User wrote: »

What qualifies him as an expert on coffee, any more than, say you or I?

Good question indeed and you may well be more of an expert than him. (He most certainly knows more about coffee than I ever will)

But for info here is the first line from his website

Co-founder of Square Mile Coffee Roasters, author of the World Atlas of Coffee and the good kind of obsessed with coffee. Once, long ago, a World Barista Champion.

Here are a list of the awards he has won
World Barista Champion 2007
UK Barista Champion 2007

5th Place World Barista Championship 2006
UK Barista Champion 2006

2nd Place World Brewers Cup 2011
UK Brewers Cup Champion 2011

5th Place World Coffee Tasting 2008
UK Coffee Tasting Champion 2008

5th Place World Latte Art Championship 2006

SCAE Inventive Communicator 2010

Allegra Strategies Outstanding Contribution Award to the European Coffee Industry 2009

So, in my humble opinion, he is a coffee expert.

photosmart

Ha ha - love it

photosmart

New aldi ones have same shape as supervalue and the plastic ring where the piercing goes is even thinner than the supervalue so I'm not sure but I would think it may be the old ones - why not do a side to side comparison?

I bought the Aldi ones after seeing the post about the improvement, but I've the same problem that existed before the fix? Machine wouldn't puncture and pods seemed wrong fit.
Maybe I got an old batch? Seems odd. Couldn't close machine properly with them and didn't watch to brake it.
Machine is the basic Inissia model[/QUOTE]

colm_mcm

On the Aldi think I've figured something out

On the left are 2 that worked, on the right are 2 that didn't.


The problem as I see it is that the pod has a small convex bubble at the end that is supposed to be pierced. If for some reason the prongs don't pierce the pod, the bubble becomes concave and then are out of reach of the prongs.
You can see how easily this can happen if you take an Aldi pod and apply even a tiny amount of pressure with your finger - the end just pops inwards. I just popped blue one on the right in so you can see.



What happens then is the pump in the machine is under huge pressure and steam starts coming out the top of the machine.

Prenderb

SteoL wrote: »

You need to buy a descale solution from Nespresso. You fill the water tank with solution and run it through once or twice. You press the buttons a certain way to tell the machine you are descaling. You are supposed to do it at regular intervals depending on how often you use your machine but think it's recommended to do it quarterly (or biannually).

Or white vinegar. I use it on my filter jug, kettle and shower head. Does the job. Recommend rinsing coffee machine or doing a couple of non-coffee cycles before reintroducing a pod.

whiskeyman

colm_mcm wrote: »

On the Aldi think I've figured something out

On the left are 2 that worked, on the right are 2 that didn't.


The problem as I see it is that the pod has a small convex bubble at the end that is supposed to be pierced....

What happens then is the pump in the machine is under huge pressure and steam starts coming out the top of the machine.

Yep - I tried a few more of the Aldi ones, and they worked fine - Lungo type, and coffee was really nice!
So, seems to be a bit hit and miss.

photosmart

Be careful when you put them in so that you don't deform the capsule, also perhaps do my trick of piercing the ring with a thin screwdriver a couple of times which I find gives good results pretty much all the time.

(I leave it on windowsill beside machine)

Tinderella

The inissia is half price in Debenhams at the moment, I used Roberts & Roberts coffee brand recently as it was convenient, will this break the machine?

vienne86

I've been round the houses with lookalike pods for years.....I used to buy them in France before they became readily available here.

Of the ones available here, I have found the Super Valu ones great - they have given no trouble in my Pixie machine. And they taste decent too IMO.

Mugatuu

Has anyone tried any of the Carte Noire Nespresso pods?

Ben D Bus

I bought some SuperValu Java pods the other day and they weren't bad at all.

Doctor Nick

Just bought some Caffè Perrucci in Dunnes. It's a Lungo and brand is Euro Caps, a Dutch company. Will taste and post thoughts later. Online reviews seem positive.

whiskeyman

Aldi blue lungo are now my coffee of choice.
Whenever I've guests over, they always complement our coffee.

dball

anyone know where a nice de-caf pod can be purchased?

Doctor Nick

Doctor Nick wrote: »

Just bought some Caffè Perrucci in Dunnes. It's a Lungo and brand is Euro Caps, a Dutch company. Will taste and post thoughts later. Online reviews seem positive.

Gotta say this is now my non nespresso brand capsule of choice. Very tasty coffee, stronger intensity than the others I've tried. Only seen in one shop though. Also came in espresso and ristretto.

photosmart

Quanto?

BlinkingLights

I notice Starbucks now have nespresso pods too.

Doctor Nick

BlinkingLights wrote: »

I notice Starbucks now have nespresso pods too.

Same price as the Nespresso. Wouldn't bother. Starbucks is the last place I would buy a coffee from while out and about.

photosmart

Agreed
I once got a free bag of starbucks beans from American relatives. After two cups I chucked the beans
Taste of burnt coffee and nausea off it!

BlinkingLights

Looks like everyone is going to be doing them soon.

If you could get a grinder/tamper that packed your own compatible pod, that would be pretty handy!

OU812

Did Nespresso's patent on the pods expire or did they open it up to other manufacturers to drive machine sales?

I've a Tassimo myself (don't scoff, I love it) & would love for them to be opened up.

Doctor Nick

OU812 wrote: »

Did Nespresso's patent on the pods expire or did they open it up to other manufacturers to drive machine sales?

I've a Tassimo myself (don't scoff, I love it) & would love for them to be opened up.

Expired I'm sure. Wouldn't scoff at a Tassimo though never tried it. I've a Nespresso for espresso's and lungos and a Dolce Gusto for Cappuccino, Latte's and Chocochinos. Use both daily and love them both (though the nespresso is my favourite).

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

photosmart

Who supplies supervalue / aldi?

kenn0

Long shot request. I have a LATTISSIMA+ 520.S.
The milk frother knob has gone missing. To get a replacement it is £30 as I have to buy the whole kit. By any chance does anybody have a broken machine or work for delonghi. All I need is the knob.

Thanks

youngblood

Mugatuu wrote: »

Has anyone tried any of the Carte Noire Nespresso pods?

I picked these up on holidays and I loved them, taste amazing

Doctor Nick

Thumbs up to the Lor pods. Made from similar materials to nespresso so you don't hear the machine struggling like with some other pods. I'd recently gone back to nespresso because the Ethiopian Bukeela lungo was beautiful but Lor comes close or is just as good.

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

The high horse brigade

Where's the best place to bulk buy a few hundred decent Nespresso pods

dball

possibly here: http://www.discountcoffee.ie/coffee/coffee-pods/coffee-capsules?p=2

The high horse brigade

dball wrote: »

possibly here: http://www.discountcoffee.ie/coffee/coffee-pods/coffee-capsules?p=2

10 capsules for €4.69 :eek: they'e having a giraffe

Marcusm

dball wrote: »

possibly here: http://www.discountcoffee.ie/coffee/coffee-pods/coffee-capsules?p=2

Certainly not the place to buy actual Nespresso capsules - the price is 40% higher than the Nespresso price.

Marcusm

The high horse brigade wrote: »

Where's the best place to bulk buy a few hundred decent Nespresso pods

Actual Nespresso, buy them online and collect from a Parcel Motel location - dealing with the people in the shop is a horror.