The Best Coffee Pod Machine
This sleek, brushed-steel machine offers the Sage brand's distinctive quality and user-friendly. It heats up immediately after switching on and then brews a delicious espresso or a little longer lungo in about 30 seconds.
Unlike bean-to-cup machines, pod models take the messiest aspects of coffee making out of your hands - including grinding and dosing grounds.
1. Rapid
Pod machines can be set up and used faster than espresso machines. They can typically make a cup in 30 minutes. The pre-portioned pods used in these machines are generally more expensive than freshly roasted coffee beans, and a lot of them are not recyclable.
The Nespresso CitiZ is one of the most efficient pod machines on the market due to its in-built barcode reader that scans the code of each compatible pod before making it. This makes it simple to ensure consistent, high-quality coffee every time, and there is virtually no chances of a drink turning out horribly wrong. The machine is one of the tiniest and lightest available. It doesn't require a separate milk container and its compact footprint allows it to be easily incorporated into the smallest kitchens.
However the CitiZ isn't the ideal machine for those wanting to cut down on their environmental impact. The CitiZ doesn't have an automatic descaling feature. You'll have to manually descale the machine every 300 cups for hard water and every 1200 cups for soft water. Once the filter cartridge is out, you'll need replace it with a fresh one. This can be costly for certain users.
The Tassimo Vivy 2 is another speedy machine with customisable buttons and the option of using either ground coffee or ESE pods that are pre-dosed, tampered and squeezed between filter paper. It is also B-Corp Certified, which means it is committed to reducing its negative impact on the environment and its workforce. The only drawback is the time it takes to heat up. Once it does it, it can make one cup in around 35 minutes.
If you're after an elegant, sleek machine that can handle a range of different sizes and styles, look no further than the Vertuo Creatista from Nespresso. This sleek beauty, created in collaboration with Sage and Sage, is not just simple and quick to operate but also comes with an ice cream frothing wand as well as a stainless steel Jug.
2. Removable parts
The ease of use of a pod coffee maker is a major advantage. The top models are simple to use. Most machines rely on the same method to make your cup by heating water in an internal reservoir, then pressured through the capsules you choose and extracted to form rich, hot coffee. Most brands offer different sizes of drinks for different needs. You can also save custom settings to streamline the process.
Keurig's K-Cups and Nestle's Nespresso VertuoLine series are the two biggest players in the market, but each offers a wide selection of capsules from the most popular roasters and brands. Some pods can be used once before they are discarded and others can be used several times. You'll need a plan for your used pods to avoid them from ending up in the garbage.
The SMEG we tested has a reservoir of water that is easy to fill. It also automatically dispenses a new capsule after the previous one cools down. It can be used to brew espresso and lungo drinks and has eight different blends to give you the variety. This brewer will appeal to coffee drinkers who want to move away from drip coffee.
In our testing we found that the Tassimo My Way 2 was the most enjoyable to use. Its sleek design looks great on your counter, and it can be opened with a single touch to reveal the compartment that stores empty pods. It also comes with the added benefit of an filtration system for water, which is great for hard-water areas.
This machine is able to make an ordinary cup of coffee (240ml) and also serves as lungo and ristretto espresso-style drinks and is surprisingly fast. Its intuitive controls are easy to use, thanks to airplane-style toggles and a lever that retracts with a minimum of effort to reveal the space that allows you to insert your coffee maker. It takes a bit of pressure to close, however the majority of our testers, including those with limited hand strength and mobility, felt comfortable.
3. Size
The best coffee pod machines eliminate all the mess that comes with coffee making. You just load a pod in the machine, press a button, and let it make coffee. You will still need to clean the machine from time to time however not as often as you would with a bean-to-cup cup or espresso maker. The pod machines are smaller than their larger equivalents and can be stored on the counter when not in use.
The ideal coffee maker for you will depend on your preferences and what you want to achieve. All pod machines are simple to use, however some provide more options for customization. Different pod types, brew sizes options, and milk frothing capabilities must be taken into consideration to help find the perfect coffee pod machine for your needs.
The most well-known pod-based machines are Nespresso, Keurig and similar brands. However, there are some newer competitors that may be worth looking at. Bruvi has a custom-designed system of pods called B-Pods that can only be used in its machines. The pods have a barcode on the underside that machines scan to automatically adjust the brewing settings.
This approach means the machine removes all the guesswork the process of making a cup, and guarantees that every drink is made perfectly every time. It can save your custom drinks on a button so that you can make them by pressing only one button.
Other machines, like Sage's My Way offer a more precise level of control over your coffee and allows you to select the ideal size and temperature for each beverage. It's more expensive than other models, however it comes with a polished stainless-steel construction and the excellent customer service that is synonymous with Sage's My Way. This is a good option for those wanting to get an extra bit of quality from their pod-based espresso maker.
Some larger models can also brew lungos. The Lavazza A Modo Mio Smeg is a great example of this, and it combines the retro fifties styling of SMEG with the retro-fifties design of SMEG Italian coffee maker, Lavazza. It's a bit intimidating to use thanks to its airplane-style toggles and manual lever, but it's incredibly easy and extremely enjoyable to use - a lungo is brewed in only 30 seconds, and the used pods are put into an internal bin at the push of a button.
4. Customization
One big reason why a pod coffee maker may not be the right choice for you is its limited flexibility to customize. Unless you purchase an auxiliary milk frother, the only methods to add flavor or creaminess is to use an in-mug hot chocolate or tea option, and then add milk to your cup manually. This shouldn't be a problem for most people, but it could be an issue for those who prefer an entirely automated coffee pods coffee machine experience in the morning.
Bosch's Intellibrew utilizes barcode scanners to scan each capsule. It then automatically pre-wets, infuses and dispenses the correct amount of coffee for the specific kind of pod. It's a simple and hands-off machine that does a great job but lacks options for customising drinks or altering the strength of brew. Some customers will be irritated by this, but many will find the convenience and variety of cup sizes (espressos and lungos, as well as mugs) to be exactly what they're searching for.
Apart from filling the water tank and decaffeinating the reservoir on occasion the coffee maker will not require much maintenance. It can make short espresso-style shots or tall travel mugs easily. As previously mentioned, used pods are then ejected from a container hidden from view that keeps your kitchen tidy. It also excels at delivering full-bodied coffees with tops that are topped with crema.
This is a beautiful-looking machine and is part of Smeg's fifties style range. It's simple to use with a simple panel of buttons, and it can handle both ground coffee and ESE pods. The only drawback is that it doesn't come with an indicator to let you know when it's time to descale and the maximum water level can't be set which is a minor inconvenience. You'll also need to purchase the brand's capsules which can be expensive. This is a good pod machine for anyone looking for a convenient and attractive appliance that will serve well at a low cost. If you're looking for more variety, a wide range of third-party capsules are available for this model and it's also compatible with the Nespresso Vertuo line.