The Best Coffee Pod Machine
This sleek, brushed-steel machine offers the Sage brand's distinctive quality and ease of use. When it is turned on, it preheats and brews a fragrant espresso or a slightly longer lungo within 30 seconds.
As opposed to bean-to-cup machines, pod models take the most messed-up aspects of coffee making off your hands, such as grinding and dosing grounds.
1. Speedy
Pod machines can be installed and used more quickly than espresso machines. Most of them can make a cup in 30 minutes. But they come at a cost as the pre-portioned pods of coffee used in these models tend to be more expensive than freshly roasted beans and many are also not recyclable (though some companies now offer free recycling bags and prepaid UPS labels for returning them).
The Nespresso CitiZ is one of the fastest pod machines on the market due to its in-built barcode scanner that scans the code of each compatible pod before making it. This allows you to make consistent high-quality, high-end coffee every time, with virtually no chance of a drink coming out horribly wrong. This machine is among the tiniest and lightest available. It doesn't require a separate milk container and its small footprint allows it to be easily incorporated into the tiniest kitchens.
The CitiZ is not the best device to reduce the environmental impact. It doesn't come with an automatic descaling feature, and you'll have to do it yourself every 300 cups if live in hard water or 1200 cups in soft water areas. You'll also have to put in a new filter cartridge when it runs out and can be expensive for some users.
Tassimo Vivy 2 is a fast machine that can be customized with buttons. It can be utilized with ground coffee or ESE pods, which are pre-dosed and tampered grounds compressed between filter paper. It is also B-Corp Certified, which means it is committed to decreasing its negative impact on the environment as well as its workforce. Its only slight drawback is that it takes a little longer to heat up, but once that is done, it will be able to brew one cup in just 35 seconds.
If you're looking for an elegant, sleek machine that can handle a range of different sizes and styles, take a look at the Vertuo Creatista from Nespresso. This sleek machine designed in collaboration with Sage is not just simple to use, but it also comes with an ice cream wand an stainless steel jug and a milk frother.
2. Removable parts
The ease of use is a major draw, and the best models are easy to use. The majority of machines utilize the same general mechanism to brew your cup: water is heated in an internal reservoir, and then pushed through your chosen capsules and extracted to form rich hot coffee. The majority of brands offer various sizes of drinks to meet different requirements. You can also save custom settings to speed up the process.
Keurig K-Cups are among the top brands available on the market. However, Nestle Nespresso VertuoLine capsules also come with a variety of capsules by famous roasters. Some pods are able to be used just once before they are discarded, while others can be used several times. You'll need a strategy for the pods you've used to avoid them from being thrown away.
The sleek SMEG model we tested comes with a water tank that is removable and easy to fill and the machine will automatically pour fresh capsules after the previous one has been chilled. It can brew espresso and lungo drinks, and comes with eight different blends that give you plenty of variety. This brewer will appeal to those who love coffee and want to move away from drip coffee.
In our tests of the Tassimo My Way 2 was the most enjoyable to use. Its sleek design is a looker on your countertop and it opens with a light tap to reveal a hidden compartment for empty pods. The machine also has the added benefit of an filtration system for water, which is ideal for areas with hard water.
The machine can brew an ordinary cup of coffee (240ml) and also serves as lungo and ristretto espresso-style drinks, and is surprisingly quick. The controls are simple to use, with the style of airplane toggles that can be easily pulled back and a lever that retracts to reveal the opening for dropping into your pod. It requires a little force to close but our testers, even those who have weak hand and mobility were able to use it comfortably.
3. Size
The top coffee pod makers take all the messy parts of making coffee out of your hands. You simply load in a pod, hit an icon and prepare to brew. It is still necessary to clean your machine from time to time however not as often as a bean-to-cup or espresso maker. The pod machines are smaller than their bigger counterparts, so they can read more fit on the counter and be stored out of sight when not being used.
The best coffee machine for you will depend on your personal preferences and what you want to achieve. All pod machines are simple to use, but others offer more customization options. Consider the coffee pod variety, brew sizes and milk options for frothing when selecting the right machine.
Most people will think of pod-based devices in the likes of Nespresso and Keurig However, there are some newer rivals that are worth a look. Bruvi has a custom-designed system of pods known as B-Pods, which can only be used in its machines. These pods have an underside barcode that the machine scans to adjust the brewing settings automatically.
This approach means the machine eliminates all the guesswork the process of making a cup, and guarantees that every drink comes out perfectly every time. It can even save customised drinks to a dedicated button, allowing you to create them at the push of a single button.
Other machines, such as Sage's My Way offer a more precise level of control over your coffee that allows you to select a specific size and temperature for each cup. It's a little more expensive than other models, but it has the polished stainless steel design and the excellent customer service that is which is synonymous with the brand. It is a good choice for those who want something more from their pod-based coffee maker.
While the majority of people will be using the pod-based machine to create single-serve drinks There are some larger models that are able to make longer shots, referred to as lungos, also. The Lavazza A Modo Mio Smeg is an excellent example of this. It blends the retro-fifties style of SMEG with the retro-fifties design of SMEG Italian coffee maker, Lavazza. It can be a little intimidating to use thanks to its airplane-style toggles as well as the manual lever, but it's incredibly easy and incredibly enjoyable to use the lungo is made in just 30 seconds and the discarded pods are placed in an internal bin at the push of the button.
4. Customization
One big reason why a pod coffee maker may not be right for you is its limited customization. If you don't have an additional milk frother, the only way to add flavor or creaminess is to make use of hot tea or chocolate option in your mug or to manually add milk to your the coffee. For many people this won't be a problem but it could be a problem for those who prefer a fully automated experience in the morning.
Bosch's Intellibrew utilizes barcode scanners to scan each capsule. It then automatically pre-wets, infuses and dispenses the right amount of coffee to the particular type of pod. It's a user-friendly and hands-off machine that does an excellent job, but lacks options for customising drinks or varying brew strength. This may be a problem for some buyers but for others, the simple automation and variety of cup lengths (espresso lungo, espresso and mug) will provide precisely what they require.
This coffee maker is very low-maintenance. It only requires you to refill the water tank, and decaffeinate it every time. It can dispense short espresso shots or tall travel mugs effortlessly. As mentioned, the used pods are ejected in a container hidden from view that helps keep your kitchen tidy. It also excels in delivering full-bodied coffees that have crema-topped tops.
It's a gorgeous machine that is part of the Smeg fifties range. It's user-friendly with a simple interface and can take ground coffee or ESE pods. The only issue is that it lacks an indicator that lets you know when it's time to descale and the maximum water level can't be set, which is a minor issue. You also need to buy the capsules made by the company which can be expensive. This is a good pod machine for anyone looking for an attractive and convenient appliance that is able to serve at a reasonable price. This model is compatible with a range of third-party capsules and also is compatible with the Nespresso Vertuo range.