COFFEE MACHINE EXPRESS

Coffee Pods Compared to Automatic Coffee Machines

As a provider of coffee machines to offices, showrooms and busy homes I often get asked about coffee pods. This is because coffee pod sellers will often tell prospective buyers that coffee pods are easier, cleaner, better tasting and more cost effective than regular coffee machines. But is this actually true? While some of this may be the case for the traditional manual coffee machines where you have to do everything yourself, it's not the case for automatic coffee machines.

Are coffee pods easier to make a coffee?

I've listed the steps in making a black coffee with a coffee pod. I've skipped the steps that all coffee machines have in common such as adding water:

1. Find a coffee pod
2. Peel off the coffee pod wrapper
3. Open a bin to dispose of the wrapper
4. Place the coffee pod in the group handle, fiddle to get it right
5. Lock the handle in place
6. Place your cup
7. press the button to run water through the coffee pod
8. Dispose of the coffee pod

So how does that compare to an automatic coffee machine:

1. Place your cup
2. Press the coffee button

Are Coffee Pods Cleaner?

This is one claim that really annoys me. If you make a coffee using a coffee pod you're left with two bits of waste before you can make another coffee. You've got the pod wrapper and also the used coffee pod. The pod wrapper needs to be disposed of when you open the coffee pod and the actual pod needs to be disposed of after making a coffee. The coffee pod is wet and a bit like an old tea bag. After making a number of coffees you'll have a mountain of coffee pods and wrappers to deal with. The wrappers are not recyclable.

An automatic coffee machine holds the coffee grounds inside. Once you've finished making coffees for the day simply tip out the grounds drawer and rinse it. There's no need to do any cleaning or waste disposal after each cup. The coffee grounds also make a great mulch for your garden or food for your worm farm.

Do Coffee Pods Taste Better?

This depends on many factors, not the least is the quality of the ground coffee used to make the pod compared to the coffee in your automatic coffee machine. But if you use the same coffee beans to make a coffee pod or you put those coffee beans into an automatic coffee machine then the pod will taste worse. Why do coffee pods taste worse? During the pod manufacturing process the coffee beans are ground and left for a week to go stale and then placed into a pod along with some inert gas. The ground coffee has to go stale before it goes into the pod to ensure that all the gases are released from the coffee. In an automatic coffee machine the beans are ground for each cup, you can't get any fresher!

I had a coffee roaster come and demonstrate his pods to me recently. He said “the taste is almost as good as fresh ground, you can only just tell the difference”. I wondered why the roaster would aim for second best. Automatic coffee machines also allow you to adjust the taste of the drink that's produced. Most automatic coffee machines have adjustments for the grind and the dose. Some higher end machines also let you change the temperature of the water. Once you get everything just right the drink produced will be the same every time you make a coffee.

Are Coffee Pods “Cost Effective”

Coffee pods cost between double and triple per serve due to the packaging. Enough said.

What's the Point of Coffee Pods?

Apart from being a great marketing exercise, coffee pods do have a place. If you have a manual espresso machine and you're sick of grinding coffee, tamping and dosing or if you can't get the taste right then coffee pods might be good for you. Make sure that your coffee machine is pod compatible before you buy any coffee pods. If you're buying a coffee machine to use pods make sure it uses ESE pods, otherwise you might always have to buy pods from a specific manufacturer.