Coffee Pods
The capsules themselves, priced per cup and per kilo, and judged on the thing the box will not tell you plainly: what actually happens to it after you have drunk the coffee.
Also see Pod machines for the machines these capsules fit.
How we rate coffee pods — the 5 criteria behind every score on this page.
Our pick
· research-based, chosen for a reason, not a rating
The compostable option, if you can reach a commercial composter
Scores 9.0 of 10 on What Is In The Capsule, the heaviest criterion in this category at 26 of 100.
The best coffee pods, ranked
scored on what the maker publishes · open a row for the working1
San Francisco Bay OneCUP 100% Colombian7.5- What Is In The Capsule
- 8.0
- Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo
- 6.4
- Recycling & Disposal (home compostable and kerbside recyclable not published)
- 7.0
- System, Range & Availability
- 7.8
- Sourcing & Certification
- 8.4
Weakest link: Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo — 6.4 of 10, carrying 22 of the 87.8 points scored here.
Read review →PricePricing N/A2
Nespresso Vertuo Melozio7.3- What Is In The Capsule
- 9.0
- Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo
- 2.5
- Recycling & Disposal (home compostable and kerbside recyclable not published)
- 8.0
- System, Range & Availability
- 8.5
- Sourcing & Certification
- 10.0
Weakest link: Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo — 2.5 of 10, carrying 22 of the 87.8 points scored here.
Read review →PricePricing N/A3
Tassimo Kenco Pure Colombian T Discs7.2- What Is In The Capsule
- 8.0
- Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo
- 5.0
- Recycling & Disposal (home compostable and kerbside recyclable not published)
- 7.0
- System, Range & Availability
- 8.2
- Sourcing & Certification
- 8.4
Weakest link: Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo — 5.0 of 10, carrying 22 of the 87.8 points scored here.
Read review →PriceFrom $74
Nescafe Dolce Gusto Espresso Intenso7.1- What Is In The Capsule
- 7.5
- Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo
- 5.0
- Recycling & Disposal (home compostable and kerbside recyclable not published)
- 7.0
- System, Range & Availability
- 8.2
- Sourcing & Certification
- 8.4
Weakest link: Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo — 5.0 of 10, carrying 22 of the 87.8 points scored here.
Read review →PriceFrom $75
Nespresso Original Ispirazione Firenze Arpeggio7.1- What Is In The Capsule
- 7.0
- Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo
- 5.0
- Recycling & Disposal (home compostable and kerbside recyclable not published)
- 8.0
- System, Range & Availability
- 8.5
- Sourcing & Certification
- 8.1
Weakest link: Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo — 5.0 of 10, carrying 22 of the 87.8 points scored here.
Read review →PricePricing N/A6
Nespresso Original Ispirazione Ristretto Italiano7.1- What Is In The Capsule
- 6.5
- Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo
- 4.5
- Recycling & Disposal (home compostable and kerbside recyclable not published)
- 8.0
- System, Range & Availability
- 8.5
- Sourcing & Certification
- 10.0
Weakest link: Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo — 4.5 of 10, carrying 22 of the 87.8 points scored here.
Read review →PricePricing N/A7
Nespresso Original Volluto7.1- What Is In The Capsule
- 6.5
- Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo
- 4.5
- Recycling & Disposal (home compostable and kerbside recyclable not published)
- 8.0
- System, Range & Availability
- 8.5
- Sourcing & Certification
- 10.0
Weakest link: Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo — 4.5 of 10, carrying 22 of the 87.8 points scored here.
Read review →PricePricing N/A8
Nespresso Original Master Origin Colombia7.0- What Is In The Capsule
- 7.5
- Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo
- 3.9
- Recycling & Disposal (home compostable and kerbside recyclable not published)
- 8.0
- System, Range & Availability
- 7.2
- Sourcing & Certification
- 10.0
Weakest link: Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo — 3.9 of 10, carrying 22 of the 87.8 points scored here.
Read review →PricePricing N/A9
Nespresso Vertuo Melozio Decaffeinato7.0- What Is In The Capsule
- 9.0
- Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo
- 2.5
- Recycling & Disposal (home compostable and kerbside recyclable not published)
- 8.0
- System, Range & Availability
- 7.2
- Sourcing & Certification
- 10.0
Weakest link: Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo — 2.5 of 10, carrying 22 of the 87.8 points scored here.
Read review →PricePricing N/A10
Nespresso Vertuo Stormio7.0- What Is In The Capsule
- 9.0
- Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo
- 2.5
- Recycling & Disposal (home compostable and kerbside recyclable not published)
- 8.0
- System, Range & Availability
- 7.2
- Sourcing & Certification
- 10.0
Weakest link: Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo — 2.5 of 10, carrying 22 of the 87.8 points scored here.
Read review →PricePricing N/A11
Tayst Bold & Brazen Coffee Pods6.9- What Is In The Capsule
- 7.0
- Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo
- 3.6
- Recycling & Disposal (home compostable and kerbside recyclable not published)
- 9.0
- System, Range & Availability
- 9.0
- Sourcing & Certification
- 8.1
Weakest link: Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo — 3.6 of 10, carrying 22 of the 87.8 points scored here.
Read review →PriceFrom $41.6512
Tayst Defiantly Decaf Coffee Pods6.9- What Is In The Capsule
- 7.0
- Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo
- 3.6
- Recycling & Disposal (home compostable and kerbside recyclable not published)
- 9.0
- System, Range & Availability
- 9.0
- Sourcing & Certification
- 8.1
Weakest link: Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo — 3.6 of 10, carrying 22 of the 87.8 points scored here.
Read review →PriceFrom $41.6513
Tayst Medium & Magnificent Coffee Pods6.9- What Is In The Capsule
- 7.0
- Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo
- 3.6
- Recycling & Disposal (home compostable and kerbside recyclable not published)
- 9.0
- System, Range & Availability
- 9.0
- Sourcing & Certification
- 8.1
Weakest link: Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo — 3.6 of 10, carrying 22 of the 87.8 points scored here.
Read review →PriceFrom $41.6514
Nespresso Original Capriccio6.8- What Is In The Capsule
- 6.5
- Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo
- 4.5
- Recycling & Disposal (home compostable and kerbside recyclable not published)
- 8.0
- System, Range & Availability
- 7.2
- Sourcing & Certification
- 10.0
Weakest link: Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo — 4.5 of 10, carrying 22 of the 87.8 points scored here.
Read review →PricePricing N/A15
Nespresso Original Cosi6.8- What Is In The Capsule
- 6.5
- Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo
- 4.5
- Recycling & Disposal (home compostable and kerbside recyclable not published)
- 8.0
- System, Range & Availability
- 7.2
- Sourcing & Certification
- 10.0
Weakest link: Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo — 4.5 of 10, carrying 22 of the 87.8 points scored here.
Read review →PricePricing N/A16
Nespresso Original Ispirazione Genova Livanto6.8- What Is In The Capsule
- 6.5
- Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo
- 4.5
- Recycling & Disposal (home compostable and kerbside recyclable not published)
- 8.0
- System, Range & Availability
- 7.2
- Sourcing & Certification
- 10.0
Weakest link: Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo — 4.5 of 10, carrying 22 of the 87.8 points scored here.
Read review →PricePricing N/A17
Nespresso Original Ristretto Italiano Decaffeinato6.8- What Is In The Capsule
- 7.0
- Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo
- 5.0
- Recycling & Disposal (home compostable and kerbside recyclable not published)
- 8.0
- System, Range & Availability
- 7.2
- Sourcing & Certification
- 8.1
Weakest link: Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo — 5.0 of 10, carrying 22 of the 87.8 points scored here.
Read review →PricePricing N/A18
Nespresso Original Tokyo Vivalto Lungo6.8- What Is In The Capsule
- 7.5
- Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo
- 4.5
- Recycling & Disposal (home compostable and kerbside recyclable not published)
- 8.0
- System, Range & Availability
- 7.2
- Sourcing & Certification
- 8.1
Weakest link: Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo — 4.5 of 10, carrying 22 of the 87.8 points scored here.
Read review →PricePricing N/A19
Nespresso Original Volluto Decaffeinato6.8- What Is In The Capsule
- 6.5
- Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo
- 4.5
- Recycling & Disposal (home compostable and kerbside recyclable not published)
- 8.0
- System, Range & Availability
- 7.2
- Sourcing & Certification
- 10.0
Weakest link: Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo — 4.5 of 10, carrying 22 of the 87.8 points scored here.
Read review →PricePricing N/A20
Nespresso Vertuo Odacio6.8- What Is In The Capsule
- 9.0
- Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo
- 2.5
- Recycling & Disposal (home compostable and kerbside recyclable not published)
- 8.0
- System, Range & Availability
- 7.2
- Sourcing & Certification
- 8.1
Weakest link: Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo — 2.5 of 10, carrying 22 of the 87.8 points scored here.
Read review →PricePricing N/A21
Nespresso Vertuo Ristretto Intenso6.8- What Is In The Capsule
- 7.5
- Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo
- 3.1
- Recycling & Disposal (home compostable and kerbside recyclable not published)
- 8.0
- System, Range & Availability
- 7.2
- Sourcing & Certification
- 10.0
Weakest link: Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo — 3.1 of 10, carrying 22 of the 87.8 points scored here.
Read review →PricePricing N/A22
Starbucks Blonde Espresso Roast Double Espresso for Vertuo6.8- What Is In The Capsule
- 9.0
- Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo
- 2.5
- Recycling & Disposal (home compostable and kerbside recyclable not published)
- 8.0
- System, Range & Availability
- 7.2
- Sourcing & Certification
- 8.4
Weakest link: Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo — 2.5 of 10, carrying 22 of the 87.8 points scored here.
Read review →PricePricing N/A23
Nescafe Dolce Gusto Americano Intenso6.7- What Is In The Capsule
- 7.0
- Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo
- 5.0
- Recycling & Disposal (home compostable and kerbside recyclable not published)
- 7.0
- System, Range & Availability
- 8.2
- Sourcing & Certification
- 6.6
Weakest link: Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo — 5.0 of 10, carrying 22 of the 87.8 points scored here.
Read review →PriceFrom $724
Tassimo Costa Americano T Discs6.7- What Is In The Capsule
- 7.0
- Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo
- 5.0
- Recycling & Disposal (home compostable and kerbside recyclable not published)
- 7.0
- System, Range & Availability
- 8.2
- Sourcing & Certification
- 6.6
Weakest link: Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo — 5.0 of 10, carrying 22 of the 87.8 points scored here.
Read review →PriceFrom $925
Death Wish Coffee Dark Roast Death Cups6.6- What Is In The Capsule
- 7.0
- Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo
- 5.0
- Recycling & Disposal (home compostable and kerbside recyclable not published)
- 5.0
- System, Range & Availability
- 7.8
- Sourcing & Certification
- 8.1
Weakest link: Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo — 5.0 of 10, carrying 22 of the 87.8 points scored here.
Read review →PricePricing N/A26
Nespresso Original Ispirazione Roma6.5- What Is In The Capsule
- 6.5
- Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo
- 4.5
- Recycling & Disposal (home compostable and kerbside recyclable not published)
- 8.0
- System, Range & Availability
- 7.2
- Sourcing & Certification
- 8.1
Weakest link: Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo — 4.5 of 10, carrying 22 of the 87.8 points scored here.
Read review →PricePricing N/A27
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Breakfast Blend K-Cup Pods6.4- What Is In The Capsule
- 7.0
- Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo
- 5.0
- Recycling & Disposal (home compostable and kerbside recyclable not published)
- 5.0
- System, Range & Availability
- 7.8
- Sourcing & Certification
- 6.6
Weakest link: Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo — 5.0 of 10, carrying 22 of the 87.8 points scored here.
Read review →PricePricing N/A28
Peet's Major Dickason's Blend K-Cup Pods6.2- What Is In The Capsule
- 7.0
- Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo
- 3.6
- Recycling & Disposal (home compostable and kerbside recyclable not published)
- 5.0
- System, Range & Availability
- 7.5
- Sourcing & Certification
- 8.4
Weakest link: Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo — 3.6 of 10, carrying 22 of the 87.8 points scored here.
Read review →PricePricing N/A29
Peet's Decaf House Blend K-Cup Pods6.0- What Is In The Capsule
- 7.0
- Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo
- 3.6
- Recycling & Disposal (home compostable and kerbside recyclable not published)
- 5.0
- System, Range & Availability
- 6.2
- Sourcing & Certification
- 8.4
Weakest link: Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo — 3.6 of 10, carrying 22 of the 87.8 points scored here.
Read review →PricePricing N/A30
Starbucks Espresso Roast by Nespresso for Vertuo6.0- What Is In The Capsule
- 7.5
- Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo
- 1.1
- Recycling & Disposal (home compostable and kerbside recyclable not published)
- 8.0
- System, Range & Availability
- 7.2
- Sourcing & Certification
- 8.4
Weakest link: Cost Per Cup, and Per Kilo — 1.1 of 10, carrying 22 of the 87.8 points scored here.
Read review →PricePricing N/A
More coffee pods guides
How to choose a coffee pod
A coffee pod is a sealed dose of ground coffee that fits one system and no other. Every decision worth making here happens before you taste anything: which machine it fits, what one cup costs, and where the empty goes.
The system decides everything, and the brand tells you almost nothing
Nespresso sells two systems that share a name and share nothing else. Original capsules do not fit a Vertuo machine and Vertuo capsules do not fit an Original, because Vertuo reads a barcode on the rim to choose its brew size. K-Cup, Dolce Gusto, Tassimo, Lavazza A Modo Mio and illy iperEspresso are five more systems again, none of them interchangeable.
This is the most expensive mistake available in this category, which is why the pages here are built on the system rather than the brand. If you own the machine already, that decision is made for you and the only question left is which capsule to put in it.
The same pod costs three different prices, and the box size is why
Death Wish sells its dark roast at $1.50 a pod in a ten-pack and $1.00 a pod in a hundred-pack. Same coffee, same capsule, a third off for buying five months at a time. San Francisco Bay goes from 76 cents in a 36 to 64 cents in a 120.
So a price per pod means nothing without the box it came from. Every product here is priced on the largest box its maker sells, because that is the floor of what the coffee can cost you, and it is the number a daily drinker will actually end up paying.
That basis exposes something the marketing does not. Nespresso sells sleeves of ten and nothing larger, so there is no bulk price to find: its floor is 90 cents to $1.40 a cup and it stays there. A K-Cup roaster will sell you a hundred at once. Across a year that gap is larger than the price of the machine.
Read past the word recyclable
Aluminium capsules are recyclable in the sense that aluminium is recyclable. What that means in practice is a mail-back scheme: Nespresso posts you free bags and you take them to a UPS drop-off or a boutique. It works, and it is a different proposition from putting something in the bin you already put out.
Compostable splits the same way. A capsule certified commercially compostable needs an industrial facility, which most households cannot reach, and it is not the same claim as home compostable. The San Francisco Bay pods here carry BPI certification, which is the commercial one. Almost nothing in this category is home compostable, and the packaging rarely makes the distinction because the distinction is not flattering.
So we record four separate things rather than one: what the capsule is made of, whether it goes in a kerbside bin, whether there is a named take-back scheme, and whether it composts at home. One field could not have told those apart.
Nobody will tell you how much coffee is in one
Capsules hold somewhere between about five and twelve grams. That is more than a factor of two, and it means two pods at the same price can differ by half the coffee.
You would expect to be able to look this up. You cannot. Nespresso does not publish a dose on its US or European product pages. Neither does Peet's, nor Death Wish, nor San Francisco Bay. Coffee beans on this site are priced per kilo so that bag sizes stop hiding the comparison, and we tried to do the same here. There was nothing to divide by, so the per-pod price is the honest unit and the per-kilo figure stays absent rather than estimated.
Frequently asked
Do Nespresso Original and Vertuo pods fit the same machine?
No, and this is the most common expensive mistake in this category. They are two separate systems that share a brand name. Vertuo capsules are larger and carry a barcode on the rim that tells the machine which size to brew, so an Original machine cannot read or hold one, and a Vertuo machine will not take an Original capsule at all.
Are coffee pods recyclable?
It depends what you mean by recyclable. Aluminium Nespresso capsules are recycled through a mail-back scheme, with free bags returned to a UPS drop-off point or a boutique, rather than through your kerbside bin. Plastic K-Cups vary by roaster and by what your local service accepts. The word on the box rarely says which of those it means.
Are compostable coffee pods compostable at home?
Usually not. Most compostable capsules are certified commercially compostable, which needs an industrial facility running at temperatures a garden heap never reaches. Home compostable is a separate and much rarer claim. If a box says compostable without saying home, assume it means commercial.
Why does the same pod cost different amounts per pod?
Box size. Death Wish charges $1.50 a pod for ten and $1.00 a pod for a hundred, which is the same coffee at a third less. Every price on this site is worked out from the largest box the maker sells, so the figures compare like with like, and each product page states the box it came from.
How much coffee is actually in a pod?
Between about five and twelve grams, and almost no maker publishes the figure. Nespresso states it nowhere public in either the US or Europe, and neither do the K-Cup roasters here. That is why this site prices pods per pod rather than per kilo: there is nothing published to divide by, and an estimated dose would produce an invented price.
Can you use third-party capsules in a Vertuo machine?
No. Vertuo capsules are read by barcode, so the machine only brews capsules Nespresso has encoded, and that locks the system to one supplier. Nespresso Original is the opposite: it is widely copied, so compatible capsules from other roasters are easy to find and usually cheaper. K-Cup is more open still.
What is the best coffee pod?
Based on our research across the category, San Francisco Bay OneCUP 100% Colombian is our editor's pick for coffee pod. The compostable option, if you can reach a commercial composter
Is there a cheap coffee pod worth buying?
Tassimo Kenco Pure Colombian T Discs is the least expensive we have reviewed in this category at $7. Cheapest is not the same as best value: the review says which corners were cut.
How much does a coffee pod cost?
The ones we have reviewed run from about $7 to $41.65. Price tracks build material, capacity and how much of the specification the maker publishes.