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I'm thinking of getting a coffee machine for the office but DH is not a gifted barista and is a bit of a slob so I've decided a pod machine would probably suit him better.
I won't use Nestle products so I'm not interested in a system that uses Nespresso.
What machine do you have? How easy is it use. Are pods easily available?
I don't have any that can use the nespresso but i do have the aldi machine - i find it very easy to use and their coffee is actually quite nice.
The gloria jeans and woolworths pods also fit it - the gloria jeans caramel coffee if to die for :)
We have the aldi one at work. Easy to use but I don't like the coffee at all. I still buy mine in preference.
My coworkers all use two pods per cup as they say it is too weak with just one.
I know the Woolworths machines are very popular. They are also on sale this week if you have an everyday rewards card.
I got DH a basic Krupps machine (about $150) for his office. It is manual, but you can just buy pods( as in tea bag style ones) that fit into the coffee part. It's a really good coffee and easy for the guys to use there. He buys the pods from a coffee place locally. I think you get get that style from supermarkets too.
We have a Lavazza A modo Mio, made by Saeco. It cost about $300 Jan 2012 and they threw in the $100 milk frother. The milk frother lasted about 6 months before getting water into the base. The $25 Aldi replacement lasted 5 min before same happened. When then spent about $100 on a Breville milk frother which allows the frother jug to separate from the engine part, so it can go in the dishwasher. It's awesome too :)
the pods cost about $12-13 per box of 16 from the Good Guys. We buy about $50 of pods per month. It can be expensive and it's certainly environmentally unfriendly. However, the coffee is great, it's convenient and less messy than an espresso machine. We use the pod machine a lot more than our old espresso machine.
The coffee is fabulous and it's not Nestlé :)
I've heard the woolies machines are good.
Just remember Gloria Jeans support the ACL, which sole purpose is to oppose gay marriage.
Just saying, depending on your beliefs, maybe Gloria Jeans isn't the way to go.
We have the Aldi one and love it. You can buy different strength pods so you can make strong coffees if you prefer them.
We originally bought the Woolworth's one, but it was really loud and didn't work very well so we returned it and bought the Aldi one. I'm really impressed with it :). We also bought their milk frother for $25, love that too!
Yeah. I don't really buy from GJ's. It's not just the Ministries thing but also the paper cups in store. I didn't want to say so because it makes me seems so fussy :lol:
I took DS1 shopping yesterday and after an hour he said to me "you're a very fussy person aren't you" I denied it so he said "I meant you're quite particular" lol.
I have an Aldi machine and the Lavazza blue, MAP and Caffittaly, and Gloria Jeans all fit. I like the Woolworths(caffitaly) the best but I would say its personal preference! Works easily, milk frother is easy to clean and I love it!
Particular. That's a much nicer way to be.
My aldi fav is a 9 apparently, according to my friend. That's what she always makes me and I love it. Nice and strong.
The also run a charity which is extremely pro-life.:
I've got an Aldi one at work and at home (and usually have the strength 9 too Lenny!). I use 2 capsules at a time, but tend to have it in a mug size anyway. I'm really happy with it, have had the home one for a year now and no issues (except when I forget to empty out the used capsule container and coffee spills on the bench....)
Just read something I didn't know. It is instant coffee inside the aldi coffee pod :o
Not sure if that is the case for all pods but I guess it is??? :dunno:
Could be why I don't like it.
Eta - nope. Ignore me. Just read another article that disputes the first article. Perhaps it just tastes like instant?! ;)
That is a very astute observation for a child of his age!:
We have the aldi one for about 18mths now, and I like it, it still works well and I have figured out the coffees which are my favorites. Though I have nothing to compare to, since I have never used anything other than that. I like the aldi coffees, and haven't ever tried the others which fit it. I guess that all just means that I am happy enough with the aldi one and have never needed or wanted to try anything else!
There are places we go out to for breakfast where I'll have a hot chocolate instead of a coffee because I prefer the Aldi pods at home to the way they make their coffee. But then there is the place that I will always order a coffee because it is just done so well! It can be so varied all over the place.
This is an old thread but today I discovered that biodegradable pods exist and is so exciting to me - at my new place of work they have a Nespresso machine (I won't by Nespresso pods (which they claim to recycle) as are Nestle but resigned myself to using the machine as is already there). I had been using some other pods from Woolies (only 6 pods a week) but I wasn't keen on the waste aspect, but hadn't found another method for coffee at work (most places with ideas instead of pod machines recommend stove top things which aren't an option at work). Anyway today there was an article on the Conversation about pod coffee - and it mentioned the Honest Coffee Company in NZ which sells biodegradable pods (fully biodegradable to the point of biodegrading 1.5:
years earlier than an orange peel) - so am going to try them out - is not as cheap as other pods but still cheaper than buying a coffee from a coffee shop if there is one available, and as I only use 6 pods a week is good enough for me.
I have an aldi at home. Love it, had it 18mth and now feel like i cant live without it. My fave are the 12, i use a pod twice for one mug. I have the fact i just throw them in the trash, it is such a wasteful habit.... i heard some pods are recyclable but couldnt find anywhere on aldi ones to say they are or arent... think this is something they (or any coffee pod makers ) should work on.
We have the aldi machine, but use lavazza pods from woolies because we don't like the aldi pods. We collect the pods after use, remove the coffee ground (which we use in our compost) and recycle the plastic part.
PZ, when you say recycle, do you take them somewhere? Or reuse? There are lots of plastic ones at work and I think they just put in the bin.
PZ, I've never thought of that, which is odd because I'm a mad recycler of everything else.
I've seen re-fillable/re-usable ones online which are a good choice for people who only want fairtrade coffee or who want to mix up their own coffee blends. I would go to that effort for a good Timor Leste roast!!
Plus GJs coffee is GROSS. Bleugh.
Lol, sorry that was in direct reply to the comments on the previous page re Gloria Jeans.
We have a Krupps machine that is still going strong after at least 5 years... I think longer. I don't get the benefit of the pod machine, personally :dunno: I'm not always environmentally minded but DH pointed out the amount of waste from pod machines versus regular ones so I imagine when this machine dies well just get another like it.
We did buy milk frothers from Aldi and from Woollies however (totally worth it, IMO - no more arm cramps whilst heating milk, lol!) and I think the aldi one is better, even though it's harder to clean, as the woollies one doesn't get the milk hot enough.
I'm not sure about every pod brand, but the lavazza ones we buy use recyclable plastics, so we just clean them out, but the grounds to use in the compost and recycle the rest. It's time consuming opening each pod, but for us it's worth the luxury of having a pod machine until we can afford a proper coffee machine. DH is a mad recycler as well, so if there's a way, we find it lol.
Ahh so those pods are the type that you can put in the normal plastics recycling bin? - would I be able to tell on a used pod if it is a recyclable one or not (e.g. does it have the symbol or anything). I think I prefer the idea of biodegradable pods, but if you can recycle the plastic ones at home that would be my second choice.:
ETA. I have just read some stuff that suggests that all plastic pods are recyclable - as long as separate grounds first.
You can get refillable pods online. I prefer this to the idea of recyclable pods, as to me the production is just as bad for the environment as the waste. I'm not a huge fan of the taste of pods overall. But this might be a better solution. Google Eco Cup.
I think the refillable ones are a good idea too, but from what I have read refilling and then transporting is not so easy (if anyone has experience with how robust they are once refilled would be interested to hear)as I only have at work and the refilling aspect would all have to be done at home.