The arrival of Nespresso to the world of coffee has flooded the market with all kinds of alternatives to Nespresso expensive capsule coffee: Some good, some bad, some terrible. It is our duty to sort out some of the best companies out there to bring you a list of nespresso alternative pods that are actually good and, more importantly, that you can trust.
One of the advantages of this format of capsuled coffee is undoubtedly the ease with which you can enjoy very different varieties of coffee. And this does not have to be limited to just one brand: While it is always encouraged that you find one brand that you trust in because of their quality of coffee and service, it is important to keep expanding your horizons.
Ever curious about every kind of coffee that sees the light of day, we wanted to try, taste, smell and see by ourselves some of the most popular alternatives to Nespresso coffee that we’ve seen out there. Luckily for us, the market for alternatives is a growing one and full of long-time coffee lovers who know a lot about coffee and care a lot for good quality. And we did.
So we made a list with some alternatives to Nespresso that we’ve tried, loved, and would recommend in a second.
Below, are our list of nespresso compatible capsules we’ll be highlighting. But, if you’re still someone who needs more convincing to give Nespresso a try, check out our article on 14 Reasons You Should Buy Nespresso Machine.
Artizan
Made from the highest quality 100% Arabica beans that grown 1200 meters above sea level this blend is aromatic, with medium acidity, and features chocolate and citrus notes.
Artizan’s team puts a lot of effort into their coffee because they love what they do, and they want you to love it just as much. Their “Love it” guarantee, as they call it, means that if you ever place an order that you don’t 100% love, they vow to make it right by replacing your order with the one you will love, or you will get all of your money back ASAP. This gentleman is how you treat your customers.
Freshness is always guaranteed for all of Artizan’s coffee: their state-of-the-art roasting facility in Miami Gardens is constantly roasting, and all of the orders sent are always from a freshly roasted batch- thus ensuring optimal taste and aroma.
About their nespresso compatible capsules:
Made in the same facilities where they roast their coffee, Artizan’s compatible capsules are made with ecovio; a bioplastic derived from corn which is both compostable and biodegradable.
Artizan’s capsule coffee contains anywhere from 60 to 120 mg of caffeine per capsule, which holds between 5 and 5 grams of coffee grounds.
Our pick:
Heavenly Project: This blend of beans grown in high altitude locations in Indonesia, South America and a touch of Indian Robusta beans will charm your senses making you wish you’d ordered more. With an intensity of 10 points, this coffee is very aromatic and has chocolate and citrus notes. Compostable, USDA organic certified and FairTrade.
New to the Nespresso world? Be sure to read Learn How to Use Nespresso Machine With Ease, here!
Peet’s Coffee
Made with 100% Arabica coffee, each capsule delivers the rich, high-quality coffee experience that you expect from Peet’s.
Peet’s Coffee is a company that is involved in each and every part of the coffee cycle. Their retail stores, which are located all throughout the US, are one of the most coveted positions for baristas for the opportunity to work with the best coffee equipment—along with great working conditions.
The heart of their coffee is their roasting plant, in Alameda, where some of the most select and highly trained coffee roasters of the US work to improve the quality of the coffee.
Peet’s coffee capsules:
Partnering up with the g2 Revolution, who seek to create innovative recycling solutions for some of the hardest-to-recycle products out there (which coffee capsules are infamous for).
Once you’ve used one of Peet’s Coffee capsules, you can leave the coffee inside and put them in one of the recycling bags they provide for free: After they get these –which can hold up to 100 capsules- they take them to a special recycling plant where the aluminum is carefully separated and recycled, and the used coffee is made into compost.
Peet’s coffee has an app available for iPhone and Android which gives you free beverages, discounts, and special offers.
Our pick:
Nerissimo espresso: This dark, dark espresso –Peet’s signature- is said to be the blackest sweet espresso in existence today. With an intensity of 11, the darkest they make, this strong espresso still manages to create a sweet flavor that will turn this coffee into your guilty pleasure.
If you’re in the market for a new Nespresso machine, be sure to read our buying guide with honest reviews in our article Best Nespresso Machines (Review & Buying Guide). Check them out, here!
Café La Llave
Enjoy a tacita of a true Latin-style espresso and experience a tradition that began in Cuba more than a century ago.
Authentic Cuban coffee. A family business that started more than a century ago, when settlers reached Cuba, and started growing coffee just two brothers. Cuba, being a country where good coffee is enjoyed in every household, has always produced some of the world’s best coffee. La Llave has brought their own secrets to great coffee to the US, where they rapidly gained fame for their quality coffee, and have recently started making capsule coffee.
Hailed as the world’s only true Latin coffee, La Llave’s true strength lies in its rich, full-bodied espresso, which will be black yet sweet just like true Latin American coffee prepared in a Moka pot. Their nespresso compatible capsule aim to bring you that exact same flavor with none of the hassle and all of the convenience of single-serve coffee.
Our pick:
Café La Llave espresso: Their signature Latin espresso, in a convenient capsule form. This highly aromatic, full-bodied and intense coffee is of the best quality while maintaining a very reasonable price.
Tassimo VS Nespresso… Which is better? Find out in our article, here!
Lavazza’s “Blue” capsule coffee
Lavazza Decaffeinato Ricco Espresso is a unique blend of Brazilian Arabica and Asian Robusta beans yield a rich coffee with a sweet, well-rounded taste with an intensity of 6 out of 13.
Lavazza’s latest incursion into capsule coffee is good news for all coffee lovers around the world. One of the oldest, most reputable names in the coffee business, Lavazza’s widely regarded as one of the best providers of top-quality coffee internationally. And now, they bring us their famous coffee in capsule form.
Compatible with all of Nespresso’s Orignal Line machines, these capsules contain some of the best coffee in the world, grown in exclusive facilities around the world and roasted in Lavazza’s home country, Italy.
Our pick:
Espresso Ricco: This delicious blend of Arabica and Robusta (for extra punch) comes from Brazilian and Asian beans. It makes a thick crema and its flavor has a combination of sweet liqueur and dark chocolate, with a very intense aroma.
is Nespresso the same beverage as espresso? Learn more about their differences in this article.
Gourmesso
This light-roast blend contains 100% Peruvian Arabica beans and is a single-origin blend. Gently decaffeinated, the Decaf Peru Dolce has subtle hints of chocolate and a rich crema.
Started over in Berlin, Germany, Gourmesso offers a very high quality of coffee at almost half the price of other capsule coffee brands. With a base right in Miami, Florida, most of their products are now made in the US.
A very environmentally-conscious company, Gourmesso offers a wide variety of more ethical choices for most of their coffee. Ranging from USDA certified organic coffee to compostable capsules and Rainforest Alliance certified coffee, Gourmesso specializes in the best coffee that the capsule format can offer- both Nespresso-compatible capsules and K-pods.
An admirable recent project of theirs is the #DrinkCoffeePlantTrees movement, which aims to repopulate some of the country’s most damaged forests by planting one tree for each order placed on their website.
Our pick:
Decaf Perú Dolce: Made with 100% Peruvian Arabica coffee beans, this coffee offers a rich crema. It’s a light roast that offers a fully aromatic experience with hints of chocolate. This coffee is USDA organic certified and Rainforest Alliance certified.
Bestpresso
Made 100% with Arabica highest quality beans, this type of coffee will seduce those passionate about strong flavors. Inspired by the city of love, its intense roasting gives chocolate notes that match its body and creaminess.
Upholding very high standards in every part of the coffee process from growing to encapsulating, Bestpresso’s coffee which includes ground coffee, whole beans, and capsule coffee is of excellent quality. All of Bestpresso’s coffee is as certified as Kosher by the orthodox union.
This company has a recycling program similar to Nespresso’s: With their free recycling bags which can hold up to 200 capsules at a time and can be shipped for free, they make a considerable effort to reduce their carbon footprint and make their coffee eco-friendly.
60-day satisfaction guarantee: To show how much they care for their customer’s satisfaction, they allow you to place a complaint should you be dissatisfied with an order, or if there has been some sort of problem with the same order. This complaint will be quickly processed and your money will be refunded (if the complaint is made within the 60-day window).
Our pick:
Verona: A very dark, Italian-style roast makes for a very strong flavor and a creamy, full-bodied cup of coffee. It has a very strong aroma and a lingering sweetness. This coffee is Kosher and Rainforest Alliance certified.
Legato Intenso
Family owned and operated company, offering genuine Italian espresso taste. With over more than 100 years of combined experience in roasting, grinding and ultimately curating the coffee you're guaranteed to enjoy a perfect cup of coffee.
Legato Intenso’s coffee is roasted by a family of roasters that has been professionally roasting coffee for generations. And besides coffee, they offer exclusive capsule blends of tea, cocoa, and others.
Their Italian facilities are some of the largest in the world, which helps them keep prices low, plus, as they themselves say, they “do not pay any swanky panky celebrities”, which helps them keep their costs low. Gotta love the attitude!
Their new FLO capsules are made of recyclable materials (BPA free) which are of a higher quality; these capsules ensure that the coffee grounds inside can stay fresh for months’ even if the capsules are outside their packaging.
Our pick:
Hazelnut: Coffee of the highest quality with natural Hazelnut flavor, this medium-to-dark roast is ideal for dessert.
View our in-depth article Nespresso’s Vertuo-Line VS Original-Line Machines (Compared and Reviewed), here!
That’s it for now. Although some of the things we’ve outlined aren’t related to flavor, which may seem like the endgame of any coffee endeavor, we think they matter a lot. Because where coffee comes from and how it is made affects your experience, too.
So try having a coffee that is not only organic but ethically sourced and processed: The taste will surprise you, and we guarantee you’ll feel much better for contributing to a good cause.
Made with 100% Arabica coffee, each capsule delivers the rich, high-quality coffee experience that you expect from Peet’s.
Made from the highest quality 100% Arabica beans that grown 1200 meters above sea level this blend is aromatic, with medium acidity, and features chocolate and citrus notes.
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