It is probably worthwhile looking on website Hot UK Deals for any deals posted up for pod machines such as Nepresso. These are normally on offer outside of your budget but there is usually a voucher/cashback to buy pods.
Hi... I know there have been a few threads on the subject of coffee machines but they all tend to wander off into discussions of uber-expensive bean to cup jobbies, so I thought I'd start a new, more specific, one.
I am in the market for a budget pod machine. I have had the Bosch Tassimo Vivy recommeded to me which is available at around the £40 mark. Can anyone suggest and better alternative at this (or thereabouts) price point? And also where to get them? I know that the more you spend you get better results, but the budget is not all that flexible so I'm a bit limited.
Rob
It is probably worthwhile looking on website Hot UK Deals for any deals posted up for pod machines such as Nepresso. These are normally on offer outside of your budget but there is usually a voucher/cashback to buy pods.
Not a great deal of experience, but I have a Nespresso machine that I love.
I paid around £90 from John Lewis, but within the box was a voucher for a free pod stand (worth £30) and £50 voucher off my first coffee order. So in reality the machine cost £10.
My best advice would be to think about where you want to get your pods from. If you want to go to the supermarket then Tassimo would suit, however Nespresso are mainly online (few smaller brands in Waitrose), which is a slight pain.
Another vote for Nespresso. Got one for my Dad and he really likes it. As mentioned, keep an eye out for offers - The one I got was about £80 but came with a £40 voucher for the pods, I did see them reduced further to around £40 (John Lewis Sale or Amazon I think) so it's within budget.
Pod can be bought on the high street - assuming you're in London (although I'd imagine there are similar stockists / shops around the UK). It works out to be about 30p per pod - not cheap, but a lot cheaper than a costa or starbucks (and probably nicer!).
I was bought a Krupp's Dolce Gusto 13 months ago. Used daily. It's behaved and the coffee is fine to my untutored tastebuds. Good range of flavours available. Some of the pods are single, others are double - one for milk the other for coffee - so the price is ~22p to 44p if you buy in boxes of three, otherwise it's dearer.
Had one for 2-3 years now and love it. The latte has become addictive. Only thing to watch for is the aeroccino which heats and froths the milk does deteriorate after a while. Nespresso replaced it F.O.C about a year ago as milk was burning/sticking onto the bottom.
Have had a Krupps Pixie (nespresso) for 3 years. In the meantime £1500 Delonghie bean to cup has broken and is uneconomical to fix. Coffee was no better.
Machines are heavily subsidized with money off vouchers. Pods work out at approx 30p each. If you go for the stronger roasts in Lungo size one capsule makes a pretty good full mug of americano.
Drink a lot of coffee. On line ordering and delivery really efficient. Comes completely waterproof, so can be delivered to doorstep without damage to contents. Got a free Christmas pack from nespresso, which is a nice touch.
Bid thumbs up after being sceptical.
I have a dolce gusto and love it.loads of choice of hot and cold drinks and buying on amazon in bulk is good valie .
I bought a pack of one of each drink and tried them all. Americano, chococcino and macciato are my faves.
I love my Nespresso - fairly cheap to buy the machine, very quick to use, makes consistent coffee, tastes good. You can get pods from Lidl and Tesco nowadays too.
Bought a Tassimo a few months ago (Sunday Times offer - £30) on the basis that I could ebay it if I didn't like it. a couple of hundred cups later - it's still here :-)
Costco do good deals on the pods and it passes the "Mum test" (i.e. easy to use and tastes good).
Cheers,
Mark C
Bought a Nespresso machine form John Lewis. It was about £140 but got £75 credit on the pods. So easy to use I wish I'd bought one years ago. Ordered some pods yesterday at 3pm and they were delivered before 10 am this morning. Coffee is excellent.
Nespresso machines are cheap with the cashback offers taken into account, but the pod cost (25-30p a pop) does mount up a bit if - like me - you need 2 - 4 cups a morning to get going.
Ive gone back to a collection of small cafetieres and now have a clearer worktop. Which is nice.
tam
can you get the nespresso pods in Tesco and lidl ?
ive just been to our local lidl, didn't see any
I either order on line or go Selfridges brum
andy
I bought some from Lidl just before Christmas - don't think it was one of their crazy special deals that you only ever see once, but you can never tell with Lidl!
I have never seen Nespresso shops outside of London although I did hear the patents have expired so compatible capsules will probably arrive soon (the plastic ones that get round the pattern don't work well at all in my experience).
Regarding the cost per cup - if you use the standard dose of coffee you will get about 30 cups from 250gr of beans, Illy beans cost 6.50 for 250gr in Waitrose (not the cheapest beans but then Nespresso is also meant to be a premium product) so this is 22p per cup + the greater machine investment so I don't think Nespresso is that over-priced although a few a day will certainly notice whilst beans just go into the shopping.
Costco sell Dualit branded Nespresso-compatible pods for around £10 for 60. I've had a Nespresso machine for about six years, and while their own pods are excellent, and the mail-order service prompt and efficient, I use the Costco/Dualit pods for everyday consumption.
Tassimo for me... I've had it for years , my corner shop sticks the pods so I'm happy.... Medium roast 'red' packet is the one ...
Cheers..
Jase
Despite living in Colombia where good coffee is available on every street corner for pennies, I really like the variety Nespresso offers and I was delighted to find an outlet in a nearby shopping centre. It is always a nice experience to sample the coffees before making a purchase.
Correct me if I'm wrong but the genuine Nespresso capsules are sold online, via their shops or concessions only.
Tesco's, Waitrose etc all sell the generic versions, cafe pods/Dualit etc
Ok but not the real deal in taste and function (had a few generic capsule fail)
Ahh , you mean homage or replica pods... Your only fooling yourself with those. You will always yearn for the genuine article ...
I've got a Tassimo purchased from John Lewis when they were doing a half price deal. Simple to use and I really like the Costa Coffees they do. The Costa pods are pretty pricey when paying full rrp but as mentioned above Costco do really good deals on them.
Tried a few and Nespresso is the just streets ahead.
We picked up a semi decent Dolce Gusto pod machine a couple of year ago.
Its quick and clean, OEM pods rrp @ 3.75 for 16 espresso's / americano's etc The espresso intenso's / barista's / arn't bad, and you can knock up a drinkable latte with them (using fresh milk, not the pods included in the machiato's / latte's - avoid those.)
I'm fairly happy with it, but next time I get dragged around the traffod by her indoors I'm going to check out the nespresso section in selfridges and see how far ahead the quality is.
My wife bought me a Illy by Hotpoint machine for Christmas. Espresso only machine, so no lattes or anything else fancy, but it's very very good at what it does. She doesn't know much about coffee so I think she went with it because it's a which best buy. Friends who have other brands are now looking at getting one after trying ours.
Bit more expensive than the OP wanted but thought it was worth a mention.
I have a Dolce Gusto and think my sisters Nespresso is miles better in quality or build and coffee making. Just waiting for mine to break to justify getting a Nespresso
I have a Nespresso and am very happy with it. The non-Nespresso branded pods are in my opinion not as good as the Nespresso ones. The water seems to run through them slower, and there is less taste, at least in my experience.
My mother in law got a dolce gusto for Christmas. I just wasn't keen on the fact that you have to change pods part way through to make a drink.
I was after a device to put a pod in, and make a nice brew without any mither.
Ordered 200 purple pods direct from nesspresso at 3pm yest
They have just turned up
I got one of those Lavazza machines its good buy for the money. The pods work out about 20p each from Tesco click and collect. Its a nice coffee.
It's an easy answer m8.
If you want to get a pod machine then get a Nespresso, prices start around the £80 mark. The basic model is pretty much identical to the more expensive models as far as the coffee is concerned.
The more expensive machines just have better quality finish/materials come with milk frothers etc.
The capsules are approximately 30 pence each depending on type. In my opinion avoid the cheaper generic capsules as most of the ones I tried are not even close to the Nespresso quality.
Got a tassimo for Xmas. Very nice but pods a little dear.
Nespresso all day long, sainsburys and tesco sell cart noir pods too. Rosabaya are my favourite pods though.
Last edited by Middo; 24th January 2015 at 19:09.
Bought a Tassimo machine from Currys at £35 plus some Costa Americano pods at £4.29 just to get it going. Found the first one a little strong for my taste so will make the next one up as a latte. Might try a sampler pack to see if there's one that I really like.
Rob
A bit off topic but I have a dualit espresso machine and whilst it makes really good coffee it is alittle fussy to use, my daughter bought me an aeropress for Xmas, it's simple, makes great coffee and is a nice talking point. It has great reviews.
Got a Nespresso Latissima + for her indoors.
RRP was £250
Go it for 125 with and included inside was an extra 75 worth of vouchers. Bought on Black Friday.
She loves it.
I bastard hate coffee.
Nespresso for "shot" coffee ie small powerful drink it now cup.
In proper Espresso fashion, it's not overly hot, not designed to linger over, a tasty coffee for coffee's sake.
Also have a Tassimo machine which is a hot drinks machine, not a specialised espresso pod machine. A wider variety of drinks. Better for when you want a "mug of coffee". Longer, hotter but perhaps not quite the 'quality' of Nespresso.
I have mine in the bedroom, a great way to start the day, even before getting out of bed!
Tried most of the others, Mocha pot, Espresso machine, Aeropress - all have plenty to recommend, except convenience - which is why I'm very happy with the cost/taste benefit ratio of both the Nespresso & Tassimo systems.