The Best Nespresso Capsules – Buyer’s Guide

Coffee is one of life’s small pleasures.

Commercial coffee chains are great but they’ve also raised the bar in what we expect at home. Once you’ve got used to your mocha or latte at Starbucks, a bland cup of instant doesn’t hold much appeal.

Luckily, there’s a huge selection of top-notch coffee machines on the market so you can replicate your favorite drink at home. Nespresso machines, produced by Nestle, are extremely popular, cost-effective and user-friendly.

Today, we’ll look at the best Nespresso capsules so you can put your new machine through its paces and enjoy your coffee exactly as you like it.

Before we get started, though, you need to be clear about the 2 different machines, the OriginalLine and Vertuoline. We’ll walk you through the differences so you can make the best choice for your needs. It’s pointless launching straight into the pods without a bit of background on the machines…

I. OriginalLine vs VertuoLine

Before looking at the capsules, a brief snapshot of Nespresso history…

Back in the 1970s, a Nestle employee invented the Nespresso machine and brought it to market. Nespresso was formed as subsidiary of Nestle in 1986. The machines and Nespresso pods hit the European market in the late 80s and North America in the early 90s. Since then, they have showed no signs of losing popularity.

In 2014, the VertuoLine came onto the American market to service the demand for larger servings of coffee. At this point, the earlier generation machines were termed the OriginalLine.

There are 3 main differences between the OriginalLine and VertuoLine…

Type of Drink

With the OriginalLine, you’ll be able to brew only espresso or lungo. ​Lungo is a short black with double the amount of water used for espresso.

The VertuoLine offers you the choice of espresso, lungo or straight coffee so you’ll get more choice if you like an assortment of different drinks.

While the OriginalLine machines sold extremely well in Europe, the American market called out for larger coffees so the VertuoLine was introduced.

Brewing Technology

OriginalLine machines work in the same way as a conventional espresso maker. Hot water and pressure are applied to freshly ground coffee. This method delivers a top-tier espresso.

With the VertuoLine, centrifugal force is used instead of pressure. The water temperature is also lower. Sadly, this combination of decreased pressure and cooler water leads to espresso tasting rather weak and underextracted. It also comes out almost lukewarm. This is one of those ideas that works better in theory than practice. Bear it in mind if you are tempted by the VertuoLine machines but enjoy strong, piping hot espresso.

Nespresso Capsules

The OriginalLine and VertuoLine use different Nespresso pods.

These capsules are substantially more expensive than ground coffee. The selling point is that they are much cheaper than heading to the coffee shop.

Capsules are sold in Grand Cru collections. This is a term you normally associate with fine wine. It’s a neat marketing trick from Nestle to boost perceived value.

Although you get the additional option of regular coffee with the VertuoLine, it’s still a pretty young machine so overall choice of pods is more limited.

We’ll break down the layout of each batch of capsules so you can see at a glance what’s on offer…

OriginalLine Capsules

There are 6 Grand Cru collections along with the occasional Limited Editions.

With 26 regular pods and the 2 current Limited Editions, you really will be spoiled for choice with the OriginalLine.

VertuoLine Capsules

With a choice of short, 40ml espresso or much larger 230ml coffees, there are less Grand Crus available but the range is sure to grow.

Each of these blends is designed to be taken with froth or milk. While it might seem like a restricted selection of pods, it’s a question of what you want from your machine…

For lovers of a hulking mug of coffee, the VertuoLine is the smart option.

Although there are currently no decaffeinated blends, you can enjoy a vast range of different coffees without being overwhelmed by choice.

II. List of The Best Nespresso Capsules

1. Best OriginalLine