3 Reasons To Pick Our Reusable Coffee Pods
💰THE GREEN PODS SAVE YOU MONEY – Two coffees a day kind of person? Our reusable Nespresso coffee pods could save you $611 a year (based on a single-use pod cost of 95c and buying fresh coffee beans for $25/kg). Made from high-quality stainless steel, they’re designed to last a lifetime.
🌍 WHILE ALSO SAVING THE PLANET – You could save 730 single-use pods a year from going to landfill. Most single-use pods are made from a combination of aluminium and plastic – meaning they’re non-recyclable and can take 500 years to break down.
☕ DRINK THE COFFEE YOU WANT TO DRINK – With our reusable Nespresso coffee pods, you’re not limited to one brand of coffee. Experiment with different roasters until you find your favourite.
Not a Nespresso Drinker? We have reusable capsules for all leading brand coffee pod machines:
- Click here for our reusable Caffitaly pods
- Click here for our reusable Dolce Gusto pods
- Click here for our reusable Nespresso Vertuo pods
But First, What Are Reusable Nespresso Capsules?
Normally, Nespresso capsules are disposable. You are supposed to use them and throw them away afterward.
However, this isn’t great for your budget or the environment.
Reusable Nespresso capsules are made of stainless steel or other durable materials rather than cheap plastic. They do the same job that disposable Nespresso pods do, except that you add the ground coffee to the pods yourself, and clean them out afterward.
This allows you to use the same pod many times.
Why Are Reusable Nespresso Pods Such a Good Idea?
Switching to reusable Nespresso pods can save you a lot of money, and give you more control over the coffee you drink.
Plus, if you use disposable capsules, you are stuck with the capsules you purchased even when you would prefer a different brew.
With reusable Nespresso pods, you can add your own ground coffee. If your favorite coffee company doesn’t offer a Nespresso pod, you can still make it using your Nespresso machine at home.
Nespresso Machine Compatibility:
Our reusable pods are compatible with the following Nespresso machines:
- Inissia
- Lattissima
- CitiZ
- Expert
- Creatista
- Pixie
- Essenza Mini (By Breville Only)
How to use our reusable coffee pods
To Use The Green Pods
- Check the capsule fits with your coffee machine
- Fill the capsule with about 4.5g of fine-medium ground coffee. Use the back of a spoon or a tamper to tamp a little before closing the lid.
- Put the capsule into your coffee machine and run like usual.
- Remove the capsule and dispose of the coffee grounds. It’s fine to rinse them down the sink or put them into compost. While the capsules are dishwasher safe, we recommend rinsing in the sink with hot water.
4 Tips To Get Better Coffee From Our Reusable Pods
Ok, so it’s not all sunshine and roses. We realise getting these pods to work takes a little practice. Here’s our 4 tips to make perfect coffee every time from your Green Pods reusable coffee capsules.
1. The Coffee Grind Size
When buying pre-ground coffee, make sure to look out for the size of the grind. You’ll want a medium to fine grind for our capsules, but be aware there’s no universal standard in naming and measuring grinds. Classifications of grinds can vary quite a bit from manufacturer to manufacturer.
Watch out for extra-fine or ‘espresso grade’ coffee. This dust-like powder is designed for espresso machines that have a lot more pressure than your counter-top Nespresso machine. They tend to clog the capsule and will result in little-to-no flow.
Play around – you may have to try a few different bags and brands till you find the right grind.
We use our own mill and grind the coffee fresh as we need it. It’s important to note that not all mills are created equal. Look out for a ‘burr grinder’ – these are the way to go. Unlike the food processor-type blade grinders, a burr grinder ensures every particle is of a similar size. You can pick one up from here for only $40.
2. The Fill Ratio
Add the coffee into the capsule until completely full. We’ve found the following weights work best for each of our different pods:
- Nespresso – 5-6 grams
- Dolce Gusto – 7-8 grams
- Caffitaly 8-9 grams
Start with these amounts, then try a little bit more or less until you’re happy with the result. And let us know what you find works best!
3. Tamp
Now here’s where the magic happens. Use the tamper provided. Tamp enough so that the coffee is compacted and it doesn’t fall out when turned upside down – but don’t overdo it. Countertop coffee machines don’t have as much pressure as commercial machines, so they won’t be able to force the water through if it’s too tight.
Aim for the espresso shot to take around 25-30 seconds to extract. Any shorter – tamp more. Any longer – tamp less.
4. Experiment:
Experiment to find the correct amount of coffee, and the correct pressure to use when tamping the grinds. We find about 4g to 5g works well. Also pay attention to the size of the grind which should neither be too coarse or too fine. Please try a few times to see what works best for your coffee and your machine – you’ll be surprised how good and creamy the coffee can taste!
WHAT COFFEE SHOULD YOU USE?
This is a question we get A LOT! And it's not a simple one to answer.. Below are the issues we've run into with store bought coffee
The Issues with store bough coffee:
- The Grind Size: Most supermarkets only sell 'Espresso Grind' which is a little too fine, or 'Plunger Grind' which is a little too coarse. Either can be made to work, but we reccommend grinding just slightly coarser than a standard espresso grind.
- The Strength: Nespresso pods aren't big, which means you need a really strong coffee roast to cram as much flavour in as possible.
INTRODUCING, OUR GREEN GROUNDS COFFEE ☕
A unique blend of coffee specifically crafted for use in our Green Pods coffee capsules.
☕ Ground to Order: Our coffee is ground to the perfect consistency to suit your Green Pods capsules.
🌱 Sustainably Produced: Our Green Grounds is Fair Trade and Organic certified coffee
😋 Perfectly Blended: A Full body, intense aroma and long-lasting flavour delivers the perfect a café quality espresso that you can enjoy in the comfort of your own home.
1. How much coffee can a reusable Nespresso pod hold?
We created a dosing ring to help you in case you don’t know how much coffee goes into a capsule.
Our advice is to fill it until the coffee is level with the edge of the capsule, then tamp with one of our weighted tampers. Depending on the pressure you put on the coffee and the kind of filter you use, the coffee will be lighter or stronger.
2. How long does it take to fill your refillable Nespesso Pods?
As with all the actions we now perform automatically, like riding a bike, a little practice is needed to learn how to use our capsule well and without problems.
We reckon you can fill up your reusable Green Pod in less than 15 seconds! Which means your pod will be ready long before your Nespresso machine even heats up.
3. It is safe to use a reusable Nespresso Pod?
The metal capsule will indeed be hot after each use.
You should wait 1 or 2 minutes before grabbing it with your hand. You can however grab it with a tool and place it under water to speed up the process.
To make things easier we recommend you chose one of our discounted packs with several capsules in case you are planning to make coffees for family and friends.
4. But doesn't Nespresso recycle their pods
Only around 40% of Nespresso pods are being recycled. And, even the aluminium that is recycled, won't get used to make new pods since the alloy of metal they require isn't possible from recycled material.
We know the only sustainable solution is to switch from single use to reusable products that last.
You can read more about the Nespresso recycling program and the damage being done to the environment by single use pods in our blog post HERE
5. What else can I make with your reusable Nespresso pods?
You can make tea, hot chocolate, and even hot milk foam using our Green Pods!
Tea: Use tea leaves, or empty a tea bag into the capsule. It's OK if you don't completely fill the capsule as tea is much more concentrated than coffee. Use the lungo button to get a full cup of tea in seconds!
Chai: Fill the capsule with your favourite brand of chai. Make sure not to tamp the powder very lightly (much lighter than you would do for coffee) as the fine powder can clump and block to pod.
Hot Chocolate: Fill the capsule with your favourite drinking chocolate power. Make sure not to tamp the powder very lightly (much lighter than you would do for coffee) as the fine powder can clump and block to pod.
Hot Milk Foam: Just fill the capsule with milk power (we recommend full fat - for better mouth feel). Don't try mixing the milk powder and coffee in the same pod as this will render the coffee far too weak.
6. Will my machine lose its warranty if I use your Nespresso Green Pods?
No it won't. Using our Green Pods is no different to using another 3rd party coffee capsule such as L'OR or Starbucks.
7. How do the capsules not get damaged when the machine pierces the capsule?
Our reusable Nespresso pods have a gap where the pins of the Nespresso machine strike the pod, and then lots of tiny holes to let the hot water enter. Due to this clever design, neither the capsule nor the machine get damaged during the process.
8. How do I clean the capsule once I've used it?
It's easy! Simply scrape out the spent coffee grounds using a spoon and then rise your refillable Nespresso Pod under cold water in the sink.
We've also got a great list of ideas you can do with the used coffee grounds here
9. Do you sell coffee too?
Absolutely! We've crafted our own fair trade and organic certified coffee, specifically designed for use in our reusable coffee pods.
You can try our Green Grounds Coffee HERE.
10. Do you sell spare o-rings?
The o-rings/gaskets we use are guaranteed to last for the lifetime of your pod. In case you do end up losing them, or need more, you can purchase them HERE separately.
✒️ Our Risk-free Guarantee
We have an iron-clad risk-free 30-day guarantee included with every purchase. That means, if you're not 100% satisfied with your new Green Pods, we'll do whatever it takes to make things right.
📦 Shipping
Please note: orders within New Zealand will be shipped the next day and typically take 5 business days to arrive, however priority shipping is available. International orders typically take 10-15 days to arrive.
26 reviews for Reusable Nespresso Coffee Pods – Starter Pack