The Best Nespresso Vertuo Pods + 10 Other Contenders!
Nespresso capsules are quick and convenient and although they can’t produce café shop quality coffee, they can still result in a great cup of coffee without having to spend a fortune on fancy espresso machines.
Plus when it comes to Nespresso Vertuo pods, your VertuoLine Nespresso machine can recognize the pod and adjust its settings to deliver the best possible tasting pod coffee.
There are over 50 Vertuo pods available, from single espresso, to gran lungo and full cups of coffee, so choosing the best ones can be confusing.
In this post, we will first share the best Nespresso Vertuo Pods that you should try if you haven't already!
Whether you like a strong espresso, a sweet coffee, or an iced coffee, there’s a Nespresso pod to suit your taste.
What are the Best Nespresso Vertuo Pods?
Check out our overviews below and click on "Read More" to jump down to the in-depth reviews:
no. 1
- Includes fruity and cereal notes
- Light roast
- Refreshing iced drink
no. 2
- Creamy and intense
- Blend of Robusta and Arabica beans
- Hints of nuttiness
no. 3
- High intensity
- Deep flavor with a little bitterness
- Highly roasted
no. 4
- Highly roasted Robusta and Arabica beans
- Hints of cocoa and smokiness
- A little bitter
no. 5
- Full bodied coffee
- Costa Rican coffee beans add cereal notes
- Makes a bold espresso
no. 6
- Made with Latin American Arabica beans
- Light roast
- Hints of honey
no. 7
- Hints of spice and wood
- Intense and strong
- Highly roasted Arabica beans
no. 8
- Made with a blend of Arabica beans
- Slight acidity
- Light fruitiness
no. 9
- Sweet and smooth
- Notes of biscuit
- Blend of decaffeinated and caffeinated Arabica beans
no. 10
- Made with a blend of Arabica beans
- Caramel flavor with hints of coconut and almond
- Smooth mouthfeel
no. 11
- Intense and smoky
- A little bitter
- Blend of Peruvian & Colombian Arabica Beans
Now stick around so you can learn more about each product we mentioned and what you should look for when you're shopping for one!
1. Nespresso Ice Leggero
Best Iced Coffee
The Ice Leggero is made specifically for cold coffee. When it’s a hot day and you decide to make an iced coffee, using your regular coffee pods won't always work. The coffee can end up being bitter, plus the ice melts and dilutes the flavor.
That’s why having a coffee specifically made for iced coffees works well to keep the flavor of a refreshing iced drink.
There are several coffees specifically for making iced coffee but the Ice Leggero seems to be the overall winner among them.
Its fruitiness which is neither too bitter nor too sweet seems to find a pleasing balance.
The Ice Leggero is made with a lightly roasted mix of Ethiopian and Indonesian Arabicas which are AAA certified.
Ethiopian Arabica beans have an orange blossom aroma with a sweet taste. They are sun-dried for up to four weeks with the farmers hand-turning it regularly to dry evenly.
It is best to serve the Ice Leggero with 180g of ice cubes and you can also add different types of milk to it, such as oat milk.
The only downfall is that this coffee is not always available, so if you're lucky and it is available, then make sure to buy it right away!
This Nespresso Capsule is a double espresso and makes 2.7oz (80ml) of coffee.
2. Nespresso Altissio
Best Full-bodied
The Altissio is part of their espresso collection. It is full-bodied and intense, with a creamy texture. It’s made with Costa Rican coffee beans which bring a cereal note to this espresso.
The roast is short and intense which gives it its full-bodied character. It's best served as espresso because of its intensity.
It can be a little bitter but the balance of the flavors helps to reduce this. If like me, before going to bed, you're excited about waking up to a nice strong coffee, then this will satisfy your craving.
It makes a great shot of espresso, but some might find it too intense on its own, so you can add milk to make a cortado, a cappuccino, or a latte.
This Nespresso Vertuo Pod makes 1.35oz (40ml) of coffee.
3. Nespresso Diavolitto
Best High Intense Level
Another great espresso pod, the Diavolitto is an intense coffee. It combines Central and South American Robusta beans with Brazilian Arabica beans. The mix of coffee beans gives an intense and smooth coffee with some bitterness.
Although, compared to the OriginalLine Pods, this coffee is not the most intense. The OriginalLine Pods go up to an intensity level of 13...
The Robusta beans may give off a slight taste of being burnt but milk adds a little sweetness and creaminess that helps with the intensity of this Nespresso pod.
It is an intense coffee and if you're not a fan of strong black coffees then it is best to make a cappuccino or latte with the Diavolitto instead.
Your VertuoLine machine will adjust its settings for a long prewetting to help extract the intense flavor of the Robusta.
This Nespresso Vertuo Pod makes 1.35oz (40ml) of coffee.
4. Nespresso Double Espresso Scuro
Best Double Espresso
This double Vertuo espresso pod results in a dark and bold coffee, making it another great espresso pod. It is a highly roasted blend of Robusta and Arabica beans from Central America.
The Robusta beans are sourced from Guatemala and the Arabica is from Costa Rica.
They are roasted in two splits but both are fully roasted.
Coffee beans from Guatemala are grown at a high altitude which gives them their spicy and complex taste. The volcanic soil is rich which impacts the beans.
Guatemala is the second biggest for coffee bean production in Central America with their coffee beans ranging from floral to cocoa notes depending on the area.
The result is a coffee with hints of cocoa, vanilla, and smokiness. The mix of the sweet and savory make for an intense and complex brew.
This Nespresso Vertuo Pod is a double espresso and makes 2.7oz (80ml) of coffee.
5. Nespresso Altissio Decaffeinato
Best Decaffeinated
If you’re looking for the great flavor of espresso but without the caffeine punch, then the Altissio Decaffeinato is a perfect choice!
Even without the caffeine, it still makes a bold espresso that’s full-bodied with creamy cereal notes.
This coffee is made from Arabica beans from Costa Rica and Robusta beans from South America.
The beans are highly roasted to give them a creaminess; however, this means they are a little bitter.
Nespresso decaffeinated capsules have anywhere between 4mg and 12 mg of caffeine.
This Nespresso Vertuo Pod is a single espresso shot and makes 1.35oz (40ml) of coffee.
6. Nespresso Melozio
Best Sweet
This medium roast has a distinctly sweet aroma with a very smooth mouthfeel.
Made only from Arabica beans it gives hints of honey. The Brazilian beans used are of the Bourbon variety to give it that sweetness and notes of toasted cereal.
The primary notes in this delicious coffee are nutty and balanced.
This Nespresso Vertuo Pod is a full cup of coffee and makes 7.77oz (230ml) of coffee.
7. Nespresso Stormio
Best Spicy
This coffee is higher in intensity than the Melozio to make a strong and rich coffee.
It is made from highly roasted Nicaraguan and Guatemalan Arabica beans to give it a spicy, woody taste.
Nicaraguan coffee beans are produced by removing the coffee cherry’s fruit flesh and leaving the mucilage (flesh) on the coffee bean and spreading it in a thin layer to dry. It is raked and rotated daily to create a smooth and sweet flavor.
With this coffee, you can use milk to dilute the intensity, plus it goes great with it!
This Nespresso Vertuo Pod is a full cup of coffee and makes 7.77oz (230ml) of coffee.
8. Nespresso Odacio
Best Fruity
A medium-high intensity coffee that’s quite lively!
Made with Nicaraguan and Ethiopian Arabica beans, it keeps its acidity while producing a light fruity flavor.
The beans are split roasted, long and light, to develop the full body and keep the acidity.
It can be a little bitter but the subtle fruitiness and boldness balance this well.
This Nespresso Vertuo Pod is also a full mug of coffee and makes 7.77oz (230ml) of coffee.
9. Nespresso Half Caffeinato
Best Low in Caffeine
If you’re trying to cut down on your caffeine intake or if you're looking for half a boost to avoid those caffeine jitters, then the Nespresso Half Caffeinato are your go-to since they are half caffeinated coffee pods (duhhh).
It’s made with both decaffeinated and caffeinated Arabica beans from Brazil and Ethiopia.
The Brazilian beans are lightly and quickly roasted for a sweetness that gives smooth notes of biscuit, and who doesn't love biscuits?
This medium roast is one of the unflavored Vertuo coffee pods and has a smooth mouthfeel that is nutty and balanced.
This Nespresso Vertuo Pod is also a full cup of coffee and makes 7.77oz (230ml) of coffee.
10. Nespresso Caramel Cookie
Best Barista Creation
Caramel Cookie is one of Nespresso’s Barista Creations Coffee and one of the best!
It is a sweet and smooth coffee with hints of caramel, coconut, almond, and biscuit.
It’s made with Latin American and African Arabicas for the soft, sweet flavor. They are split roasted, so the Ethiopian beans bring that smoothness to balance the flavors.
This Nespresso Vertuo Pod can be enjoyed as a full cup of coffee and it makes 7.77oz (230ml) of coffee.
11. Nespresso Carafe Pour-Over Style
Best Craft Brew
This coffee is only suitable for the Vertuo Next machine but it’s great if you want to make a coffee carafe.
It is smoky and intense with a delicate crema and woody and earthy notes.
It’s made with a coffee blend of washed Arabica beans from Colombia and Peru.
The Peruvian beans are dark roasted to give them that intenseness.
The washed Arabica beans are sorted, then the seed and the flesh are separated. They are then fermented for at least 18 hours. The fermentation process breaks down the skin of the coffee before the beans are washed with clean water and dried.
It can be a little bitter but the crema and smokiness balance this out.
This Nespresso VertuoLine Pod is made for carafe brewing and it makes 18oz (535ml) of coffee.
Are you in the market for a new Nespresso Machine? Then check out our article for the Best Nespresso Machine Guide!
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What is the difference between the OriginalLine Pods and the VertuoLine Pods?
Nespresso machines come in two lineups: the Nespresso OringalLine Machines and the Nespresso VertuoLine Machines.
The OriginalLine Nespresso capsules are similar to the long-lasting milk pods you get in European hotels.
They are smaller and cylindrical, like a pipe, whereas the new VertuoLine pods are round, like cutting a tennis ball in half.
Of course, they’re not as big as tennis balls otherwise you’d be bouncing off the walls with the amount of caffeine in them.
Original capsules don’t work in the VertuoLine machines and you will spend more on Vertuo capsules compared to the OriginalLine ones.
The originals are best for espresso and espresso based drinks whereas the Vertuo ones are better for espresso and larger coffee drinks because you can get a full mug out of some of them.
The original capsules were extracted by pump pressure, up to 19 bars, whereas the Vertuo coffee machines use centrifusion. This is when the ground coffee is infused with water and is then spun rapidly. The centrifusion has a more airy crema, is quieter, and tends to be quicker.
The VertuoLine pods have a barcode scanning system. The barcode is on the underside of the rim of the pod and is repeated all the way around which allows the system to recognize each capsule, adjusting the brewing parameters to deliver a unique cup each time.
The barcode means the machine knows what temperature, cup size, speed, flow rate, and the time the water is in contact with the coffee.
This means the coffee machine knows how to optimize its settings for each coffee you use.
How do you store the best Nespresso VertuoLine pods?
Like any coffee, your coffee should be sealed.
There are Vertuo pod holders and organizers that come in different designs.
You can get a drawer that your machine stands on and when the drawer is pulled, it has rows of your favorite Nespresso pods.
There are rack pod holders that you can organize your Nespresso coffee capsules into rows depending on their flavor. You can spin this around and it can be placed on your countertop.
If you usually use more than one type of pod then the basket type pod holder might be best. It’s a round container that you can place all your pods in. It’s not as convenient if you have a lot of different flavors as you’d have to sort through them to get the right one.
How much caffeine is in Vertuo pods?
Nespresso states their VertuoLine Capsules range from 60mg to 200mg of caffeine per cup.
How to choose the right Vertuo pod for you?
To choose the right Vertuo Pod you should look at the following considerations.
The type of coffee beans
Some people prefer Arabica coffee beans because they are less bitter than Robusta beans and are of higher quality.
FUN FACT: In Costa Rica, it was actually illegal to grow Robusta beans for some years.
Robusta beans, on the other hand, can still make a good cup of coffee and they offer more caffeine.
Generally, coffee drinkers have a preference. Some Nespresso pods only use Arabica but some are a mix of Arabica and Robusta.
The intensity
Nespresso gives a scale of how intense each Vertuo pod is. It generally ranges from five to eleven for the VertuoLine capsules. As for the OriginalLine capsules, that range is from four to thirteen!
If you’re not a fan of a stronger coffee then a Vertuo pod that is lower on the intensity scale would be better suited for you.
Caffeine
There are varying levels of caffeine in the Nespresso pods, depending on what coffee beans have been used.
Nespresso also produces half caffeinated and decaffeinated pods, although there isn’t a lot of variety with these.
Roast
Light, medium, and dark roasted coffee are used in Nespresso Vertuo line pods.
Dark roast coffee is generally viewed as being a bit bitter because the longer they are roasted, the more the flavor is impacted by the roasting and loses some of its uniqueness. This isn’t always the case with dark roasts.
Dark roasts tend to be used for lower-quality coffee beans as the roasting masks the flavor, however, this isn’t the case now.
Mild roast coffee will have a more mellow taste and will be preferable to some than a dark roast.
VertuoLine Tips
To ensure you get the most from your Nespresso Vertuo capsules, you can do more than simply place your pod in your Nespresso Vertuo machine.
- Clean your machine regularly: Descaling your machine and cleaning it regularly are important to ensure impurities don’t impact the coffee taste. It can also ensure your coffee machine lasts longer.
- Don't leave water in it: Leaving water in your machine can not only get stale which affects the taste of your coffee, but it’s not great for your machine either.
- Warm up the machine before use: Warming up your machine before brewing your coffee can help to pierce the pod and ensures the temperature is correct for brewing.
- Warm up your cup: Pour a little hot water into your cup before you brew your coffee. When warm hits cold it can lower the temperature and impact the taste. You can do this on your machine by brewing water without putting a capsule in it.
- Use filtered water: Filtered water or bottled water is better because there are no impurities that can affect the taste of your coffee.
Can you recycle Nespresso Vertuo pods?
Yes, you can! However, only a small percentage are actually recycled.
To recycle the pods you can get a free recycling bag from Nespresso. You then fill your bag with used Vertuo capsules and recycle them by either dropping them off at specified locations, mailing them to Nespresso, or you can get them collected from your home.
Each bag holds up to 65 Vertuo capsules, so it should last quite a while before having to recycle them.
If you are looking to reduce your footprint, then you can look at buying reusable Nespresso Pods. Check out our article for The Best Reusable Nespresso Pods!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use Starbucks pods in Nespresso Vertuo?
Yes. Starbucks pods are made by Nespresso, so they are suitable for use in Nespresso Vertuo. It’s not advisable to use other coffee pod brands as it could damage your machine or make your warranty invalid.
Are Nespresso Vertuo pods vegan?
Yes. Nespresso pods only contain pure ground coffee beans.
Are Nespresso Vertuo pods kosher?
Yes, all Nespresso coffees, including the Vertuo range are Kosher Certified. Unflavored coffee is “Passover” certified and flavored coffee is “Parve” certified.
How many calories are in Nespresso Vertuo pods?
Nespresso pods are low in calories with less than 2 calories per cup since they only contain coffee. If you add milk to your coffee though, the calorie count will increase.
Can you reuse Nespresso Vertuo pods?
No. When it comes to Nespresso Vertuo Machines, one coffee pod equals one drink. Some may try to press the button straight after and it will pour another coffee but it will be as weak as Popeye before he eats his spinach.
Bottom Line
Nespresso pods are quick and convenient to create delicious coffee at home.
There are lots of flavors to choose from and they even bring out limited editions every now and again, such as vanilla custard pie.
So we've shared the best Nespresso Vertuo Pods with you, now is your turn to try them out.
Happy Coffee Tasting!
