Senseo Coffee Pods

Last week, I brought to you my review of the Senseo Single Serve Coffee Machine. Purposefully, I did not talk about the coffee pods, because the is a completely separate thing altogether. Senseo does make its own line of pods for the machine, but they aren't the only pods you can use. For instance, Nescafe makes a line of pods that can be used in the Senseo. We were sent a mostly complete line of pods to try out with the Senseo Coffee Machine, and we have tested them all. Some were better than others, and some I could do without. Let me preface this by saying I hate hazelnut flavor. But I tried it just to be diplomatic.

Medium Roast Pods The medium roast pod is Senseo's basic coffee pod. Medium roast is just basic Douwe Egbert's coffee. There is a mild roast and a forthcoming dark roast, but I haven't had a chance to try them. The Medium roast is a good flavor. Nice and rich. For my taste, I think it's slightly weak, but definitely a good quality flavor.

Cappucino This is my favorite Senseo pod. The cappucino pod only fits in the two-cup pod holder, because it is very deep. The pod actually contains a layer of freeze-dried cream that heats up, melts, and ends up in your cup when you brew it. The taste is very much like the medium roast, but a little creamier and nuttier.

Irish Creme Here's where my tastes start to go a little bit south. If I were to judge the irish creme solely on irish cremes, then Senseo's gets a thumbs up. The flavor is not too strong to overpower the coffee, but it is pleasant.

Vanilla This was a suprisingly good flavor. Even though vanilla is next to last on my list of bad flavors, the Senseo vanilla was mild. I suppose it all depends on how you like it, but the vanilla flavor in this pod was mild enough that I could actually drink it. I was pleasantly suprised and I give it a thumbs up.

Hazlenut Not my favorite. OK, hazlenut flavor in itself is my least favorite flavor, period. But Senseo's was acceptable in my opinion. And that is saying a lot. I hate hazlenut ... hate it. But this one was milder than most hazlenut coffee's I've tasted. The flavor was very understated, much like the rest of the flavored Senseo pods.

Overall, I give the Senseo pods a two thumbs up. Now that the Senseo Coffee Machine has dominated our lives, I am anxious to try out other brands of pods.