A Guide to the Best Specialty Coffee Pods (The Top 5 Coffee Pods Ranke

Discover Delicious Brews: A Guide to the Best Specialty Coffee Pods in Australia

Gone are the days of sacrificing quality for convenience. Specialty coffee pods have arrived in Australia, bringing cafe-worthy brews right to your kitchen counter.

Whether you prefer slowing things down and drinking your coffee at a cafe, or prefer the convenience of a quick takeaway, speciality coffee pods are finally here and are providing a significantly better experience than their convenient counterparts.

For those who love their coffee gourmet but crave the ease of coffee capsules, this is a dream come true. But with so many options on the market, where do you start? Don't worry, we spent over a year developing our own pods and along the way tried many of the best (and worst) capsules in Australia.

Before we go further, we know what you’re probably thinking: always fresh, right? Here’s the thing, as much as we always recommend coffee in its freshest form, we know that the option isn’t always available, so we decided to create our very own line of specialty coffee pods and review the best coffee capsules at the same time, providing you an option when you need something convenient.

In our quest to create the best coffee pods in Australia we came across many other pod brands that we enjoyed and we'll list them below.

We are only looking at Nespresso Compatible Capsules (NCC in the trade) as they are by far the most common. These pods work in all compatible Nespresso capsule machines.

A few things to note before we review the best coffee pods.

Firstly, we decided that it would be best to review only Nespresso Compatible Capsules (NCC) as they are the most stocked and widely available coffee capsules. This means that all the coffee pods and capsules we have listed will be compatible with a Nespresso machine. Hooray!

After extensive research, taste testing and conversation with industry experts, we chose aluminium pods. They deliver the best tasting coffee as they can store the coffee better, deliver more consistent pressure and don’t have the tendency of other pod types to break capsule machines.

Secondly, we decided to review only aluminum coffee pods. In our coffee pods comparison, we noticed that these delivered a noticeably better tasting coffee, so we felt it would be best to recommend these. We also noticed that they also have a better shelf life, are less prone to damaging pod machines and are more durable. We tested compostable pods, but we found that aluminum pods delivered a superior coffee with less environmental impact. Read here to learn more.

Before we go further, If you don’t have a pod machine and are looking for one, be sure to check out our guide to the best pod machines before making a purchase.

What are the best coffee pods? It’s time to find out. Say goodbye to instant coffee and cheap coffee capsules, here’s our take on the best coffee pods available right now:

The other common pod type is compostable pods. While they sound great (compostable and biodegradable) our research discovered that aluminium delivered a superior coffee with less environmental impact. To learn more read here.

If you are looking to start your journey into pod coffee and want the best machine, we have an article on best coffee pod machines here.

1. Rumble Coffee Roasters (yes, that’s us!)

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We wouldn't be offering pods if we didn't think they were the best in the land. Our Shadow Boxer and Street Fighter Espresso blends are available in pod form and we worked diligently to recreate the full-bodied flavors of these blends in nespresso capsules. They come in a pack of ten pods and you can buy a box of six packs (60 pods in total).

We’ve put our palates through plenty of tests over the years, researching and trying to develop the best tasting coffee pods, balancing convenience, taste, reliability and everything in between. Our goal was to have options that would be both versatile and reliable, being full-bodied, but also balancing well with milk.

Shadow Boxer is our most popular coffee and was crying out to get the pod treatment. The darker roast of Shadow suits the pod format and the dark chocolate notes work beautifully with milk.

In the first stages of research and development, we tested our most popular coffee blend, Shadow Boxer, and it immediately fit the description and delivered one of the best espresso coffee capsules we’d ever tasted. Our other blend, Street Fighter, delivers sweeter notes and goes down well as a long black or espresso, suitable for those looking for light roast coffee capsules. We wanted to offer something for everyone, so we landed on these two pods. We don’t plan on stopping there, with plans to more exciting coffees in the future.

Street Fighter is our medium roast espresso blend. A blend of a natural and a washed processed coffee, Street has a fruity sweetness that is perfect for pods.

We're looking to offer a wide array of other blends and single origin coffee in the future so keep an eye out.

2. Axil Coffee

Axil Coffee: Melbourne legends Axil Coffee roast with passion and have pod versions of their popular coffee blends. Seasonal Blend is bursting with vibrant notes, while the bold Heavyweight packs a classic espresso punch. Their recyclable aluminum pods deliver high quality coffee.

Axil Coffee have been roasting coffee since 2010 and have earned legendary status in the Melbourne coffee scene. They’re known for their passion and have applied both their passion and experience to their coffee pods.

They have two options: Seasonal Blend and Heavyweight. Their Seasonal Blend bursts with vibrant notes and their Heavyweight packs a classic espresso punch. Their specialty coffee pods are all recyclable and deliver high quality coffee, perfect for your pantry.

3. Pod & Parcel

Pod & Parcel: Pod & Parcel roast in Melbourne and offer (commercially) compostable Nespresso pods. Their smooth and balanced "The Blend" is a crowd-pleaser, while "The Single Origin" series lets you explore global flavour profiles. Their variety pack lets you sample their most popular coffee capsules.

Based in Melbourne, Pod & Parcel offer compostable Nespresso pods. They also have two options, The Blend and The Single Origin. The Blend is smooth and balanced and is defined as their “crowd pleaser.” The Single Origin, on the other-hand, lets you experience a range of flavour profiles, which is quite neat. You can choose their variety pack, which lets you sample a range of their best coffee pods.

4. Campos Coffee

Campos Coffee: Sydney's coffee royalty, Campos, brings their expertise to Nespresso pods. Choose from the rich "Brazil Blend" for a full-bodied experience, or the delicate "Ethiopian Sidamo" for floral and citrusy notes. Their focus on ethically sourced beans is an added bonus.

An icon on the Sydney market, Campos brings their expertise to Nespresso pods. Their experience shows in the quality of their product and the coffee they source. You have the option to choose from the rich Brazil Blend for a full-bodied experience, or the delicate, lighter Ethiopian Sidamo for a floral, citrusy experience. Their focus on ethically sourced coffee is an added bonus that we respect, earning Campos Coffee pods fourth spot in our review.

5. Industry Beans

Industry Beans: Melbourne's Industry Beans brings cafe-quality to your home with their Nespresso-compatible pods. They have two espresso blends and a Colombian single origin available.

Relatively newer players in the pod market, Industry Beans brings their unique and exciting take on cafe-quality coffee to your home with their specialty coffee capsules. Their options are consistent and good for home use, offering two espresso blends and a single origin.

Looking for a pod machine to brew on? Have a read of our Best Pod Machines in Australia article here.

Don’t be ashamed to own a pod machine!

Specialty coffee pods are a dream come true for those that desire more of the specialty coffee experience but need the convenience. Have a look at our coffee pods reviews and choose a suitable option. Looking to buy specialty coffee pods online? Look no further.

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