Coffee pod machines are coffee makers that makes use of pods and capsules to make coffee drinks.

The biggest players are Keurig, and Nespresso which uses K-cups and capsules, and Tassimo which uses T-discs. There’s also Senseo and Nescafe’s Dolce Gusto.

After a few years of slow growth which followed an explosive entry into the market, demand for these coffee makers are back on a steep upward trajectory again.

I attribute this to the entry of third parties who are producing and introducing compatible products to the market.

While there are undoubted advantages of pod coffee makers over older types of coffee makers, there are still some disadvantages that these pricey appliances fall short of when compared to typical espresso machines.

1) Lack of brew customization

The biggest drawback of these machines is the inability to control the variables of brewing a cup of coffee.

I can understand that many people probably don’t really care about this. But as a barista, I do care.

The lack of brewing customization options include:

• Unable to control water temperature
• Unable to decide how big a dose of coffee ground to use
• Unable to froth milk to a perfect texture
• Unable to control the flow rate
• etc

I can go on and on.

If you are unable to make sense of these control options, these are the little differences that can determine a good or bad serving of hot beverage.

I am of course, comparing this to high end espresso makers.

Branded manufacturers would probably claim that their beverage pods are tailor-made for their drinks to dispense the perfect drink.

But it’s a little far fetched to say that they have crafted beverages with a single taste that caters to the taste buds of everyone with no exceptions.

2) Freshness of grounds

There’s a lot of innovation going about in the food packaging industry. And most of it is around keeping foodstuff fresh.

I have no doubt that factories producing these beverage pods will be using the best technology available to pack coffee grounds in the pod.

But no matter how well packed they are, they cannot be compared to grounds freshly produced from a grinder.

So no matter how big an upgrade the quality of the drink has improved against conventional coffee machines, coffee drinks from the pod is not going to match up against those that are freshly brewed seconds after being dispensed from a grinder.

3) Ingredients of other beverages

While we talk about coffee most of the time when we discuss pod coffee machines, let’s not ignore the fact that they are used to make other types of hot beverages as well.

Some of which are milk tea, Milo, hot chocolate, mocha, flavored latte, etc.

While coffee grounds are probably contained in coffee pods, what are the ingredients used in the other beverages? And how well do they hold up in terms of lifespan?

I cannot help but wonder what types of additives are used in the manufacturing of them that enables them to have such a long shelf life.

For example, I like my lattes fused with fresh milk. You can’t say the same with lattes that come from a pod.

4) The environmental factor

Efforts have been made for years trying to inform the general public of how beverage pods are not compostable or biodegradable.

And if the claims that these public awareness groups make are true, then we really have a huge environmental challenge on our hands.

Truthfully, I’m no scientist and don’t really have a definitive answer to how badly designed these pods are with regards to the environment.

But if the advertisements meant to inform us of how environmentally-unfriendly these pods are to the planet are based on true facts, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, then we are in big trouble.

In this modern day and age, for such premium appliances, corporate social responsibility needs to be done in good faith.

There’s also a belief in some circles that brewing hot coffee with plastic pod materials can be a health risk.

Again, I’m no scientist and don’t know the reality of that claim.

5) Locked into ecosystem

There’s a reason why we sometimes run to very attractive promotions offering pod coffee machines for as little as $1 with a subscription to the pod capsules.

This is because the distributors know that once we get such a machine at home, we are pretty much going to continue ordering the pods.

And that is when the machine is basically free. You would feel even more emotionally compelled to buy more pods when you have paid a hundred dollar for such a machine.

This is so as to justify your purchase and not let that money go to “waste”.

Just know that when you purchase a machine, you are pretty much locked into it’s ecosystem and has to purchase their brand of pods in order to use the machine.

Now, there are even systems in place that would enable a machine to reject coffee pods that are not “original”. This even when they share the exact same dimensions than the originals.

This means that even a basic water kettle will have more flexibility as it enables you to decide, blend and make all types of beverages from the hot water.