Coffee pods: what you are looking for
If you are looking for coffee pods, you usually want one concrete thing: portions that are already prepared in filter paper, ready to go into the portafilter. It is not coffee beans and it is not sealed capsules: it is the ESE format (Easy Serving Espresso), with a typical dose of around 7 g and the most common diameter in Italy, 44 mm: these are ESE 44 pods.
On TuaCialda you start from the ESE 44 mm pods catalogue. If your machine manual says 38 mm, open ESE 38 pods instead: the two diameters cannot be swapped.
How to choose in three steps
- Format: 44 mm or 38 mm, written in the manual or measurable on a pod you have already used.
- Flavour: Delicate, Balanced or Intense, from mellow blends to fuller-bodied ones.
- Pack size: 100 or 150 pods. Larger packs often make more sense if you drink coffee every day.
For current promotions, see the offers.
Why many people prefer ESE pods
Filter paper lets water and aroma through in a repeatable way, with little cleaning after each cup. Disposal is usually simpler than with many sealed formats: the used pod often goes into the food waste. If you already have an ESE pod machine, you stay on the right format and you only choose the brand and the intensity.
ESE pods or capsules: what changes in practice
- Where they go. An ESE pod goes in the portafilter of an ESE 44 mm pod machine; a capsule only goes in the machine of its own system (Nespresso, A Modo Mio, Dolce Gusto...).
- What you throw away. A pod is filter paper and coffee: it usually goes into the food waste whole. A capsule can be plastic, aluminium or compostable material, and the rules change from one council to another.
- How much choice you have. With ESE 44 mm pods you change brand whenever you like on the same machine; with capsules you choose from the brands of your system.
Do you have a capsule machine? Then ESE pods are not for you: below you will find where to start.
Brands and useful packs
In the ESE 44 catalogue you will find well-known roasters: Borbone, Lollo, Toraldo, Ionia, Kimbo, Officina 5 and others. In the same format you will also find barley, ginseng, chamomile, tea and herbal teas in ESE 44 mm pods, for after-dinner coffee or for those who do not drink caffeine. Three typical starting points for coffee:
Do you want the full picture (machines, disposal, comparison with capsules)? Open the guide to coffee pods. For the 44 mm format in detail: ESE 44 mm guide.
Still unsure between filter paper and capsule? difference between ESE pods and capsules: 2 minutes, with no confusion.
First order: which flavour to choose and how many pods you need
Let's start with some good news: ESE 44 mm pods follow a single standard, so any brand works on your ESE 44 mm pod machine. You do not have to find the "right" brand for your machine: you only have to choose the flavour you like.
- Delicate: soft, not very bitter, good in the afternoon too: Lollo Miscela Oro 150, Borbone Oro 150. If you want it decaffeinated: Lollo Dek 150.
- Balanced: the everyday coffee, rounded and with its own crema: Borbone Blu 150, Lollo Classico 150, Ionia Crema 150.
- Intense: full-bodied, Neapolitan style: Borbone Red 150, Lollo Nero 150, Ionia Intenso 150.
How many you need. Count the coffees in your home: cups per day times 30. With two coffees a day you get to around 60 pods a month, so one 150-pod pack covers you for more than two months.
Do you have a capsule machine and not an ESE pod machine? Then the route is different: find your machine in Systems. For machines, disposal and the comparison with capsules there is the full guide to coffee pods; you will find all the brands in the ESE 44 mm pods catalogue.
Disposal in short
The used pod (paper and coffee) usually goes into the food waste, the organic collection. Check the label and your council's rules.
Order
Choose your format and intensity and add them to the basket. Catalogue: ESE 44 pods · offers.