NEW Compostable Battistino Italian Premium Coffee pods for Nespresso OriginalLine Machine - 100 Pod Variety Pack - biodegradable and Eco friendly capsules - 5 Blends (20 pods each) (Compostable (NEW))

I just cracked these open this morning for the first time. I bought them during a lightening deal and got a GREAT price compared to Nespresso capsules at about 30 cents per capsule vs Nespresso 75-80 cents per capsule. Initially, I was impressed. The packaging is well thought out and looks nice.Packaging Winner-BattistinoThere are 5 varieties of these capsules all are packaged individually. There is a scale on the side of each box which gives you a pictorial scale of the flavor and intensity of each. This is helpful if you're trying to match a particular type of Nespresso capsule. This morning I thought I'd try the red Ristretto capsules. This seemed to be comparable to the Nespresso purple Arpeggio capsules. My impression of the capsules was not great compared to original Nespresso. They seem kind of "cheap", the foil isn't tight and the body isn't made of foil, but plastic. Nespresso has a great FREE recycling program for used capsules. I don't think Nespresso could do anything with these and I can't quite determine the type of plastic they are to decide if they can be recycled. Even if they were a recyclable plastic, my city would require me to take out the grounds in order to recycle so it's not all that practical. Realistically, I think most people would throw these away and they'd end up in a landfill.Capsule design winnerNespressoRecyclability winnerNespressoNow for the most important thing. I put these into my Lattissima and the fit was tight, but it fit. They didn't quite slide in with the ease that you get with the Nespresso capsules. I like a good cappuccino and it's what I typically consume my morning coffee as. The pressure and consistency of the pour from the machine through this capsule was consistent and smooth. There was no notable difference in the pouring process between the two. As for the taste, I'd say this particular capsule tastes pretty good. I do not think it's a supplement to the Arpeggio, most likely user error. I'll need to experiment a bit more comparing the tastes between OEM and Battistino.Taste WinnerTBDAs of now, overall, I'd rate these a buy. The taste is pretty good and they work great in the machines at half the cost of OEM capsules. This is perfect if you aren't near a Nespresso store. If recycling is an issue for you, that could present a problem for you. I really like the free recycling Nespresso offers, but of course, that comes at a cost. Overall, I think you'll be happy with the taste of these for the price!

My nespresso machine is having issues with the majority of these pods. Only a small amount of espresso will come out and then the machine will stop and I have to hit the button 5-6more times to get a large espresso. If I put a real Nespresso pod in the machine functions fine so it’s defintely the pods. I tried to return and it’s not allowed. Do not buy these ... I’ve tried other knock offs and they worked.

UPDATE - Some observations after more than a week of use.While the coffee is a great value and good quality, the cup design has some defects. These are plastic, while the originals are aluminum. The aluminum cups made by Nespresso work much better in their machines, as they conform to the machine and fit better, creating a tighter seal when punctured at the smaller end of the cup. (See photo below...original on left, plastic on right)All the plastic cups tend to leak, and brew the coffee much slower that the metal ones. They also don't completely fill your cup at the pre-set volume of the machines, which indicates that they leak out the back and don't give a completely correct brewed cup.Just something to think about when buying brands other that Nespresso

The very worst Nespresso-compatible capsules I have used. They must be packed to an incorrect consistency, because they broke the machine. They start preventing the larger button from working as long as it should. It should take about 30 seconds for a perfect double shot (and the Nespresso brand capsules do this). But these made the machine start taking about 4-8 seconds and stopping. You could press the button to continue to get the proper cup of espresso, but you would have to do this maybe 5-7 times! Then, if you used a Nespresso capsule, it would start behaving the same way. We experienced this with two separate machines. The first one never fixed and I had to get a replacement. The second machine started this so I threw away these pods.

This review is based on only using 4 of the pods so far, I'll update this if anything changes. I use these pods on a Nespresso Breville Creatista Uno. I saw how a lot of reviews were complaining that the pods weren't properly sealed and there was spilled coffee everywhere, but I'm thinking that maybe that was due to a bad batch since the ones I got are in perfect shape and got here very quickly (one day).In terms of how they tastes they are not quite as good as the Nespresso Pods, but folks those pods cost anywhere from 70 cents to over $1 each and these cost 20 cents! If you rarely drink coffee, maybe once a day, the Nespresso pods may be the way to go, but if you're a huge coffee drinker like I am these pods make very good coffee and save you tons of money. They work fine in my machine, the fit is good and the flow is as good as the Nespresso Pods. The only complaint I can make is that I didn't want a variety pack, I would rather be able to select the one I want and have them all be the same, but I understand that the pricing may be due to them being able to use multiple products. By the way, even if you are a huge coffee connoisseur and want to pay the premium for the Nespresso pods it's still worthwhile to have some of these if you ever make milk-coffee drinks such as flat whites or lattes. In these types of drinks the taste of the coffee is masked by the milk anyway, so why spend three times or more per pod if you can't taste the difference anyway?

Terrible pods. These pods are not packaged in any cellophane or plastic wrap - they are just chucked into the cardboard box, so there is coffee dust everywhere. The coffee itself is meh (could be worse, had better). Will not be buying again.