Compared to ground coffee, Nespresso pods can be a relatively expensive way to prepare your espresso.

A typical 227g bag of ground coffee from a supermarket will cost around £3.75, if you use a regular espresso machine at 6 grammes per shot, the bag will make about 38 espresso coffees, giving a cost of around 10 pence per esspresso.

Compared to the average nespresso capsule which can cost over 30 pence each it seems that you pay a premium for the conveneicne of the nespresso process.

However, if you are prepared to shop around and try a range of different brands it is possible to buy nespresso pods at almost the same price as ground coffee. All the pods on this page are less than 15 pence each with some as low as 9 pence.

So what do you compromise for buying cheap nespresso pods? Here are some considerations:

Pod Construction

Nespresso pods are made of either plastic, aluminum or a biodegradable material. Of the three materials, plastic is the cheapest to make and so nearly all budget pods are this type. Unfortunatly this means that the vast majority of budget pods are not recyclable and will be sent to landfill or incinerated (even if you put them in the plastic recycling bin). However, you can still compost the spent coffee grouts by opening the pods with a tea spoon.

However, Pellini have two pod varities available in biodegradable pods.

Ethical Coffee

At this price point most pods do not make any ethical claims supporting coffee growers their communities or the environment. However, if you are prepared to look around you don't have to compromise on ethical purchasing. For example Solimo (an amazon brand), is UTZ certified and the 'By amazon' brand has Rainforest Alliance certification. It is also possible to purchase organic coffee at the budget limit, with Pellini offering it at around 16 pence per pod.

I have personally tested a number of budget coffee pods and on the whole found them to be enjoyable. On the odd occasion I have found the quality of capusles to be a little lacking. One pack arrived with a leaking pod which had covered the rest of the pods in ground coffee. On a different occasion one box had one or two pods which did not burst correctly and so gave a weak brew.

On both occasions Amazon resolved the situation and replaced the pods quickly.

My approach to trying new coffee includes buying budget nespresso pods. Choosing any new blend of coffee always comes with the risk that I might not like it, but I console myself that if I don't, I might use it to make flavoured coffee or offer it to others who might like it. It's always worth trying something new.