What's the difference? Are they the same?
Although these terms are often used interchangeably "coffee pods" and "coffee capsules" are not the same thing; in fact they are quiet different. Below is a quick guide to how they differ.
Coffee Pods
Coffee pods and coffee capsules are both designed for single serve espresso. However coffee pods do not look like coffee capsules; instead they look more like a tea bag. They actually work the same way as a tea bag in that they rely on a slow and low pressure in order to extract the flavour from the coffee grinds.
Unlike a tea bag a coffee pod cannot just be dropped into a cup of water for a few minutes. It requires a specific machine designed to run water through the pod under a lower pressure than a coffee capsule machine.
Coffee Capsules
A coffee capsule is a sealed cup, typically with a foil base and lid, that contains roasted coffee grinds. There are different formats of coffee capsules available (varying sizes and dimensions) that are designed to fit specific types of dispensing machines. Tuatahi Coffee capsules are designed to be fully compatible with the Nespresso® system which is widely popular and available in New Zealand.
Inside your capsule is a measured dose of carefully roasted and ground fresh coffee. When inserted into a machine it is pierced top and bottom so hot water can be forced through it at high pressure (around 19 psi). In a similar fashion to a barista machine in a cafe, this method extracts the coffee from the grinds providing optimal flavour and intensity in your drink.
Tuatahi Coffee Capsules are compatible with Nespresso® coffee machines. Nespresso® is a registered trademark of Societe des Products Nestle S.A. and is not in any way affiliated with Tuatahi Coffee Capsules.