The NOLA Style Blue Bottle Pod Is Nespresso's Most Café-Worthy Blend Yet

If you're a fan of Blue Bottle Coffee, Nespresso, or both, you're going to want to learn about the newest coffee pod on the market — a limited edition collaboration between the two brands. If you're not familiar with Blue Bottle Coffee, it's a popular coffee chain that has locations in many major cities like New York City, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and more. People love Blue Bottle because of its small batch roasting, high-quality lattes, and various coffee beans that you can order straight to your home.

Now, while Nespresso does have many of its own pods that are staples to the brand, it also sells limited edition pods that become quite beloved as well. Many times these limited editions become people's all-time favorites, and I'm curious to see if that will be the case with the Blue Bottle NOLA Style Blend Nespresso pod.

This coffee pod is a recreation of Blue Bottle's top selling item in the cafés, the Iced Nola. It's meant to bring the exact drink that you order in the Blue Bottle shop right to your kitchen, with the ease of just popping it straight into your Nespresso machine. As a fan of the Iced Nola from the Blue Bottle shop, I was curious to give this Nespresso pod a taste test.

The NOLA Style Blend is a New Orleans-style coffee. This coffee is brewed with chicory, which gives the drink an earthy and nutty flavor that exemplifies the taste of the coffee itself. If you order the Iced Nola at one of Blue Bottle's locations, it's normally served with the customer's choice of milk. Although it's marketed as an iced coffee, the drink is served with equal parts milk and coffee because it is brewed with less water than the regular versions. This makes it taste more like an iced latte rather than an iced coffee.

When using the NOLA Style Blend coffee pods, the situation is exactly the same. The directions say to brew the pod directly over ice, sweeten it with your preferred type of sweetener, and then add equal parts milk to the glass. This results in an incredibly creamy and concentrated iced coffee, which is different from other types of iced coffees you'd typically order from a coffee shop.

On June 11th, the NOLA Style Blend Nespresso capsules made a debut. These limited edition capsules are only available in the U.S., China, Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea, and they are sold until supplies last — so a set end date isn't specified. Specifically, these are Vertuo capsules, so they are compatible with any type of Nespresso Vertuo machine. The capsules are mainly sold in sleeves that hold 10 capsules each. They can be ordered from the Nespresso website or the Blue Bottle website.

For those ordering in the U.S., Blue Bottle sells the sleeves for $15.50. On the Nespresso website, you can order in increments of 10 as well, but the price will always be $1.55 per pod, no matter how many pods you order. As a part of this limited edition collaboration, Nespresso also sells a NOLA Style Blend Coffee Pack, which has an iced tumbler in the color Blue Bottle Blue, an aquamarine colored ice cube tray, and three sleeves of the capsules. The whole pack costs $66. Lastly, there is an option to buy the Blue Bottle edition of a Vertuo Pop machine, which is white and features the brand's logo on it. This limited edition version of the machine costs $139.99.

I made the NOLA Style Blend capsule exactly as instructed. I packed the glass with ice, and I brew the capsule directly into the glass. I finished by combining coffee with the same amount of milk. After it brewed, I was surprised that there was such a small amount of coffee in the cup, but then I remembered that this is meant to be brewed over ice — and a good amount did melt, adding to the water content of the coffee. After pouring in my milk and mixing it all up, I went in for the taste.

Instantly, I was incredibly satisfied to discover that the drink didn't taste watered down in the slightest. This is an issue I come across often when making my own iced coffee at home, and that was the last of my worries with this capsule. I thought that the creaminess of the milk blended perfectly with the coffee flavor — which expertly shined through the rich density of the drink. I noticed a delectable taste of nuts that was complemented by a rounded, earthy coffee flavor and a touch of toastiness. Overall, this blend tasted very indulgent and satisfying, and it was definitely the best iced coffee I've ever made with my Nespresso machine.

I often order the Iced Nola at Blue Bottle, and each and every time it is perfect. As a devoted fan of the drink, I knew I would be a harsh critic of the Nespresso capsule version. Ultimately, I didn't think that the drinks tasted exactly the same — but I will say that it wasn't far off. The only critique I would have is that I think the drink made at the coffee shops has a slightly bolder character than the one I made at home. With the Nespresso capsule, I was definitely able to taste the same flavor profile, but I think the intensity of the flavor didn't completely match the one from the shop.

With that being said, I still think that this is an absolutely great Nespresso pod. Since it is limited edition, I am definitely planning on ordering more sleeves to get me through the summer. It's much more cost effective to make this drink at home, and since it tastes almost as good, I think it's absolutely worth it. Compared to other Nespresso pods that I've tried, including the Nespresso Vertuo signature pods, I can confidently say that the Iced NOLA Style Blend capsule is my new favorite.