The Nespresso Single Origins Pod You Shouldn't Bother Buying

When it comes to coffee, single origin is often considered the "creme de la creme" — expressing the bean's beloved terroir to its fullest possible extent. But, that expression doesn't always translate through to the convenient method of preparation that is the Nespresso coffee pod. That's not always the beans' fault, however. In our taste testers' ranking of Nespresso Single Origin pods, they found that the major caveat of the Reviving Origins Cafecito of Puerto Rico was its roast. Easily the strongest out of all the Reviving Origins Nespresso pods, the darkness of the roast seems to overpower all of the characteristics that make it distinctly Puerto Rican.

In Latin culture, the cafecito refers to a small serving of strong coffee — usually made with dark roasted beans and whipped sugar. Seeing as Nespresso not only gets the beans used in these directly from farmers in Puerto Rico as a part of its Reviving Origins mission to protect and revive endangered coffee regions, but they also roast those beans dark and intense, this pod might read like it hits all the important Puerto Rican cafecito notes. Only the other important fruity notes that are characteristic to Puerto Rican coffees seem to get lost in the process. In turn, the roast of these beans makes it difficult to pick out the flavor notes indicative of their terroir.

Now, none of that is to say that this coffee is horrible. Being single origin, the quality is still there — and if you enjoy a dark roast, you're sure to like it. But, casual coffee drinkers might find it too strong to drink on its own, while aficionados will pick up on the strong notes of cocoa and nuts but miss the characteristically fruity, Puerto Rican flavors in their cups. Besides, the whole point of drinking single origin is to get the full experience of the coffee beans' terroir — even if the darkness of the roast does work well in a sweet cafecito. Fortunately, Nespresso has other pods that hit all of the marks.

For instance, our taste tester's favorite single origin offering from Nespresso were the Master Origins Peru Organic pods. The beans in this pod come straight from the High Andes of Peru, only unlike those of the Reviving Origins Cafecito of Puerto Rico pods, they're roasted at a medium strength. In doing so, the beans' full, fruity notes are able to shine through along with its aromas of toasted cereals — giving you the full picture of the region that this coffee originates from, not just bits and pieces. That much can't be said about Nespresso's Reviving Origins Cafecito of Puerto Rico pods.