Every Nespresso Decaf Coffee Pod, Ranked

I have a confession to make: though I'm generally a fan of whole-bean decaf coffees, I've never made it a point to try any of Nespresso's decaf coffee pods. There's not a specific reason why — I've just never sought them out, so when I got the opportunity to try all six of the decaf pods the company offers, I jumped at the opportunity. I was especially curious about the flavor given that the pods are decaffeinated. I often find decaf coffee to taste slightly off — either it doesn't taste as concentrated as regular coffee or there's a slight sharpness to it that isn't very appealing. Given that, I was pretty surprised to find that none of these pods tasted like decaf coffee. Had you asked me to identify decaf pods among a host of regular options, I'd have found it difficult to do so.

Nevertheless, I'm ranking all of Nespresso's decaf pods anyway. Though each one could pass for regular coffee, they still boast different flavor profiles and intensities, and each will be appealing to a different consumer. While I didn't downright dislike any of these coffees, some were definitely smoother than others. As a long-time barista I have my personal coffee preferences pretty honed in, and regardless of my own tastes, I know what a "good" cup of coffee should taste like; so today, I'm ranking these based on flavor profile, primarily considering the depth of flavor and smoothness of each one. 

Though Nespresso's Gran Lungo Fortado Decaffeinato coffee ranks at the bottom of this list, I would by no means consider it Nespresso's worst coffee pod. That being said, it certainly isn't the best, either. The coffee claims an intensity of eight (on a scale to 13) and gives an expected flavor profile of "intensely roasted notes." Since it's a Vertuo pod, the machine automatically chooses the size of the brew; this pod brews a gran lungo cup, or 150 milliliters. 

Upon brewing, the intensity of this coffee definitely came through in its aroma. It smelled dark and rich, while retaining the subtly sweet caramelization I'd expect to find in a cup of very dark-roasted coffee. I considered this a bit of an outlier in terms of my ranking; while I'd call the following two cups more bitter, I placed this one last because bitter was all there was. It simply didn't have the depth and complexity of the other cups. It just tasted like a standard dark roast. I'm sure it's perfectly palatable if that's your thing, but I really wanted to see more distinction, of which this didn't really have any. This would be a great pod if you like to heavily flavor your own coffee or if you enjoy strong, bitter coffee.

The number five spot on my list had to go to Nespresso's Argpeggio Decaffeinato pods. This pod needs to be brewed in an Original Nespresso machine, and it claims to have an intensity of nine with roasted and chocolatey notes. You can brew it either as a ristretto or an espresso, but since my machine only brews espresso or lungo, I went with an espresso-sized brew. Though my complaints regarding this pod are similar to what I didn't enjoy about the last pod, this one did have a redeeming quality.

The main factor that earned this pod the number five spot was its depth of flavor. Whereas the Gran Lungo Fortado Decaffeinato was pretty one-note, this cup boasted deep chocolate notes. However, it tasted more akin to a bitter baker's chocolate than a rich dark chocolate, but chocolate is chocolate, and I was happy to at least have some notes to talk about with this coffee. I also found this pod to be intense and fairly bitter — for me, it was just slightly too dark and heavy to be thoroughly enjoyed on its own, and next time I'll be drinking it with cream. Brewing it as a lungo size may also mitigate that issue somewhat. 

Nespresso's Altissio Decaffeinato confused me more than any other coffee of the bunch, which is what earned it a middling spot on this list; I'm not sure I've ever experienced coffee quite like this one, and I'm also not sure whether that's a good thing. This pod brews an espresso-sized shot in Nespresso's Vertuo machines and claims to have a level nine intensity with rich cocoa notes. I was excited to take a sip upon smelling the brew — its aroma was wonderfully chocolatey and smooth. It took quite a few sips for me to make up my mind about this pod, though.

Maybe the delightful smell of this coffee led me astray — it didn't taste nearly as smooth as it smelled. In fact, I found myself liking the aftertaste of the coffee more than the experience of drinking it. It hits the tongue with a pretty strong bitterness, but that dissipates the second you swallow, leaving you with a heavy cocoa flavor in your mouth. I wouldn't call it powdery, however, though its just too bitter going down to be an enjoyable experience drinking black. While I think some cream would help mitigate that issue, I'd worry that it would also dull the chocolate notes at the end. You'll probably find me trying this pod in a variety of ways just to see how to get it to taste its best — I feel like the potential was definitely there.

Personally, I think Nespresso's Melozio Decaffeinato would be a yummy Nespresso pod for a large, creamy iced latte on a hot afternoon. This decaf pod had the largest brew size of the bunch, with a 230 milliliters coffee-sized brew. It claims an intensity of 6 and was one of the least intense coffees I tried, and the company says to expect nutty, toasted cereal notes. Though I would still call this a pretty dark brew, it lacked the harsh intensity of the previous three coffees, which was enough to earn it the number three spot on this list. 

If you're wondering how a coffee can be dark without being too intense, try this pod; it was strong without being very bitter in the slightest. I got the nutty cereal notes right away. It tasted almost smoky, nutty, and ever-so-slightly sweet, and I found myself really enjoying this flavor profile. It made for a strong, smooth cup whose flavor also didn't sit with you too long. I think it could be enjoyed on its own as long as you aren't expecting something light and fruity, but it could also hold its own when paired with a decent amount of milk. Also in this coffee's favor was that it actually brews a full cup of coffee. As the only decaf Nespresso pod to do so, I'm guessing this may be slightly more popular with consumers than some smaller options. 

I have a hunch that Nespresso's Ristretto Decaffeinato pod is one of its most underrated coffee pods. I certainly was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Despite having "ristretto" in the name, I brewed this as an espresso, partially because the package said I could and partially because, again, that's the smallest brew my machine will make. It claimed a level 10 intensity with intensely roasted notes, and I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed it. While I usually favor light, fruity coffees, this one may just turn me. 

I can see why the company would suggest brewing this as a ristretto shot, and you should follow that guidance if you enjoy sipping on ultra-intense shots. For me, however, the espresso-sized brew was perfect. I found it to be incredibly smooth for being such a dark roast; it had no bitterness to speak of even though I drank it black. It boasted very intense and heavy chocolate notes that contributed to a rather thick mouthfeel, which made it all the more impressive that it wasn't bitter. A nice, caramelized sweetness hits you at the beginning of the sip and goes away quickly before being replaced with its chocolate flavor. This was one of the most balanced dark roast shots I've had — well done.

The coveted first spot of this ranking was honestly a toss-up for a minute, and despite being very impressed by Nespresso's Ristretto decaf pod, I had to give the number one designation to Volluto Decaffeinato. I'll be the first to say that personal preference probably plays a role here. This was the least "intense" of the company's decaf pods, with an intensity of four. Similar to the Melozio Decaffeinato, it claimed to have cereal notes. 

I brewed this one as an espresso as well, purely for consistency's sake. It smelled like cereal right off the bat. The coffee had that nutty, grainy, slightly sweet aroma that one would typically associate with the breakfast. I'd say the cereal flavor was there too, as long as you aren't expecting anything outlandish. It had a mellow, almost earthy flavor that was rounded out by some sweetness at the end; though I'd call it Nespresso's sweetest decaf pod, I wouldn't say it's too sweet in the slightest, and it was very palatable black.

I'd be tempted to brew it as a lungo size next time purely to see if that brought forward any more cereal notes. The main reason I ranked this above the previous choice, however, was because it lingered with me slightly longer in a way that made me truly enjoy the entirety of the sipping experience. Get this pod if you need a quick decaf drink that isn't too intense in the slightest. 

While ranking these, I tried each one black to get the full experience of its flavor profile. I made sure to brew each one at the recommended size, as brew size can wildly change the flavor of any given coffee; I also let each cup cool down for at least a minute so the heat didn't numb my tastebuds. While some lower-ranked coffees on this list may have fared better with cream, I didn't take that into consideration — each coffee had to taste good on its own.

By "taste good," I mean that each coffee had to have some depth of flavor profile and had to go down smooth, without too much bitterness to speak of. Though the last choice on my list wasn't awful, it didn't have a deep flavor — it was the least interesting of the cups that I tried, and was an easy choice for last place. My top choice, on the other hand, gave me the longest sipping experience. The flavor profile of the coffee changed throughout the sip and lingered for a long time at the end, and the coffee was smooth to boot.