Refillable Coffee Capsules Stainless Steel Reusable Coffee Pods Compatible with N-espresso Original Line Machines (2 Cups + 100 Lids)

-- Update #2 -- 2021/5/7 -- Interesting...it seems that Amazon has removed their "Comments" section where people can ask the reviewers questions. 😢 That's a shame -- I'd mentioned that I was coming back at some point with an additional update and well, here I am! So, without further ado: the next step in the review process was to purchase some "fresh" beans, grind, and try them in the RECAFIMIL capsules, which I've done. With one caveat. I had hoped to drop into a Peet's (or something similar) and buy some great, REALLY fresh beans, but I flaked out and grabbed a cannister of ultra-cheap, not-recently-roasted beans from Trader Joes. Medium roast (as I've read many times that US French and Dark Roast are ridiculously charred, and I tend to agree). Step 1: Grind the beans. This actually took quite a few iterations. I have a $100ish Capresso burr grinder, and after much trial and error, found a grind setting that worked. Worked, as in: didn't completely prevent water from flowing through during brewing. But HERE is an interesting mystery (too bad you can't COMMENT on it 😡): looking at the grinds that worked, I'd call them somewhere near "drip" size -- fairly large and coarse. Which is weird because I noted before that we started off filling the capsules with Cafe Bustelo's ESPRESSO grind, which, well...looks like espresso. Not quite Turkish but still in the "powdery" range. So huh, what's up with that? My first-round guess is that BECAUSE I started with "fresh" whole beans, there was enough oil in them after grinding that if I ground them too fine (or, it turns out, used EVEN A BIT OF FORCE to pack them into the capsule), the brew process resulted in a teeny stream with less than 50% of a cup. Perhaps, in contrast, the "old" pre-ground Bustelo is so dry that the capsule tolerates a much finer grind and a much firmer tamp? So, two important lessons learned: 1. With whole beans that may have some oil, you need to grind them pretty coarse 2. After grinding, LIGHTLY FILL the capsules -- DO NOT PRESS or tamp (which is weird because we have the stupid mini-me stainless-steel tamper and when using pre-ground Bustelo, we tamp the 💩 out of that capsule -- I mean, seriously, my wife almost stabbed me with a steak-knife when I tried to mansplain to her how hard she needed to tamp -- because that's a thing that guys instinctively know how to do. 🤷🏼‍♂️) Step 2: Fill the capsule. As noted, the process that worked for us was LIGHTLY filling the capsule, with little to no pressure on the grinds. Step 3: Apply sticker. I haven't tried the stainless-steel lids (that RECAFIMIL so graciously provided) with freshly-ground beans, but might at some point. Who knows -- with coarsely ground beans it might work better? Step 4: Brew coffee and drink. (FWIW we have the Creatista and I tend to brew a Lungo at the notch between the bottom and middle) So, the $64,000 question is: does using freshly-ground beans improve the espresso? And the answer is yes, absolutely. There are two things that stand out, over our prior use of pre-ground Cafe Bustelo. 1. Aroma. The shot actually smells like espresso, not a strong cup of percolator coffee. I can only imagine that's the oil in action. Drinking the cup, there is also a taste that somehow seems "deeper" or more complex than what we got with the Bustelo. 2. Crema. Significantly more crema than what the Bustelo produced (which remember, comes in tins and bricks and sits on shelves for weeks or months). Also no surprise here as what IS crema? It's the oil, which has been "whipped up" and aerosolized during the brewing process (thanks, water vapor and pressure). So basically, it's coffee bean oil "whipped cream." 😏 Which sounds pretty gross when you say it that way. I'll wrap up by coming back to my 10-point scale below, which put our prior process (Bustelo + sticker lid) at a 5 to 6. In that case, factoring in the aroma and crema, I'd say using fresh beans and a sticker gets the cup up to the 7-8 range, which is where we were at with store-bought Don Francisco nespresso knock-off capsules. In fact, there seems to be some capsule-by-capsule variation in how the ground beans perform -- on a good day, they might even make it to 9, and on others, it's a struggle to get to 4. I can't explain why there would be variation -- our process is consistent. But you can almost immediately tell by watching the brew stream: if it goes clear within the first few seconds, you can tell for sure that you're getting a watery cup. If on the other hand there is some "resistance" (you can hear the machine laboring a bit more, and the stream is thinner, but stronger in color), the extraction tends to be better. My guess there is that "fast" brews means a large "channel" has formed in the capsule and therefore not hitting the grinds, and "slow" brews have more disperse water, which extracts better. Unfortunately we're not packing the grind with our new process (my "guy" knowledge is no longer an advantage), so it's a soggy mess when the stickers come off. No way to post-mortem the grinds to see how the water flowed. -- Update #1 -- 2020/12/18 -- As promised, I'm back with my first performance impressions, and it's a good news, bad news sorta thing. Good news: the capsules perform exactly the same as the "alternative" brand ones we have WITH STICKERS ON THEM. Let me elaborate by offering a kind of ad hoc quality scale: 10 = Nespresso capsules (whichever roast/flavor you love) 7-8 = Good 3rd party capsules (I'm liking the Don Francisco's) 6 = Cafe moka 5-6 = Foil lid on a "stainless" capsule (we fill with Cafe Bustelo) 4 = Cafe Americano (sorry, diluting an espresso is a crime in my book) 1 = Drip coffee So on this scale the new stainless capsules score a 5 or so when sealed with a sticker. Why? Crema is OK but underwhelming and aroma/taste is only a little better than a strong cup of filtered coffee. I'm super-curious how that score will improve with freshly-roasted and ground beans but that taste-test is for another day. Bad news. Espresso brewed with the metal lids is pretty awful. Almost no crema. Watery coffee that hardly registers near drip. So I'll give it a 2-3 on the 10-point scale while there are a bunch of open questions, including whether freshly roasted/ground will help, experimenting with tamping pressure, ground size, etc. But it's clear from watching the flow with the metal lids that something is off: first the flow is clear brown (no crema) and then it becomes slow and watery. Pretty poor first impression. -- Original Review -- We have two of these capsules from an alternative seller, and my wife was like "get some more." So I went back online, and found these for a few dollars less than the first pair we bought. Box arrived in 2 days, I opened it, and what a wonderful surprise: there was the brush, the scoop, the two capsules as I expected, the many sheets of stickers, and then something I DIDN'T EXPECT TO SEE: Both of the capsules were packed with matching fitted solid lids. 😱 Anyway, haven't used them yet -- and wondering if there was a shipping error??? -- but the lids are constructed very well, the fit is clean and tight, and I'm really looking forward to using them tomorrow morning. I promise to post back -- no, seriously, I mean it -- once I've tried them and have a chance to compare the surprise lids with the good ole' sticker method.

These work great in the Nespresso Essenza Mini machine. They are pretty easy to clean after use as well. So nice not to need to buy the capsules repeatedly and then send back for recycling! Much more environmentally friendly!!

Eh, not impressed. The coffee comes out pretty weak compared to buying the individual pods. But, it works enough to keep them if I run out of pods.

I saw mixed reviews and thought I’d give this a try anyway. It did not work well for me. I tried a few grinds and levels of tamping but it never drew a good espresso for me. I just don’t think the reusable lids can build enough pressure. The disposable lids included worked a little better but still did not produce coffee like the original pods.

I bought and installed two sets months back. They look and work great.

I’m getting used to it.

Reusable, fit value for money. I love it

Works perfectly

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I am absolutely thrilled with my purchase of these rechargeable pods for my Nespresso coffee machine! They work exceptionally well and are more compatible than some other brands that claim to be Nespresso-compatible. Using my preferred finely ground coffee—just like I do for my moka machine—I’ve been able to create a wonderfully creamy coffee that rivals café quality. The pods are easy to use, functional, and offer great value for money. I’m so impressed that I plan to buy two more to prepare in advance for those spontaneous coffee cravings. Highly recommended for anyone looking to enhance their coffee experience while being eco-friendly!

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I bought these in 2024 and admittedly didn’t use them very often as I had purchased pods on sale from Costco online. Once I ran out of pods, I started using these more often. It took a couple of trial runs with various coffee grinds but I found one that works perfectly with the pods. (PC brand Espresso, Espresso grind) I run these in my Ninja Dual brew machine without any issues at all. The trick is to make sure you tamp it down but not too hard. I usually add one level scoop in the pod, press down lightly with the back of the scoop in a circular motion, add a bit more, tap down etc until there is just enough room left to press the lid on securely. Pop it in the machine and brew on lungo mode. Just came here to leave my review and order another set! I wish this brand had a multi pack with more than 2 pods.

The product was neatly and carefully packaged.(Each item—including a measuring spoon/tamper—inserted into cutout styrofam. All in a proper reusable sturdy box. (I have a large collection of coffee paraphernalia, so this was important and pleasantly unexpected.)I was excited to use it. On my 1st attempt the pod would not fit into the machine. I used a pliers to pinch the lid closed tighter. I supposed the rubber sealer was too new and had to be compressed more. Now it eventually fit. And with some persuasion I was able to close the machine. But it would not eject. It jammed and required "podectomy" surgery with needle nose pliers and three hands. I was very anxious I would not be able to salvage my patient. I eventually extracted the lid. Then after going in from the bottom was able to remove the pod. The machine has recovered well. Upon evaluating the sample pod in my biopsy lab/coffee shop my analysis determined the extracted unit appeared undamaged. (I had attempted to break it apart to extract it. But it is a very hardy metal pod.) So it is a strong, economical, environmentally friendly alternative. It presented well. It in many ways is exactly what I wanted, except I could not use it in my Nespresso machine to make coffee!