There are bean-to-cup machines, and there are machines that take pods. What is the difference, and which is best for me?
Bean-to-cup machine
The bean-to-cup machine takes whole coffee beans and cold water to make a great, freshly ground cup of coffee.
To achieve this fresh coffee, the whole beans are ground on demand. Just the right amount of whole coffee beans are ground for the cup being made. The water is heated and pressured to extract the flavour and colour from the ground beans. The used beans are then ejected into a removable container. The intensity of the grind, from coarse to fine, and the amount and even temperature of the water used to make the coffee can be adjusted.
Pod coffee machine
A coffee pod machine is a much simpler device. It takes a pod of pre-ground coffee and uses a pre-set pressure and temperature to produce the cup of coffee. Each cup with be the same as the last, and a highly repeatable cup of coffee each time. Few moving parts and much fewer adjustments are available to a pod machine than a bean-to-cup coffee machine.
Pod Vs Bean-to-Cup
Bean-to-cup
The bean-to-cup machine is ideal for freshly ground coffee with minimal fuss. The machine will automatically grind, brew and serve you coffee at the touch of a button. You can adjust the coffee to your liking, even down to mixing your coffee bean blend. The waste that the bean-to-cup machine is biodegradable, safe coffee grinds. The more complicated machine commands a higher cost because it has many parts.
Pod machine
The coffee pod machine is a single-button device but relies on pre-ground coffee sealed in a pod. You don’t get to alter the grind, beans, or pressure. You can add more water, but often not less water. The pod machines are easy and need less maintenance to make good coffee. The waste is a used pod; it may be plastic or aluminium, but it’s not ideal. These machines can be produced more cheaply because fewer parts and less complicated parts are inside.
Freshly ground
If you are really into your freshly ground coffee and want an automatic machine to do the work, then the bean-to-cup machine is for you.
Variety
Suppose your preference is more than coffee. Consider a pod machine like hot chocolate, pre-mixed caramel chocolate latte, or any of the vast number of flavoured pods. You don’t get the adjustments or the grind with a pod machine, but you get variety in a single (or double) button press. It’s just the used pods you have to deal with.
Best?
Both produce good coffee.
There is a big difference in the initial costs of the machine. Then later, ongoing costs of the unique pods vs the roasted coffee beans. Bean-to-cup machines also need more maintenance over their life than Pod machines.
Then there is the waste product, a compostable coffee grind puck or a plastic, paper or metal pod.
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