L’OR Espresso Capsules, 50 Count Variety Pack, Single-Serve Aluminum Coffee Capsules Compatible with the L’OR BARISTA System & *Nespresso Original Machines

Great alternative to Nespresso
These are a really great alternative to Nespresso pods. They are perfectly compatible with my original line Nespresso machine and taste very good. These little pods add up in cost, so this is a nice, slightly cheaper option than the Nespresso brand ones.

Good flavor, good amount of caffeine
The flavors are pretty good and it does make a little crema. These won’t blow you away, but do provide a pleasant caffeine fix.

Not as brutal as many Nespresso Expresso coffees
I like to use two large pulses of water rather than one (for espresso) and drink this as strong coffee. This works great. I drink a lot of coffee and the Nespresso was destroying my throat and stomach… acid reflux was very bad. This coffee is great. The flavor is strong but the brew is not rough on you. I don’t have acid reflux issues with this. What’s not to love about this…? It even cost less per pod. I have Nespresso for years and I am never going back.

Perfect Alternative as long as you like Variety
I’d purchased the “sister” pods to these, the Peets from Costco, so I knew the quality of the pods themselves as these are manufactured/packaged by that same company. Looking for another less expensive alternative to Nespresso themselves, and faced with a too-good-to-pass-up offer on Prime Day for these L’Or pods, I ordered a pack of both the mild and intense as a sampler.A couple of notes:- Some of these pods are meant to be Lungo pulls. Unlike Nespresso & Peets these are actually conveniently LABELLED, not just with a number for intensity but with “Lungo” written on the Lungo pods as well as the origin name for the specialty pods (like the Papua New Guinea). Keep this in mind when brewing your pods.- I think the labelling is fantastic in itself, and something that needs to be done by all these pod makers. Most seem to think that the aesthetics of a plain pod are more important than knowing what I’m drinking. Nope. And (looking at you Nespresso) the colors of the pods in these variety packs are all actually distinguishable even beyond the labelling. No worries about trying to figure out which shade of tan/gold/brown is which when you’re bleary-eyed in the AM.- Pricing on Prime Day was unbeatable. I’m looking forward to ordering a good supply next time they’re offered. Even without the deal they are much less expensive than Nespresso/Peets normal pricing.- The more intense varieties are imo better with some milk, I use the really intense ones (10+) for making lattes and iced coffee. The less intense 7-8 are good without additions.- I’ve only had one semi-dud capsule thus far. I inserted it in machine and attempted to brew and nothing happened at all other than the button on my machine blinking. Turned out the narrow end of the pod was pierced but not the other grid side. I was actually able to reinsert this pod (creating a total of 6 piercings at the narrow end) and get it to brew. Just thought that unusual, and it had no effect on the coffee itself. I was a little concerned about my machine in the interim, but all was well.Negatives:- I’d love to be able to buy specific varieties in quantity. Seems they only chose a couple of varieties (Onyx/Colombia) to carry on their own. Others are available at nearly twice the price as of this writing, including a few not in the variety packs in this listing, but at that rate I’d might as well just order from Nespresso themselves.-Recycling is questionable. I’ve read some mixed comments about whether you can send these to Nespresso for recycling. Seems their stance is that since they recycle the aluminum AND compost the grounds, and they can’t vouch for what’s in competitor’s grounds, they don’t want competitor’s pods for fear of contaminating their compost (which makes sense on paper but is really likely nonsense. No doubt part of their pod pricing is subsidizing the recycling, which doesn’t happen when you buy someone else’s pods). Peets was supposed to have started their own recycling program, presumably they’d be able to recycle these as well since they’re packaged by the same company. I’ve not yet looked into that.