I Tested 11 Single-Serve Pod Coffee Makers. The Best Is One You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

The Cumulus Machine

The Cumulus Machine entered the market in the fall of 2024 as a cold brew only device, with nitro technology that almost sounds too good to be true. The 6-inch-wide brewer pulls nitrogen from the air, forgoing a canister, to infuse cold brew coffee and cold espresso on demand. Simply pop in one of the brand's aluminum capsules filled with liquid coffee concentrate and then turn a dial to select one of three styles. The brewer delivers a chilled coffee almost instantly. A still cold brew rounds out the machine's trio of options. The Cumulus also makes the best tasting cold coffee of any brewer I've tested. The nitro coffee is delightful due to its smooth flavor; chilled temperature without dilution from ice; and a thick layer of crema that's similar to an unsweetened cold foam. 

It’s just shy of a top selection. A few quirks included a water reservoir with severe suction that splashed water every time I removed the tank. Despite some early production issues, it's a more than satisfying single-serve coffee brewer splurge for devoted cold brew drinkers. 

Nespresso VertuoPlus

The Nespresso VertuoPlus is a substantial, sleek machine that in some ways creates more confusion with its streamlined design. I tested the VertuoPlus Deluxe model, which feels high-end due to its mix of matte and chrome elements, such as an adjustable drip tray more akin to a small paper weight than a flimsy afterthought. Its 40-ounce removable water reserve swivels.

Used capsules are automatically dumped into a generous yet unobtrusive container. The all-in-one button can be more disorienting when it comes to remembering whether its blink means "go ahead" or "wait." An automatic hinge acts like a hydraulic trunk, allowing access to the capsule seat. It requires a light touch to activate and takes some time to get used to. 

I also found the flavor of Vertuo coffee pods to be more lackluster than the brand’s espresso. While I don’t doubt there were reasons to update the capsule system to accommodate larger coffee pours and barcode tech, the limitations of having to use the second-most expensive pods on our list are felt. (Third-party brands will be unable to reproduce the patent-protected Vertuo pods for years to come.) If you want larger crema-infused coffee pours, I recommend the L'Or system, which accepts a variety of robust coffee options along with the original Nespresso pods.

Keurig K-Cafe Smart brews a more nuanced cup of coffee with a stronger body and more tasting notes than some of the budget options. Unfortunately, the brewer is inconsistent, with the same style of pods tasting different from cup to cup in comparison tests. The attached milk frother creates satisfying hot froth, but don't expect espresso-quality servings with the "shot" function. Smart features also proved to be temperamental: Brew ID would get confused about Wi-Fi connectivity. I added water to the tank after inserting a new pod while the system was reading the K-Cup, which confused the brewer into thinking the pod was used. Overall, it's a fine machine but shy of the top options.  

Illy Y3.3 iperEspresso coffee and espresso machine is the most attractive and compact pod brewer we tested, but the espresso was inconsistent. Every third espresso tasted salty, bitter or lukewarm, but when dialed in, the espresso results in a delicious shot with thick crema. Illy's four vibrant colors deliver a cheerful aesthetic, and there's a fold-down drip tray. It's also easy to understand right out of the box, since it has only two buttons, for a regular or lungo espresso. The Y3.3 requires proprietary iperEspresso espresso and coffee pods, limiting its versatility. Plus, I preferred the taste of the Illy K-Cup pods over the iperEspresso coffee capsules. Illy is an example of an aesthetic brewer that doesn’t quite live up to its price point.

Cuisinart Soho is a straightforward K-Cup machine designed for ease of use. I appreciate the all-white aesthetic, fully retractable cord, two-stage adjustable drip tray and compactness. However, for the price, the Cuisinart Soho just doesn't have the same value as the Ninja single-serve. Coffee also sometimes smells metallic right after brewing, and the water reserve can’t be removed. The product is similar to lower-cost Keurig brewers, but the value doesn't match the aesthetics. 

Keurig K-Iced Plus is a slim machine designed to brew directly over ice in larger sizes. The K-Iced Plus is said to start brewing hot to extract the beans then cools to reduce melt. The method results in a rather standard iced coffee that's quick to reach room temperature, especially in comparison to the K Brew Plus Chill. The K-Iced Plus also makes hot coffee but is missing the 6-ounce size that's important for getting the strongest-tasting hot K-Cup coffee. The slim brewer is priced below others on this list, so it might make this brewer appealing to iced coffee fans looking for a minimal footprint. 

Nespresso Pop Plus had design issues I couldn’t ignore during my testing, which is why it's one coffee brewer I can't recommend. First, I found it awkward to lock the capsule lid, since you need a good amount of pressure yet a slight gap remains as part of the design of the machine. Like the VertuoPlus, this brewer has one button and only accepts Vertuo capsules. Vertuo Pop Plus is also one of the loudest coffee brewers we tested, and the stationary side-facing water tank is an inconvenient choice, since it makes for a wider footprint. The off-kilter position can be helpful if you have a short counter. 

I also found water accumulated in the machine head (the manual warns to "dry visible parts" if this happens). If unnoticed, water sits with the needle, creating a place for mold. Ultimately, I attempted to dump the excess water out of the machine into the sink, since the pool remained even after a rinse cycle. The slight price savings compared with the Nespresso Vertuo Plus doesn’t seem worth the functionality flaws.  

I set out to brew a range of coffee styles, sizes and brands to compare the day-to-day realities of using each of the 11 single-serve coffee makers. Coffee preferences can vary, so we determined a set of five perimeters to evaluate performance: functionality, value, versatility, aesthetic and taste. However, finding the best-tasting coffee is, of course, a top goal, even if it's highly subjective. 

Value based on price and versatility  

Price isn't the only factor to think about when purchasing a coffee machine, but it's often one of the most important when considering the overall value. The price of the machine is the first I looked at. I then combined the upfront price of the brewer with the estimated cost of 365 pods for a modest one cup per day in the first year. The average cost of capsules might offset what at first glance appears to be an affordable or expensive machine. 

For instance, the price of the Bruvi BV-01 brewer is reduced if capsules are bought with the machine. Although it isn't the most expensive machine we tested, the average price of the brand's proprietary capsules is a steep jump from the cost of the average K-Cup. The total average cost in the first year for the Bruvi B-Pods is still less than either Nespresso VertuoLine brewer. Plus, the Bruvi is more versatile. The BV-01 makes 10 different sizes of coffee, including seven hot sizes, iced, espresso and cold brew, and it has options for stronger, hotter and low-acid extractions. 

Comparing budget coffee brewers, the Cuisinart Soho retails for about the same price as the Ninja single-serve Pods & Grounds. Cuisinart and Ninja produce similar-tasting K-Cup coffee; both have adjustable drip trays and retractable power cords. Soho brews only four sizes, however, with a water reservoir that can't be removed because it's designed to hold only enough water for immediate use. The Ninja single-serve Pods & Grounds brews six sizes with a K-Cup, and a seventh 24-ounce size if extracting grounds, and it has a removable 56-ounce water tank as well as rich extraction and over-ice features. For these reasons, Cuisinart Soho scored high due to consistent functionality, but it was lacking in the value comparison.   

Brewing performance: Functionality and consistency

Most people buy single-serve coffee makers to take away the guesswork of making a cup of coffee. While the brewers each functioned with slight variations, the basic elements all included a water reservoir, a top-loading capsule seat and a drip tray to place your cup on. How consistently all those core elements perform varied across each coffee maker. 

The Nespresso VertuoPlus functioned as promised most of the time but had quirks. For example, the machine operates best when plugged into an outlet by itself -- the lid was stuck open after a surge protector blew. 

Illy's functionality was inconsistent, with espresso shots tasting salty or bitter with every three or so pulls. More seriously, the Vertuo Pop Plus pooled water in the capsule seat, which I awkwardly dumped into the sink even after a rinse cycle.

Keurig K-Cafe Smart turned out to be inconsistent with both its coffee extraction and smart technology. Keurig customer support patiently walked me through an error message on the machine (a milk-based pod seemingly clogged the needle). I continued to receive a message on the digital screen that the brewer couldn’t connect to Wi-Fi. Keurig customer support assured me the Wi-Fi worked if the brewer could display the K-Cup brand (it could).

I also encountered some design quirks with The Cumulus Machine. The initial fill of the 80-ounce water reservoir required refilling the small tank at least once. The front-loading tank included severe suction, so much so that I thought I might break the plastic handle when attempting to pull out the fill tank. As a result, water that was left over in the small refill tank (and even after following the directions there was always water left over) splashed all over me and the counter every time I refilled it. (The Cumulus team replaced the brewer in case it was an isolated defect, but the issue persisted with the new machine.) 

In addition, The Cumulus sometimes wouldn’t wake up when I inserted a capsule, despite my seeing a white light and selecting the style of coffee. I discovered that a quick touch to the sleep button on the back remedied the issue. Frustratingly, there's no mention of what to do in this situation in the manual, which apart from this is thankfully extensive.

Design and aesthetic choices 

Latching the capsule lid was too often a source of frustration when first using the brewers. The Illy Y3.3 iperEspresso coffee maker is one of the easiest machines to understand right out of the box, but strangely, closing the Illy capsule lid requires a two-part process of pulling up on a lip to lock the top.

The streamlined designs often proved more cryptic. The Nespresso VertuoPlus and Vertuo Pop Plus each have only one button to complete all functions: You press the button to turn the machine on, then the button flashes green when the machine is heating, remains steady when the machine is ready for loading, and spins when the machine's extracting a shot. Before getting used to the system of blinks, testers and myself sometimes struggled to know when the machine was ready.  

Having to remember whether a blinking light means the machine is ready varies across the brands. I kept the Cumulus manual close by because the light around the machine's one button pulsed blue when the Cumulus was cooling water (not available for use); was a steady white when neutral, and pulsed white when the capsule was loaded and ready for use. The alert light could also change color or pulse, depending on its needs. In the end, inconsistent functionality is a greater detriment than unclear design choices.  

The Bruvi BV-01 presents a more intuitive design, with a touch screen that only presents choices pertinent to the pod, lighting up options to increase the size and strength of an espresso. For added clarity, L'Or's power button blinks when the machine's heating and then all four buttons remain lit when it's time to select a size.

Many factors can affect why coffee might taste different from one machine to the next, including differences in the grounds contained in the pods in the same batch. I followed brand recommendations for individual coffee capsules for size and strength. Bringing in more people to taste test, I also held taste comparisons using standardized settings and by use case, pitting iced brews, K-Cups, Nespresso-style pods and more against one another. Each machine extracted several styles, roast levels and brands if varieties were available. In the case of the Nespresso VertuoLine, they were all from the Nespresso brand. 

K-Cups

I tested all K-Cup brewers, including the Ninja single-serve Pods & Grounds, Cuisinart Soho, Keurig K-Brew Plus Chill, K-Cafe Smart and K-Iced Plus, with Illy Classico at the 8-ounce size. I then tested the same Illy K-Cup at the 6-ounce size with every brewer except the K-Iced Plus, whose smallest size is 8 ounces. In terms of price and concentration, the budget options Ninja and Cuisinart tasted similar in concentration. Cuisinart also varied in flavor, with an 8-ounce cup of Caribou Blend Medium tasting weak but at 6 ounces quite dark.

The K-Cafe Smart extracted more-robust pours when tasted one-to-one against the budget options, but flavors were inconsistent over time. As mentioned before, K-Cups could vary in terms of quality even within the same package, but the inconsistencies in flavor reoccurred over many brands and several weeks of testing. At a similar price point, the Keurig K-Brew Plus Chill managed greater consistency with the hot drinks and offered the added value of chilled drinks on demand. 

Nespresso-style coffee

The heavy crema-style coffees are in a category of their own. Drinkers of specialty coffee are likely to enjoy the larger pours, especially if topped with frothed milk for a cafe au lat. Full disclosure: I’m not the biggest fan of this style of coffee -- which was a surprise to discover -- but this style grew on me over the several weeks of testing. 

Though Nespresso excels with concentrated espresso pods, the coffee often falls flat due to a lack of rounded roast and flavor. For instance, the heavy-crema Nespresso Stormio coffee at a level eight roast in the VertuoPlus tasted faint compared with a level seven L'Or Chateau roast. The Nespresso level 10 roast tasted bitter and sharp on its own. Nespresso's crema also broke up into a dried crust around the cup faster than I could consume the coffee. Overall, L'Or's variety of roasts, including a range of flavors, outperformed Nespresso pods in comparison tests. 

Espresso 

I then gathered testers for taste comparisons between the heavy crema espresso pods. The Nespresso VertuoPlus, Nespresso Pop Plus, and L'Or Barista System all produce similar espresso styles. I found that the L'Or's Columbia espresso at a level eight roast is a pronounced roast, without bitterness, and had a delicate balance of acidity. Overall, Nespresso espresso pods outperformed L'Or, but the VertuoLine's inability to adjust the size if a roast was too weak or bitter for my liking proved frustrating.

Bruvi's B-Pod original Lamill espresso extracted at a stronger setting tasted like something I'd get from a cafe. A thin crema is present but not overpowering, like with L'Or or Nespresso style. Original Lamill is smooth and balanced, without any bitterness or notes that interrupt the experience. Our taste testers preferred Nespresso espresso, but I preferred the most classic espresso style of the Bruvi, especially on its own versus in a specialty drink like a cappuccino.

In comparison, Illy iperEspresso Classico pods tasted rich, if a little bitter, and maintained a decent crema. Over time, the flavor of the espresso tasted consistent, such as sometimes rather lukewarm or quite salty (though, still less salty than what I've come to expect from a Starbucks espresso). Also, the iperEspresso pour is quite small, at around 1 ounce, which isn’t economical if you want the strong taste and have to pull two shots every time. The lungo shot is significantly larger, with a thick crema, but it's also very hot. The lungo understandably tastes more watered down than the single, but that was one way to avoid an unexpected salty flavor. Illy is also passable in a latte but wasn’t robust. 

Iced coffee is a complicated drink on demand because the beans need hot water for flavor to be extracted quickly, but the heat causes ice to melt and dilute the drink. I repeated the same taste tests with iced coffee with the Cumulus cold brew machine, Bruvi's cold brew and iced coffee functions, the K-Brew Plus Chill's dedicated chill tank iced coffee, and eventually the K-Iced Plus, which was a later addition because of a delay in availability. 

The Cumulus flavor profile was a clear winner for its balanced yet robust liquid concentrate capsules combined with either chilled nitrogen-infused water for micro bubbles or chilled still water. The Cumulus also delivers chilled coffee within about a minute, thanks to its 80-ounce prechilled water reserve, after the initial 15-minute cool-down period. The K-Brew Plus Chill came in second for its icy cold coffee in under three minutes, blending hot extraction with water from its dedicated chill tank.

The K-Iced Plus created a decent iced coffee when the beverage was first dispensed over ice, but the coffee quickly reached room temperature and became a standard diluted drink. The Bruvi BV-01 had similar issues with its "iced" function. Bruvi's cold brew, however, is a concentrated extraction brewed in several intervals and at a lower temperature. The Bruvi process resulted in a lukewarm 6-ounce extraction, as recommended. I didn't use the strong button, but the smooth taste is comparable to the K-Brew Plus Chill after ice is added.