When I first brewed this pod from Hook Coffee, I was hit by the dreaded earthy notes that I'm really not a fan of. Thankfully, this is complemented here by chocolatey notes as the earthiness falls away after a sip or two. A lot of bitterness in this one, with the acidity catching you at the back of the throat afterwards. 2.5/5 - There's a little too much bitterness in the cup for my liking.

Marketed as a pod with intensity 11/12, this coffee is a blend of beans from around the world. The manufacturer describes it to have a taste of fig, berries and honey - I suppose I could taste the fig a little, though it contributed more of an acidity than I would've liked.

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Argh, it's that weird earthy scent again! Yes, here's another pod from Hook Coffee, and again, there's that off-putting muddy smell that I really am not a fan of. Thankfully, in this case, it falls away into something a bit more woody, allowing cleaner, chocolatey notes to come to the forefront. Overall, the drink itself is well-balanced, though the aftertaste is also rather strongly bitter. 2.5/5 - This will fare better if you like bitterness and that earthiness.

Listed by the manufacturer as a coffee with a 9/12 intensity, this Colombian blend is supposed to have notes of nuts and honey, creamy with a subtle sweetness. Not getting too much of any of these unfortunately, though the sweetness is indeed nice.

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I hadn't realized the Casino Gout Caramel was a flavored pod, since I bought it overseas and couldn't read the text on the box. Anyway, I didn't find this particularly different from any of the flavored pods I've tried so far, with a somewhat artificial-smelling vanillary flavor.

The coffee itself comes out quite thin and acidic with a bitter aftertaste. If you search for it, you could find some nutty scents, but they're largely masked by the flavoring. This isn't really good on its own, unfortunately - 2.5/5.

The little I could understand from the box doesn't seem to say that this pod is recommended to be taken with milk, but perhaps that might be the better option!

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Following on from my previous experience with Monjava's Premium offering, I was intrigued to sample the brand's Espresso blend, which promises a higher intensity and a smooth dark roast.

Upon brewing, the coffee's earthy aroma was immediately present, reminiscent of my experience with the Monjava Premium. This particular scent was rather pungent and funkier than what I found in its lighter roast counterpart. The taste mirrored this earthiness, with notes that I can best describe as chalky and vegetal. An unexpected acidity dominated the flavor profile, suppressing any potential sweetness and leaving a lingering bitterness in its wake.

I was able to discern some toasty and chocolatey notes hidden beneath the strong earthy aroma. However, these were unfortunately overshadowed by a distinct, somewhat off-putting cardboard-like flavor. Surprisingly, towards the end of the cup, there were hints of spice, adding a modicum of complexity to the otherwise one-note profile.

As I continued to sample the brew, I noticed that the coffee remained thin and acidic throughout. There were some fleeting moments of fruity undertones towards the end of each sip, quickly replaced by a strong, lingering bitter aftertaste.

When compared to the manufacturer's notes, which promise an 'Intensity 9' with 'subtle notes of sweet caramel', it seems that this coffee does not quite live up to its promise. The promise of smoothness and sweetness was largely overshadowed by the dominant earthiness and pungent funkiness.

All things considered, the Monjava Espresso earns an overall rating of 2/5 from me when brewed as espresso.

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Consider me intrigued by flavored coffees like this one, the Tiziano Bonini Chocolate Coffee! When I pulled the shot, there was a nice roasty scent intermingling with what reminds me of Hershey's chocolate syrup. If only the taste could've somehow matched this! Unfortunately, I found the shot to be strangely bitter and acidic, complete with that throat-burning sensation at the end. Surprisingly, while the initial shot smelled strongly of chocolate, I could barely pick up any chocolatey scents after one sip.

2/5 - While I would've said here that this coffee would probably taste better with milk and sugar, I struggle a little to see why you wouldn't just pull a normal shot of better tasting coffee, and then drizzle some chocolate syrup onto it. For more exotic flavors like coconut, maybe having a flavored pod makes sense, but since I have a bottle of chocolate syrup in the fridge, I'm really not sure when you'd need a pod like this!

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I've unfortunately not had very good luck with Pod & Parcel pods - Maybe I've got a box of duds? I'm really not sure, and I'm tempted to revisit this brand to see if that's really the case.

Either way, we're looking at the Fasoli today, which again, has that ashy, earthy flavor that I'm not a fan of. There's also a plum-like acidity here, which is rather off-putting and unpleasant. There are some hints of sweetness, but there is also a rather strong bitterness in the aftertaste. Unfortunately, the "plumminess" is really quite overwhelming - 1.5/5.

The Fasoli pod is marketed by its manufacturer as a pod with an intensity of 8/13, with tasting notes of plum, berries and caramel - So I wasn't wrong with the plummy notes at least! This coffee is a blend of Arabicas and can be taken with milk or on its own.

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The Carraro Aroma e Gusto Intenso espresso pod sets the stage with an earthy, grassy scent, making way for an unmistakably acidic and vegetal flavor profile. Amidst this pervasive vegetal acidity, elusive chocolatey hints can be sensed, but they remain rather subtle and understated. The brew tends to be quite thin.

The tasting journey continues along a similar path, marked by a funky, earthy smell and a distinct acidity that can be generously described as fruity. On the brighter side, the funkiness of the aroma is largely masked when drinking. However, the experience is overshadowed by an enduring grassy smell and an assertively bitter aftertaste. Earthy and grassy notes persist throughout the tasting, culminating in a sharply acidic finish - 1.5/5.

This pod, rated by the manufacturer as an intensity of 12/14, sources its coffee of "non-EU origin". There is little else of note on the box.

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The Premium Bicafe (Blue N12) pod, despite its enticingly discounted price (at under 20 cents a capsule!), presents an off-putting aroma reminiscent of expended coffee grounds even before brewing.

It is quite common to experience the "clear start" problem with this pod - Having just water dispensed at the beginning. Upon brewing, a fleeting moment of a nice aroma gives way rapidly to a pervasive earthiness and chalkiness.

The taste experience continues to be perplexing. A potent acidity is intertwined with a faint, ephemeral scent in the mouth, vanishing almost as quickly as it appears and leaving behind the dominant earthy flavor. The brew concludes on a bitter and acidic note.

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This is Podista's Supremo, a plastic pod with a listed intensity of 10.

Yeah, I really didn't like this one - Grassy and earthy with a distrubingly chalky texture, I suspect the way the pod is packaged made it impossible to keep fresh in storage. The pod is very bitter, but it's the acidity that really gets to you and lingers for an incredibly long time.

For these I normally test 3 cups before I come to a conclusion, but I only managed to do two on two separate occasions before I gave up - 0/5. I'll try this with milk to see if it helps.

Time to try something new, the Movenpick Intenso Espresso coffee pod. The aroma is strong with earthy and grassy notes that were quite overpowering. The coffee had a wispy thin consistency with a very acidic taste. While there were vague hints of fruitiness, they were not pleasing to the palate. The earthy smell dominated every mouthful, making it an unpleasant experience. The coffee also had a weird chalky texture, which only added to the unpleasantness of the drink.

If I tried really hard, I could detect a hint of something plummy or figgy, but that was really subtle. 0/5 - Unfortunately, I really didn't enjoy this one.

The manufacturer markets this pod as a typical Italian Style Espresso, consisting of a blend of beans roasted to an intensity of 8/10. These are packaged in compostable "green caps" - I'm not sure if that could've contributed to any degradation in flavor, especially since the tops of the pod seemed to be permeable to air.

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Here's a curiously packaged coffee in a large box, with each pod individually wrapped - This is Brasilia Coffee's Super Crema, marketed as a medium-to-dark roast traditional espresso with an intensity level of 10.

This coffee came out rather thin, very bitter with little notable scents, except a ton of roastiness and even slight whiff of the funky, earthy tones that I'm so deathly afraid of - 1/5, I unfortunately really don't enjoy this one.

One of the pods I brewed even popped loudly, and while that didn't seem to affect the brew significantly, I later noticed that the foil covering on top of the plastic pod has popped open. This is the first time I've ever had something like this happen!

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Here's another flavored coffee to try - Little's Chocolate Caramel flavor. This one is a bit of a strange one. The scent is surprisingly vanillary, reminding me of the Bailey's pod reviewed previously. The taste is also strange - A lot of bitterness and acidity in the crema, but the body of the coffee doesn't taste of much. It actually feels so dilute that I can't even draw up the coffee taste profile chart for you!

1/5 - Maybe this would taste better with milk and sugar but I feel like it just wouldn't bring enough of a coffee taste to the beverage. The baileys pod might be a better choice in this regard.

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I don't exactly like earthy smells in coffee, and unfortunately this particular taster pod is exactly that. This is the Mbeya pod by Pod & Parcel, which packs an acidic punch followed closely by a subtler but no less jarring bitterness. I seemed to have detected a faint scent of dates which could have been quite nice, but unfortunately that's overpowered by the rest of the flavors. With apologies to the manufacturer, I must unfortunately rate this 0/5.

The official wording says that this coffee, which has an intensity of 9, has notes of raspberry, stone fruit and syrup. Perhaps the acidity is somewhat reminiscent of fruit, but unfortunately the only syrup this brings to mind is cough syrup. Reviews of this pod from other places seem to be generally positive, so maybe I just got a dud? Who knows.

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Uh-oh! It's that woody-earthy smell again! Yes, if you've been following some of my other Hook Coffee reviews, you'll know that some of the pods have a rather off-putting smell I really couldn't get behind. While the smell is more muted here when compared to Choco Loco where I first reported this, I still found the drink primarily bitter, which I'm really not a fan of. Again, with apologies to Hook Coffee, this is a 1/5.

A coffee originating from Papua New Guinea, this coffee is described by the manufacturer to have hints of dark chocolate and tropical stone fruit, with a smokey oolong aftertaste. The listed roast intensity is 8. Perhaps the "dark chocolate" notes can explain the bitterness, but I'm really not sure what the earthy note is.

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Here's another entry in Nespresso's summer limited edition drinks, the Freddo Intenso! I love a nice strong coffee, so I gave this a try, following package instructions which is to pull a shot into 90g of ice. Aaaand, this was an absolutely bitter punch to the face! Despite the dilution from the ice, this drink is still full-bodied and overwhelmingly bitter, with a plum-like acidity.

Underneath the bitterness you get subtle hints of earthiness and cocoa, but to be honest, the strong flavors are far too overwhelming for this to be enjoyable - 0.5/5, too bitter, too acidic. Maybe I'll try this with a bit of milk next time.

Nespresso describes this as a dark roast blend with bold and intense flavors, but have not assigned this a number on their "intensity" scale. While I get what they're going for, this really isn't a drink for me.

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"Choco Loco" sounded interesting, so I gave this taster shotpod from Hook Coffee a try. This coffee has a prominent woody and earthy scent, which was unfortunately rather off-putting. It is also overwhelmingly bitter, and this bitterness lingers on in its aftertaste as well. It's really hard to taste or detect anything else underneath these two notes, which leads me to my rating - With apologies to Hook Coffee, I have to give this one a 0/5.

I know Hook Coffee makes some exemplary coffee blends from high-quality beans, I can attest to that as a regular customer for almost two years. But unfortunately, this particular blend has been a miss for me. One word that stood out for me in the official description was "Wheaty Biscuits", and I suppose that might have been the strangely savory woody note I was getting.

Oh well, we've still got quite a few pods to go in this taster pack, and I continue to have high hopes for the rest of them.

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We're sampling a Pod & Parcel pod again - A line which I've had a lot of trouble with in the past. This one has woody, earthy notes but is also deeply chocolatey. The texture is chalky and there's a lot of bitterness in here. The earthiness is off-putting and the finish lingers with an unpleasant bitterness and acidity. 0/5, unfortunately. This was not enjoyable in any way.

The Calexte is supposed to be a blend of Colombian and Tanzanian coffee, with an intensity level of 5/13 and notes of dark toffee, caramel and pistachio.

Unfortunately I've not had much luck with this round of sampler pods from Pod & Parcel, and I'm beginning to seriously consider if my pods were defective or damaged somehow. Take these reviews with a pinch of salt - I'll try to get my hands on more pods from this brand and we'll see if this is really what they taste like.

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Time for another Pod & Parcel taster pod again, and I'm afraid that once again, yes, you're going to hear me go through the same set of criticisms. This also has the chalky and earthy notes characteristic of all the other Pod & Parcel pods in my taster pack, again leading me to wonder if mine had just gone bad. There is some acidity and sweetness in this pod, but I really can't get past the chalkiness - 1/5.

My plan now is to push through with the remaining pods I have from this taster pack on the off-chance I find one that doesn't taste like this. When it's all gone, I'll look for more from this brand, perhaps from a different seller, in a sealed box, and see if my observations here still hold.

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Time for another pod from Pod and Parcel. This is the Florentino, and I'm going to cut to the chase this time - Yes, unfortunately, like the others I've had in the sampler pack, these are chalky and earthy, acidic, and weird - 0.5/5.

Supposedly designed to be taken with milk, this pod consists of a significant proportion of robusta beans. According to the manufacturer, this coffee has walnut, cocoa, and blackcurrant notes. Again, unfortunately, I'm not getting any of these notes!

Cupping Method:This Nespresso capsule review was added to Coffee Roast with the permission of coffeepodthoughts. See profile for more information.