Black Donkey ESE [Easy Serve Espresso]Pods

Black Donkey ESE (Easy Serve Espresso) Pods

Before writing this review, I have written an article on Best ESE Pods and Which is the Best Espresso Machine to Use Them with. But my readers repeatedly emailed me asking me to write a review of Black Donkey ESE coffee pods, so I needed to write this review.

When you insert coffee pods into your machine’s portafilter to make fresh hassle-free espresso from your DeLonghi or any ESE pods compatible coffee machine for flexibility and convenience, these Black Donkey ESE Pods play a vital role in the aroma, crema, flavour, taste and strength of your coffee drink.

When you require a high-quality espresso in a short time, these ESE coffee pods come in handy and allow you to have the best of both worlds.

What if you were in a hurry to get to the office in the morning, or you had to deliver an espresso to your spouse’s bed? Insert an ESE pod into your coffee machine, press a button, and in a few seconds, your lovely espresso will be in your hands.

Your spouse must be pleased with your readiness. Thanks to ESE Pods! And if you made espresso from Black Donkey ESE Pods and its aroma, flavour, and strength made your spouse like it, and he/she hugged you, I’m sure you’ll never forget to thank “Black Donkey ESE Pods”.

The Health benefits of coffee and ESE pods are the same, but the latter has some extra benefits. And the most significant advantage of these pods compared to the bean to cup coffee machine is no messing about grinding the coffee or adding the coffee to your portafilter. They are as easy and convenient to use as other high-quality brand coffee capsules. Moreover, ESE coffee pods are far cheaper than Nespresso coffee pods, Dolce Gusto Capsule, or Tassimo capsules.

If we compare ESE pods with coffee capsules, the biggest drawback of coffee capsules is that when you buy a coffee machine of Nespresso, Dolce Gusto, or Tassimo, you are bound by this brand it comes to using coffee capsules. You can only use Nespresso capsules in a Nespresso coffee machine, Dolce Gusto capsules in a Dolce Gusto coffee machine, Tassimo coffee capsules in a Tassimo coffee machine, etc.

Brands of coffee capsules take advantage of your compulsion and sell their capsules used in coffee machines at exorbitant prices. Since people have bought coffee machines of their brands, they are also obliged to buy their expensive coffee capsules. That’s why you will find that capsules of Nespresso, Dolce Gusto and Tassimo sell for much higher prices in the UK and US coffee markets than ESE pods.

Unlike these famous brands of coffee capsules, ESE Pods is an open standard. Any manufacturer can make ESE pods, and its license is also free. When you buy an ESE compatible coffee machine to make espresso, you are not bound by any brand that you only use ESE pods of the same brand.

Choose your favourite ESE pod to make your favourite espresso from Blackdonkey, Illy, Lavazza, Puregusto, or any of the dozens of brands on the market. That is the reason ESE pods are much cheaper than capsules of Nespresso, Dolce Gusto and Tassimo.

Suppose you have a bean-to-cup coffee machine and get up early in the morning for six consecutive days and grind coffee beans with your grinder to make espresso. In that case, I don’t think you can grind coffee beans and fill in the portafilter of your machine in the same way on Monday morning. In a situation where you are both in a hurry and drowsy. It is the time when you can solve your problem by using Black Donkey ESE pods.

There is no doubt that on Sunday mornings when you have a little more time, you can demonstrate your brewing skills with your bean to cup coffee machine and “coffee bean grinder”. But on working days, it isn’t easy to make espresso, latte, or cappuccino using such skills. And if you go to the office two or three days late, your job could be in jeopardy.

It has been observed that many people buy coffee capsules instead of ESE pods when they start buying ESE pods. Similarly, many people who use Nespresso, Dolce Gusto or Tassimo coffee machines, when they begin buying coffee capsules from a local market or online, buy ESE pods instead of purchasing coffee capsules. When those coffee pods or capsules do not work with their coffee machines, they lose their money.

ESE pods are inside layers of soft paper, which are both biodegradable and recyclable. In coffee capsules, on the other hand, coffee grounds are enclosed in solid plastic walls. These plastic capsules are recyclable but not biodegradable.

Similarly, some people buy coffee bags instead of ESE pods just because they are cheaper or get confused by their shape and colour, and they can’t use these coffee bags in their coffee machine; they lose their money.

It is essential for you not to be confused when buying Black Donkey ESE coffee pods. And don’t buy either coffee capsules or coffee bags instead of buying Black Donkey ESE pods.

Although the two seem to have the same shape and colour and fill the coffee grounds inside, coffee bags are used in a cup just like tea bags with hot water on top, while Black Donkey and all other ESE pods can only be used in coffee machines that make espresso.

Keep in mind that each pack of Black Donkey ESE pods contains seven grams of coffee grounds. When we make espresso from a bean-to-cup coffee machine, we need 5 to 10 grams of coffee grounds for a single shot of espresso and a double shot of espresso, and we need up to 15 grams of coffee grounds. However, with a bean-to-cup coffee machine, we are making espresso from freshly ground coffee beans.

Starbucks, Coffee Nero and Costa are the three most prominent UK coffee shop market leaders who have set up their stop shops in London’s famous and expensive areas like Great Titchfield St, Queen Victoria St and Leather LANE. When you go to these big coffee shops to drink coffee, they also use double espresso shots to make you a latte or frappuccino.

So, you need two pods for a double shot when you make espresso from Black Donkey pods. Because if you’re looking to drink Latte, Frapoccino or strong Espresso, then calculate the cost of two pods of Black Donkey for each drink to estimate the cost of your beverage.

Coffee Beans 10/10

Black Donkey coffee pods are filled by selecting premium quality Arabica and Robusta beans from Colombia, Brazil, Kenya, Ethiopia and India. Coffee pods are regularly roasted in small batches to create a constant freshness, flavour and aroma.

These Black Donkey pods come individually vacuum wrapped, and you get six different options to choose from Supremo, Intenso, Decaf, Devil’s Roast, Variety pack, or a Delicate Arabica.

Variety Pack 10/10

When you buy a variety pack, you’ll get a 50 variety pack of 25 Intenso and 25 Supremo. They’re both delicious, and crema on these are far superior, and the strength of the coffee is superb!

If you are a lover of strong espresso, the Black Donkey variety pack pods will suit you perfectly. Maybe you like Intenso best, but your spouse will become a fan of Supremo.

Intenso Coffee Blend 10/10

This blend contains 80% of Arabica and 20% of Robusta coffee beans. It’s relatively strong in flavour, as expected for espresso coffee.

The Intenso blend is a bit stronger roast than Supremo. It’ll fit you perfectly if you prefer a constant taste.

When you adopt this Black Donkey’s Intenso blend instead of Illy, Lavazza, Caffe Borbone or other ESE pods, maybe you’ll find that you use Black Donkey’s Intenso more and more.

Supremo Coffee Blend 10/10

This coffee blend contains 60% of Arabica and 40% of Robusta Coffee grounds. Maybe you still like your beans from the grinder, but you have to compromise on what to choose is time, and these Black Donkey’s Supremo ESE pods are great when the coffee’s needed you quickly. 😀

Devil’s Roast 10/10

Devil’s Roast of Black Donkey is a highly caffeinated coffee blend. Extremely strong, with subtle notes of nutty chocolate. It contains 100% Premium Robusta which offers you the additional kick for top performance and maximum creativity and concentration.

If your spouse prefers milky and mild coffee so you can do a latte or Frapoccino for his/her using Black Donkey’s Intenso and Supremo blends, but if you like a more strong espresso…………. Devil’s roast will give you a great tasting with a real kick. You may love it. Don’t drink when you need to sleep!

Delicato Coffee Blend 10/10

Delecoto Coffee Blend contains 100% Arabica grounds which leave behind a long and pleasant aftertaste.

You’ll receive these pods individually wrapped, meaning that the remaining pods won’t go stale if you use them slowly.

 Whether you have tried the Intenso and Supremo, try to give a shot to Black Donkey’s Delecoto Coffee Blend, you’ll never have any complaints regarding the taste of the coffee.

Decaf Coffee Blend 10/10

If you give a try to this Black Donkey’s Decaf blend, you won’t be disappointed. You’ll receive each pod foil sealed for freshness. If you like a cappuccino, Frapoccino or latte with less caffeine, and the crema is all-important to you, then this Decaf blend will suit you.

Just one thing to remember, you need to give the bag a good wiggle about, of course, without piercing the paper, to free any tightly compacted coffee before using. And put your extra ESE pods in a espresso or Nespresso pod holder and store this coffee pod holder in a cool and dry place, so they may retain fresh for your next java.

VERDICT

Though Black Donkey’s ESE pods work out to be about double the cost of grinding your coffee beans, 50 will last you a while, so the small extra is worth it.

But if you had tried premium branded ESE pods and Nespresso, Dolce Gusto, or Tassimo capsules before, you can only detect a little difference between the Black Donkey ESEs and those that are three times the price. Why do you pay more, ask yourself?

If you are trying Black Donkey ESE Pods for the first time, then Variety Pack will be better for you. So next time, you can easily decide which blend to order.

If you are using ESE Pods for the first time or you have any confusion in using ESE Pods, be sure to watch the video below.