ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso: Taste and Characteristics Review

Before this post, I’ve written in detail about “The Best ESE Coffee Pods and Which Espresso Machine They are Comfortable with”. In their frequent emails, my readers insisted that I should write a review for ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso, so I did.

ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso is an Italian Brand that produces original Italian espresso.

The brand belongs to Italy

Every espresso ESE Coffee Pods includes all the experience of We – Real Italian Espresso, made of history, tradition, and expertise to create top-quality blends. 

You require an espresso made by We – Real Italian Espresso coffee pods to turn your every coffee pause into a unique and distinctive moment.

Coffee Beans

The brand claims that its refined blend is made of 60% plus 40% Arabica and Robusta coffee from Brazil and Central America, and it processes its coffee beans in Naples, where the art of coffee making began.

I didn’t confirm from where the brand gets its beans. Still, the pleasant flavor, taste, aroma, and classic body of espresso made by these pods show the reflection of coffee beans from a high-quality coffee-producing region.

Italian Espresso

The method of making coffee from Italy in 1884, known as espresso, has become blood in our lives. Espresso was initially known as the most common way to make coffee in southern Europe, especially Italy, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, south France, and Bulgaria. Still, now it has also become popular in the UK, USA, Australia, and the world. You can make espresso with a variety of coffee beans and different roast levels.

Why I Choose This Brand?

For almost a hundred years, espresso has been made from open coffee grounds on a bean-to-cup coffee machine. Still, since the launch of Nespresso in 1986 by Swiss Multinational Nestle, there have been coffee capsules, soft pads, ESE pods in addition to espresso open coffee beans. More than 400 brands in the coffee market are making ESE pods, soft pads, and coffee capsules. The ESE Pod brands are from fifty to one hundred plus, and “ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso” is one out of the top ten.

I found delicious espresso when I was in the USA, especially when I made red ripe Arabica Kona coffee beans from the coffee cherry tree grown in my home garden for my coffee drink.

I don’t have to work hard for it. When the beans ripe, I pick them off the tree and take out the seed from inside their pulp and skin then dry them in the sun. I dry the pulp and skin separately, after which I make cascara tea and drink it. Then I take the green coffee beans out of the parchment layer and roast them in my home roastery machine.

These coffee beans are enough for me for six months, but I run them for a month at most because I have so many friends to give them to as a gift. After that, when I have to drink coffee, I have to resort to coffee shops.

I go to Morning Glass, Brue Bar, Arvo Cafe, mostly to drink coffee in Hawaii, but French Press and Cold Brew are not available here. So I have to order coffee beans online for a cold brew and French press. I order whole beans of Kona coffee for the French press, while for the cold brew, I use the same beans by grinding them with a home grinder. But when I come to the UK, I have to rely on ESE pods because of my busy schedule.

Unique Method of Roasting Coffee Beans

During my stay in London, I choose “ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso”. I choose this brand because their method of roasting coffee beans is the most unique. They roast the beans over an oak wood fire. I love roasting coffee beans on oak wood fire myself.

That was in 1981 when I was ten years old. At that time, modern coffee bean roasting machines had been invented. But my grandfather did not like these modern machines for roasting coffee. They had dried oak wood in the house. Grandpa and I used to roast Arabica Kona coffee beans on oak wood. I didn’t find the taste of espresso made from roasted coffee beans over an oak wood fire in these expensive espresso coffee shops.

This time I had to select ESE pods for my visit to the UK, so a close friend who lives in Italy said that the brand “ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso” roasts coffee beans on oak wood fire before filling its pods. Thus, the espresso produced from these ESE pods has a unique aroma and flavor. Coffee beans roasted over oak wood are filled with a natural sweetness that is impossible on electric or gas roasts.

Crema on the Surface of Espresso

My espresso-making experience was excellent with “ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso”. The espresso made from this brand is thicker than the ordinary ESE pods brands. I felt the viscosity of this espresso brand was like hot honey. And every time I make espresso, the crema on the top of the espresso in the cup looks like thick foam with a creamy consistency.

The Part of a Coffee Machine in The High-Quality Espresso

My DeLonghi coffee machine also makes high-quality espresso from “ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso”. The high qualities in my espresso are due to the higher concentration of suspended and dissolved solids.

When I brew espresso, my DeLonghi coffee machine forces a small amount of nearly boiling water (about 90 °C or 190 °F) under 9–10 bars (900–1,000 kPa; 130–150 psi) of pressure (expressed) through finely-ground coffee beans within the “ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso”. The pressurized brewing process results in very concentrated flavors and chemicals in my typical cup of espresso.

How is The Body? 

The espresso made by “ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso” has a very creamy body. The dispersion of tiny oil droplets is perceived in the mouth as soft foam particles.

How is The Aroma?

Since “ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso” roasts beans on oak wood fires, their roasted coffee beans have a unique flavor and aroma. Oakwood roasted coffee beans have a sweetness that no other roasting method can get. The same sweetness of oakwood is also embedded in the tiny oil droplets of espresso, which gives the espresso a scent of oakwood. You can feel the aroma of oakwood and coffee beans, mixed with espresso when it hits your nostrils.

You can also feel this unique aroma for various espresso-based drinks including caffè latte, cappuccino, caffè macchiato, caffè mocha, flat white, and caffè Americano–when you make espresso from the ESE pods of this brand.

How Do You Feel Caffeine Content?

Espresso made from the coffee pods of this brand has no more caffeine per unit volume than most other ESE coffee pods brands. Still, because their roasting method is different from the usual electric or gas roasting methods, the feeling of caffeine content is more pleasant than other ESE brands. No extreme after bitter taste as you feel in other espresso drinks.

ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso ESE Pods VS Other ESE Pod Brands

ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso’s 1st Competition

When I started writing a review of “ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso”, I planned to compare it with other brands of ESE Pods, so I’ve choosed the following 11 brands to compare.

1. Caffè Tostini – Pads 
2. Caffe Moreno 
3. Caffe New York Espresso Pods 
4. Caffè Quarta 
5. Caffe Roma 
6. MariaSole Caffè 
7. MilleSoli Caffè
8. Mokaflor – Dolce Arabica 
9. Palombini: “Caffè Forte” 
10. Ammore ESE Espresso Coffee Pods
11. Caffè Corsini Compagnia 

With 11 pods from this group, I ordered “ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso” online. I made espresso from pods of all brands. I also invited my friends to taste espresso and for reviews and ratings. Unfortunately for all the brands, none of the brands managed to get good reviews compared to “ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso” and “ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso” easily won this non-official competition.

ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso 2nd Competition

I choose the ten new brands listed below when I did the “ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espressos” second contest. These brands were not included in the previous competition.

1. Il Piacere (Espresso) E.S.E. Pods 
2. Dualit Lungo ESE Coffee Pods
3. Filicori Zecchini
4. Barbera Cialda Superior 
5. ESE Java Mocha Coffee Pods
6. Single Origin Ese Coffee Pods 
7. Baronet Coffee 
8. Danesi Easy E.S.E. pods 
9. Zicaffe’ ESE Espresso Paper Pods 
10. Nannini Espresso

All the arrangements were made the same way this time, and “ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso” also won this non-official competition.

ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso 3rd Competition

When “ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso” won the last two contests, I thought “ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso” ESE Pods were the best, so I’ve chosen the ten new brands listed below to test “ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso” taste in a true sense.

1. Hausbrandt Espresso Coffee
2. Bristot Single-Serve Coffee Pods 
3. Musetti Coffee – Cremissimo – ESE pod
4. Compagnia Dell’arabica Selection 
5. Almanegra Espresso ESE Pods
6. Caffe D’arte Decaf Italian Espresso Blend
7. Espressione 100% Arabica Pods 
8. Gran Caffè Garibaldi 
9. Molinari BIO 
10. Miscela d’Oro Single Shot Espresso Cremoso Pods

Eleven brands were ordered online, including “ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso”, and espresso drinks were made from each brand’s ESE pods. My friends drank espresso with great pleasure. When it came to giving reviews, all the reviews favored “ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso”, and it quickly won this non-official contest.

ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso 4th Competition

When “ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso” beat more than 30 brands of ESE pods in three non-official competitions, I thought it was probably the top brand. But one day I argued with a friend. I was adamant that “ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso” is the top-ranking ESE pods brand globally, but my friend was adamant that there are higher brands than that. We decided to have another competition to compete with the taste. This time my friend chose all the brands for the competition. The following twelve brands were included in the competition.

1. Aroma Premium ESE Coffee Pods (Reviews:98)
2. Cuba Mia Single Espresso ESE Coffee Pods (Reviews: 132)
3. Lucaffe’ Lucaffeina Pulcinella ESE Espresso Pods (Reviews: 130)
4. Kimbo Coffee ESE Espresso Pods (Reviews: 103)
5. Montedoro Caffè` Prezioso (Reviews: 107)
6. Lucaffe’ Mamma Lucia ESE Espresso pods (Reviews: 108)
7. Caffe Gioia ESE Pods (Reviews: 103)
8. Caffe Lollo ESE Espresso Pods (Reviews: 112)
9. Izzo Arabica (Reviews: 127)
10. Barista Italiano 100 ESE Coffee Paper Pods (Reviews: 463)
11. Caffè Carbonelli Strong – Real Neapolitan Espresso (Reviews:377)
12. ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso (Reviews: 500)

This time my friend choose strong candidates for the competition. My friend thought that one of his preferred brands would outperform “ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso” and win the match. But when “ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso” espresso hit the guests’ palate, they praised it. When it came to giving reviews, all brands lost this non-official competition except one brand, and that brand was Caffè Carbonelli Strong. So we got “ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso” and Caffè Carbonelli to compete again. Caffè Carbonelli received 377 reviews, while “ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso” won this non-official competition with 500 reviews.

ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso 5th Competition

When “ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso” lost its fourth Competition to Caffè Carbonelli, I realized that “ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso” is not the highest brand in the world. Then one day, I argued with a friend. This friend lives in Italy. His position was that “ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso” is the top ESE brand in the world while I was opposing it. So we once again planned to make “ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso” compete with other brands in the field of flavor. This time it was my responsibility to select the brand. So I worked hard to collect the top brands from the world of ESE coffee pods, whose names are listed below.

1. Caffè Carbonelli Strong – Real Neapolitan Espresso (Reviews:377)
2. ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso (Reviews: 500)
3. Pellini Top 100% Arabica Coffee Pods – Medium Roast Italian Coffee Pods – (Reviews: 517)
4. PureGusto ESE Coffee Pods (Reviews: 699)
5. Note d’Espresso- Colombia Coffee Paper Pods (Reviews: 700)
6. Black Donkey Coffee Roasters – (Reviews: 972)
7. Cialdissima ESE Coffee Pods (Reviews: 1100)
8. Lavazza Espresso ESE Coffee Pods – (Reviews: 1829)
9. Illy Classico ESE Pods (Reviews: 2489)
10. Caffè Borbone Coffee Compostable Pods (Reviews: 12394)

This time there were nine candidates against “ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso”, but the competition was fierce. Because all these brands are the world-famous ESE Pods, competing with “ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso” this time. First, all the guests were served espresso from “ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso” pods, and then they were treated to espresso from the pods of the other nine brands. But when it came to compliments and reviews, there was no compliment on the “ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso” part, and “ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso” could not get a good review compared to these famous brands.

Verdict

Although there are more than fifty ESE coffee pods brands globally, “ESE Coffee Pods – We – Real Italian Espresso” stands in the top ten. It has a unique oak wood fire taste in its espresso, so you should give it a try.