Coffee Beans or Pods?

One of the biggest questions you’ll face when running your own coffee shop is whether to go with a superautomatic espresso machine or a pod-based machine. Here, we take a look at the reasons to go with coffee beans over pods, although there are pros and cons to both, and it is really down to your personal preference and what works best for your customers in your setting. Generally, a superauto is easy to use, convenient and incredibly easy to clean down and maintain. Although you also get these same benefits with many pod-based machines, what about the other reasons to choose a superauto and coffee beans over pods?

The first reason to choose a superauto and go down the coffee beans route is that a whole bean brewing superautomatic provides a low level of waste. When compared directly with pod-based coffee machines there is a clear difference. Pod waste is a big problem, as they require high pressure industrial equipment in many cases in order to become compostable. This can cause an environmental impact, especially when you consider most users won’t have access to the required composting options. Re-usable pods on the other hand relies on perfectly ground coffee to work effectively, which means you may as well use coffee beans in the first place. For a smaller carbon footprint, a superautomatic is definitely the way to go.

In terms of variety you definitely have more of a blank canvas to work with when using coffee beans over pods. Choosing to buy standard pods leaves you with a limited choice, and anything above that can become a bit too costly at times when compared with whole bean coffee. There are literally thousands of roasts out there to choose from, and over time you can figure out what works best for your equipment and the tastes of your regular customers.

This variety that becomes open to you, leads to a much better chance of delivering quality and flavour to your customers. Using whole coffee beans and the correct coffee machinery means that you are always more likely to get a better flavour. Pod-based coffee machines and the pods themselves can often sit around for a while and will never have that freshly roasted and freshly ground aroma and flavour in the same way as a whole roasted coffee bean can provide.

As you can see, there are some real benefits to choosing coffee beans over pods, and with a superautomatic espresso machine you’ll be delivering a high-quality product to your customers on a consistent basis. It is down to your personal choice in many cases though, and there are pros to both products. The best thing in any case is to always ensure that you have the best supply chain possible. Suppliers of good coffee beans and suppliers of high-quality coffee machinery and equipment ensure that you can deliver the goods to your customers every single day, without diminishing standards and allowing you to make a profit.