Coffee Snob Blog

What is it? Kiss the Hippo coffee pods (they’re brand new – like hot-off-the-shelves new)

Who is it for? Those who care about the planet and want a barista-style specialty coffee at home with very little effort. (Also for those looking for a last minute Christmas present…)

Until recently I was a coffee pod shirker, basing my out-dated opinions on past experiences with friends’ Nespresso machines. At the time they were the hot new thing, and I recall the faint excitement of watching a ‘Lungo’ slowly creep out of the machine, completely in awe of how it all worked. But then it came to the tasting part, and my excitement faded – I found them watery, unbalanced and completely without character. They were useful for when I needed a pick-me-up, but the experience hovers in my memory like a bad-tasting fish. I didn’t think it would catch on. Why settle for pre-made coffee inside a ready-made pod, when you can spend a couple of extra minutes fine-tuning your own coffee exactly how you like it?

Yet coffee capsules found their place in the market, triumphantly so, owing to their ease of use and their ability to give a barista-style coffee at home.

There were some problems, however. The capsules themselves were made of plastic, contributing to the climate problem, and the flavours just weren’t cutting it in order to enter into the specialty coffee market.

…then Colonna Coffee made them. UK coffee’s roasting pioneers managed to target these two key problems by offering capsules that were compostable, and ensuring their exquisite blends are just as perfect inside a capsule as in their coffee house. Yes, you can’t fiddle around with the grind, the extraction time or the amount of coffee (that’s all pre-determined for you), but for many this is the solution they’ve been waiting for: convenience, consistence and exceptional third wave specialty coffee at home.

“Yes, you can’t fiddle around with the grind, the extraction time or the amount of coffee, but for many this is the solution they’ve been waiting for: convenience, consistence and exceptional third wave specialty coffee at home.“

The year has seen many other specialty roasters bring out their own coffee capsules (see my recent article on it here), but it’s a pretty big occasion when your local, most trusted, and the most talked about coffee roaster also releases them…

Kiss Hippo released their coffee pods last week and I was lucky enough to be sent some ahead of the ‘pod drop’. Their famous George Street Blend has been packed into an organic, biodegradable capsule; it is carbon neutrally roasted and it is the best coffee capsule experience I’ve ever had. I’ve made it known I’m a big fan of Kiss the Hippo (see their review here), so the fact their famous house blend sits into a coffee capsule for use at home is huge news. It’s enough to even convert a coffee snob like me to capsules. (I don’t know about you, but my at-home barista skills are still not quite up to producing a Kiss the Hippo experience).

“For every subscription they plant a tree for you”

As ever with Kiss the Hippo, they don’t stop there. For every subscription they plant a tree for you. (No, but they actually do – in Nepal.) I’ve talked at length about their outstanding eco values and this is just another feather in their cap amongst their sterling efforts to lead the way in being an ethical, sustainable and eco-friendly force for good.

I used one George Street capsule which came out with a beautiful crema, and then poured the Nespresso frothed milk onto it. Although the milk wasn’t micro-foamed, the taste was outstanding and if I squinted, I could have convinced myself I was in a coffee shop. Smooth, balanced with a touch of sweetness – an all round crowd-pleaser that has been responsible for Kiss the Hippo’s stratospheric success these past 2 years. And it has led me to believe that maybe there is a future in these coffee pods after all…

Thanks Kiss the Hippo for sending the pods. And also to my coffee date: Otis the dachshund.

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Get your own at-home Kiss the Hippo experience by subscribing to the coffee pods here (also available as a one-off purchase). May I subtly suggest that a subscription will also make the perfect Christmas gift for a coffee-loving, planet-loving human of outstanding taste.

Happy Christmas snobs – and very happy coffee-drinking to you,

The Snob x

*All posts are my own views and not done in conjunction with any partnerships/sponsorships*