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While I do possess a Nespresso machine and as regular readers will know my day runs on the amount of coffee I consume I have not used it for a while whilst I have tried the delights of Tassimo pods and Krups offerings.

I dusted it off – not literally as it resides in its box but once fired up and ready that’s the way it stayed.

I assumed – wrongly – that like ink cartridges in a lot of recent printers that Nespresso had put something in their machines to stop ‘compatible’ being compatible.

It appears that is not the case; the pods are identical in size at 2.8cm in height and 3.7cm across the top. They weigh more at 8grams as opposed to the original Nespresso cartridges at 6grams.

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The Nespresso cartridges go to landfill as the sides are some form of plastic and the top some form of metallic foil.

I was sent three packs of eight ‘Volcano At Home’ pods in red, black and orange boxes. Even these are carefully thought out to save packaging as you open a book like package and can see only four pods, you need to flip it open to see the other four as they are offset on the back which not only saves space but also makes for a more secure package.

The orange box (strength 3) is a ‘balanced all day’ coffee as the inside of the box says ‘Mild Nutty Body which is perfect for any time of day and deliciously sweet with milk’ this coffee comes from Minas Geras region of Brazil.

The black box (strength 3) is a ‘satisfying everyday treat’. ‘The Toffee Sweetness of this Nicaraguan coffee from the Nueva Segovia region.’

The red box (strength 4) is the ‘way to kick-start the morning’ It is said to have an ‘Intense Cocoa Body’ making this Colombian coffee from the Huila region a jolt into the day.

All the Volcano coffees are roasted in Brixton an area of London. The company is independently owned and the coffee they use is 100% ethically traded.

Sadly the one thing I cannot currently tell you about is the taste but if my Nespresso machine starts to work again I certainly will do so as just writing the descriptions make me want my second cup of coffee and it’s not even 9AM yet.

For some the most important thing is the fully bio-based composability of the pods, for most probably the taste of the coffee and possibly the ethical source of the coffee.

They also roast other coffees for those with the ability to use higher end machines that mimic a coffee shop these come in both 250gram and 1kilo packs, more details below.

They do a sample box of eight pods for those with Nespresso machines for £5.50, details on their site, link below.

www.volcanocoffeeworks.com