As convenient as Nespresso pods are, they ain’t cheap. Many redditors have complained that the pods are just too expensive, so arguably, Shelby Ellis’ (@shelbyjohnsonellis) TikTok has come at the perfect time. In the clip, which has amassed 125,600 views, she shares exactly how she’s getting every coffee granule’s worth out of her Nespresso pods.
What’s the hack?
“I did not realize that people were doing this until a conversation on Facebook with a friend yesterday,” she said. As she showed her Starbucks Blonde Roast espresso pod to the camera, she continued, “Everybody knows this little bitty pod is considered one shot of espresso. I did not realize that people who are wanting more than one shot of espresso in the mornings, like in their coffee, they were using like two or three of these pods every morning. No, you don’t have to do that. Don’t do that. That’s a waste of money.”
She then went on to show users a half full pot of espresso, calling it “proof” that running a coffee pod multiple times works. “This is three shots of espresso that I just made on my espresso machine with one pod,” she said.
“I just run it three times. … Let it run. When it’s done, press the button again. Let it run,” she advised. “I don’t open it and take this out, put another one in. You can get three shots. Heck, you might get more. Might get four or five. I don’t know. I’ve never tried it past three, but you can get three shots out of this one little pod.”
Viewers disagreed
However, not all commenters were convinced. Several questioned whether the resultant coffee would be more “watered down,” while others who tried the method said that it was. “The taste is not the same though,” a commenter said. “To me it tastes like watered down espresso.”
While another claimed, “It’s not three shots of espresso. It’s one diluted shot.” A third commenter claimed that in the Nespresso manual, it’s recommended to run Nespresso pods twice, but the Daily Dot was unable to find any evidence of this.
Ellis didn’t immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comment via TikTok comment and Instagram direct message.
@shelbyjohnsonellis Just call me Dave Ramsey because I’m out here helping you save all the dollars on these Nespresso Vertuo pods… ☕️🤑💸 #nespresso #nespressovertuo #nespressopods #espresso #espressomachine #moneysaving #moneysavingtips #moneysavingtrick #nespressotalents #coffee #coffeetiktok #coffeetok #coffeemachine #savemoney #savemoneytips #starbucks #starbucksespresso #starbucksnespresso #blonderoast #daveramsey ♬ original sound – Shelby Ellis🌼
Can you use Nespresso pods more than once?
Returning to Reddit, users had mixed feelings about using Nespresso pods twice. One pointed out that while you could use the pods twice in the same drink for a more intense flavor, making two drinks with one pod wouldn’t work because it would make the coffee too weak. While a second wrote, “If your lattes taste fine to you then why not? Saves money, tastes OK – why worry?”
Amazon reviewers had said while running a pod through a second time was technically possible, it would make the resulting coffee too weak.
Indeed, not all redditors endorsed this method, with a third user citing all the potential problems that could come from running a pod twice.
“Running the pod the second time gives you more brownish colored, overextracted (AKA bitter) coffee; the caffeine is gone from before because it’s highly water soluble and, to top it off, puncturing new holes in the pod already spent will lead to coffee grounds and liquid to leak out of the brewing chamber, muddy the seals and eventually lead malfunctioning of the centrifugal valve and obscuring the barcode reader.”
The Daily Dot was unable to verify this independently.
On the Nespresso website, there’s no mention of running through coffee pods twice, but the company does mention that it sells pods specifically designed to be double espressos, which can be used on its Nespresso Vertuo machines.
Nespresso didn’t immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comment via email.
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