Carte Noire Coffee Pods for Nespresso

Ok you guys. This is it. The last one. (Unless someone else wants to send us free coffee...)

A while ago (actually an embarrassingly long time ago- Sorry Carte Noire people), the people at Carte Noire asked if I'd be interested in trying their Nespresso-compatible pods. And of course, I said yes. You know how we feel about free coffee in the Ameringlish household. When I told Ross about this development he was super-jazzed. He told me that, back when he used to drink instant coffee, Carte Noire was his go-to.

I'd received coffee from other companies before, but I was not prepared for what arrived on our doorstep a few days later.

A gorgeous box with a golden ribbon containing 4 boxes of Carte Noire pods (Nos. 3, 5, 7, 9) and two little espresso glasses. Ross was so excited he ran out to meet me to tell me about it when I got home.

The pods were really nice. We felt like the quality and taste were excellent. I most enjoyed No. 5- the Delicat. The Carte Noire pods are sealed in individual sachets, so they have that amazing coffee smell when you open the packet. Mmmmm, coffee.

The fact that these pods are available in stores, fits the way we use non-Nespresso pods. We tend to only buy them when we are low and won't be near the Trafford Centre (where the Nespresso store is) soon. The price is right what you'd actually want to pay. Of all the pods I've reviewed, these are the ones that we've actually gone out and bought ourselves after our free ones were gone (two boxes in Tesco for £4- deal!). I think they'll replace other pods that we used for this purpose in the past- namely Whittard's. The Carte Noire ones are just way better.

The Carte Noire pods fit our machine perfectly and never stuck or slipped through. You should double check compatibility if you have a newer machine, as some aren't a good match.

As for the little glasses that were included in our box, Ross is in love. Sadly, one broke in the dishwasher on second washing- a fact that Boden said was nearly impossible when we contacted them about a replacement. So now that we are down to one, Ross jealously guards it. The glass is made with a vacuum seal and double walls. They look pretty and are able to regulate temperature of both cold and hot drinks. We'll seriously consider buying some more of these in larger sizes, so thanks for introducing us Carte Noire.

I shall leave you with these coffee* buddies:

*ok, so they're actually drinking tea. But it's really cute and fits with the post better if you pretend it's coffee. So go with it.

(Like I said, Carte Noire sent me a beautiful box with 4 boxes of pods and 2 espresso glasses, but all the opinions in the post are mine, all mine.)

Fine Coffee Club Nespresso Pods

Well, it's that time... time for another coffee pod review. I never imagined that when I wrote a post about our Nespresso machine, I'd get so many offers of free coffee! But I did. So there. Mmmmm... free coffee...

One of the super-nice companies that got in touch to let us try their product was the Fine Coffee Club. The folks at the Fine Coffee Club were nice enough to send me 5 different varieties to try.

These pods range in price from 19p to 23p each and come in packs of 10. (They guarantee at least 20% off the prices listed on the official Nespresso site!) As you can see, they come in the long tubes like actual Nespresso branded pods. I love this. Not because tubes are my thing, but because that means that the pods are not in the annoying and bulky foil pods that every other alternative pod comes in. The Fine Coffee Club pods are so much nicer to throw in the bowl by my Nespresso machine. I especially love that the colors are bright and fun. It sounds silly, but Nespresso branded pods all tend to be a bit samey in the color- they're all very classy looking jewel tones in shiny metal. Sometimes, I don't want to be classy. I want hot pink and purple and electric blue! It's the little things.

The pods are recyclable plastic- though you do have to open them up and dump the grounds. If we had a garden, I'd love to be able to use them for compost! The other added bonus of the tube packaging is that the pods will fit in our postbox when delivered. No bulky box means no postman ringing our buzzer while Linus is napping. Hurrah!

Ross really loved the Rwandan Single Source and the Lungo. I liked all of them- though I never tried the Lungo, as I always have a latte. Ross is a rebel and makes them mostly as lungos regardless of the designation of any given pod. Even with this devil-may-care lack of adherence to the rules of coffee, he still really enjoyed the Fine Coffee Club pods. 

In the interest of honesty, we did notice that these pods weren't a perfect fit for the Nespresso machine. Sometimes the pod would fall through, rather than sit in the proper position while we closed the lever thingie. (Lever thingie is the technical term.) When that happened, it was easy enough to retrieve the pod from the clear drawer thingie (also a technical term) and put it back in. So not a major problem, but you do have to use a careful technique for insertion. 

All in all, we really liked the coffee that Fine Coffee Club sent us. And I also enjoyed the interactions I had with their team. I get the feeling that you'd be on the receiving end of attentive and personable customer service if you placed an order. So far, this brand is our number one choice for Nespresso-compatible coffee pods.

And in closing, I'll share this adorable video of Ross and Linus performing their nightly ritual. (It has nothing to do with coffee, but it's too cute not to share.)

*Like I said, Fine Coffee Club provided me with 50 pods of their coffee. All opinion are my own (and my interpretation of Ross') and I wouldn't lie to you!

Gourmesso Coffee Pods

I've already talked about one company's Nespresso-compatible pods, and while I hadn't intended to become an official reviewer of alternatives for Nespresso machine pods, several companies have contacted me. And, well, free coffee is not to be denied.

The nice people at Gourmesso offered us some coffee to review and we said "Heck yes!" I was pleasantly surprised that the Gourmesso capsules addressed one of the problems that I'd expressed about another pod. Namely, the packets that the pods come sealed in are color-coded and labelled.

Copper Packet of Caramel Coffee

I can dump the pods (in their cheerfully coloured foil packets) into the bowl next to my Nespresso machine and am still able to tell which kind is which!

The other thing that I loved about Gourmesso is that they offer flavoured coffee. While I was pregnant with Linus, I really went of sweets. To say that I made up for that once he was born is an understatement. I realized that my sugar intake had gotten out of control and decided to make an effort to cut down on sugar in my diet. (In our house, that does NOT equal switching to artificial sweeteners.) I started by cutting down on sugar in my coffee. I used to have 2 sugars and milk. I very quickly weaned myself down and now enjoy my morning coffee with no sugar. I realized that my brain had become programmed to expect sweetness. I think if I had sugar in my coffee now, I'd be disgusted. 

I do like a flavoured coffee from time to time, but the only option is generally to add a syrup. That syrup is either laden with sugar or laced with artificial sweeteners. The flavoured Gourmesso coffee pods for the Nespresso machine let me have a nice treat without the added sugar. We tried both the caramel and vanilla and they were both excellent. As far as I know, Gourmesso is the only alternative pod that offers flavoured options. A definite win for Gourmesso.

Gourmesso capsules are compatible with all Nespresso machines and are available starting at just £0.21 per pod. They offer free shipping on orders over £40.

*I was provided with 2 boxes of Gourmesso coffee pods at no charge. All opinions expressed in this post are my own.

A Different Option: Big Cup Little Cup Nespresso Pods

The other day Ross and I had a conversation.

Ross: People are talking about Gravity. Have we heard about it?
Me: Yes. It's with Sandra Bullock and George Clooney in space. We watched her on The Daily Show the other day talking about it.
Ross: George Clooney?
Me: Yes. (pause and eye roll) No. Sandra Bullock.
Ross: (confidently) George Clooney is the one in the Nespresso Commercials.
Me: Yes. That is what he's primarily known for. (huge eye roll)

That's what Ross said.

The best ways to get Ross' attention are by relating something to coffee, British comedy from the first half of the 20th century, or Frasier. He's a unique snowflake.

All this to say that coffee is important in our house. You might remember when I told you about our coffee machine, the aforementioned Nespresso. We are still really happy with it more than 2 years later. Well the people at Big Cup Little Cup read that post and offered me the chance to try some of their coffee for free in exchange for reviewing their product.

Needless to say, I was super-excited to get my first product review offer. Who doesn't love free stuff!?! I knew Ross would be thrilled to. He replied "Free coffee is my second favorite kind of coffee!" Clearly, good coffee is in first place. With free AND good coffee taking a special place above the ranking system. It's very scientific.

Let me tell you a little bit about what Big Cup Little Cup has to offer. They are a smaller company that is trying to take on the might of Nestle and offer an alternative to discerning coffee drinkers with Nespresso machines. They are a UK-based company who offer 9 different varieties of coffee in pods that are guaranteed compatible with most Nespresso machines (check which ones here). They also offer free shipping on all orders over £50.

One of the boxes we were sent. And one of the pod packets.

 

We received two different varieties to try: Millers Yard Espresso (Little Cup) and Highwire (Big Cup). One thing I like is the simple labelling system. It tells you right on the box whether your coffee is meant to be made as a "Big Cup" or a "Little Cup". With the Nespresso pods, I can never remember which fancily named "flavour" should be made which way. BCLC makes it easy as I know just from looking at the box which button on our machine I should push- the one with the picture of the big cup or the little cup. It would be even better if packets the pods come in were marked too. I like to put my pods in a bowl next to the Nespresso machine and I couldn't do that because the two varieties were indistinguishable if they weren't in their boxes.

Now lets talk about the biggest advantage of BCLC pods. What is the best thing about coffee? I'll tell you. The smell. Mmmmmmm. Fresh grounds. Nespresso pods don't smell at all. Once you open the packet that a BCLC pod comes in you get a huge whiff of delicious coffee smell. So good.

Too bad there's not smell-a-vison.

 

I found the coffee to be on similar par with other non-Nespresso pods. BUT! But, Big Cup Little Cup offers more varieties and can be recycled pretty easily. You don't have to drop them off or arrange for a pick up like with the Nespresso pods. You can just take care of it yourself. You can even make use of the grounds for compost! The styles that we tried were both 10 strength (the strongest they offer). Ross and I both agreed that they tasted more like a filter coffee than an espresso-based drink. That was sort of nice as there's no real way to make a traditionally brewed coffee with Nespresso pods. It's always good to have options. I'd have to try some more BCLC varieties to see if this is common across all their styles, or unique to the ones we tried. We found the taste to be good and the price even less than the Nespresso-branded pods. In addition, the customer service was great. It felt like a real personal touch that you wouldn't get from a big company.

Cutest cup of coffee ever

If you're looking for alternative pods for your Nespresso machine, I'd encourage you to give Big Cup Little Cup a try! You can't have a Linus coffee mug though. That would just be creepy.

**Big Cup Little Cup provided us with 2 boxes of their pods to try in exchange for a review. They didn't compensate me in any other way. All of the opinions expressed are my own. No one tells me what to say, buddy.**

It's about the egg cup...

There are many times in my relationship with Ross where I've asked a variation of this question:

"Is that because you're British, or because you're you?"

Something happens, or he says something, and I wonder- is his reaction/answer weird to me because of our cultural differences, or because he's a weird guy. (A wonderful, kooky, lovely, weird guy.) Sometimes, he's not sure. Then I have to ask my friends about it so they can tell me if it's a cultural thing or a Ross thing.

And now, an example.

Are you familiar with egg cups? If you are British, the answer is "Certainly!". I'm not sure any more, but I don't think I'd ever heard of one before moving to the UK. They go crazy for them here.

standard issue egg cup

There are cute ones, funny ones, personalized ones, fancy ones. They are often sold in gift sets. There even exists such a thing as an egg cozy. You know, to keep your egg warm in the brief period of time between when goes into the egg cup and when you eat it.

Get a whole book about them!

Anyway. I get that they are a British staple. I get that they are commonly used- a standard English breakfast food is Eggs & Soldiers. I think I might have used one a couple of times. Ross uses one maybe once a month.

The thing is... we have at least 11. And that's just ones I can think of off the top of my head. Because they're visible in my kitchen without opening any cabinets or digging around. So there are probably more squirrelled away in the recesses of our flat. ELEVEN! For 2 people.

Why? Is this a British thing? To have more egg cups than your household needs? To have several sets of different designs and styles? Or is it just because my husband's family is weird? And likes egg cups to an excessive extent?

In closing, I present a clip from one of my favorite episodes of one of my favorite British sitcoms. It's long, but there's no good way to explain the title of this post without watching quite a bit.

FYI. It's not about the egg cup. 

Is there anything that you randomly have a lot of? Please, tell me I'm not alone.

Word of the Week

cilantrocoriander

Herbtastic

Definition: a leafy herb that tends to be polarizing (people either dig it or HATE it)

Used in a sentence: I love a nice pico de gallo with tomatoes, onion, and cilantrocoriander.

Baby Led Weaning

We are pretty healthy eaters around here. That is mostly thanks to Ross.  He is a vegaquarian or a pescaterian (or whatever silly word you want to call someone who doesn't eat meat or chicken) so that means that's how we eat. It's certainly not that I'm not allowed to eat meat at home- sometimes I do- but it's just easier to cook the same thing for both of us. I can't tell you how much my diet has improved since meeting Ross! We keep making changes to find healthier options. Ross even made some major sugar changes recently. He's definitely better than I am, but we're both committed to eating less processed and more natural foods.

It only made sense, then, when we thought about starting Linus on solids that we would explore the options. I'd read on many blogs and learned from our Health Visitor that the World Health Organization recommends that babies be exclusively breast fed for the first 6 months. I also kept reading about something called Baby Led Weaning. It really made sense to me to skip the purees altogether and go straight to actual food.

We started Linus slightly after he reached 6 months. He was ready. He could sit up well and was showing interest in food. So we ordered a high chair.

First time in his new high chair.

It hasn't always been smooth sailing. Linus' first food was courgettezucchini. I over-steamed it slightly so it didn't hold up that well to chubby baby hands.

Next was sweet potato. Which I slightly under-steamed, making it too tough for him really chew.

We learned that grapes, bananas, and avocado work much better when put in a mesh feeder bag.

And that this face can mean new flavour, not necessarily bad flavour.

Yoghurt face is super-cute.

Who knew babies could like lettuce?

Cheese omlettes are a big hit! So are avocados, fresh mozzarella, pears and yoghurt.

Funnily enough, though some people might view doing BLW as "weird" or fringe, all 3 of my favorite mom friends are doing BLW too. We didn't plan it, but it made sense to all of us and seems to be working well!

Have you tried any new or "weird" parenting techniques?

Any suggestions of new foods I should try?

Cheerful Sunday

Sure, these don't look like much now that they're frozen, but once they're cooked look out! These carrot burgers that I whipped up are delicious and chock full of healthy stuff. A much better (and tastier) option than the usual soya/filler "veggie" burgers, they use actual veggies! Now that I've made orange burgers, I'm going to try my hand at creating a whole rainbow of varieties!

I made enough to have 2 burgers that night, 4 are in the freezer and I've even got four mini patties to cook up for Linus.

Word of the Week

groundbeefmince

Mooo!

Definition: beef finely chopped in a meat grinder

Used in a sentence: The best way to make a hamburger is using nice, slightly fatty groundbeefmince.

Cheerful Sunday

We had a fun time at the Bolton Food and Drink Festival today, even though it was pouring down rain.
We took shelter in one of the food tents and enjoyed some fresh pancakes (thin, crepe style)- lemon and sugar for me, apple and cinnamon for Ross.

We got some delicious fresh French bread and very tasty crumbly Lancashire cheese.

How wonderful to have fun, even when conditions are less than ideal!

Word of the Week

Whinewhinge

Whineywhingey baby

Definition: to be generally unsettled and let people know it by complaining

Used in a sentence: If there aren't any pickles in the house, Ross starts to whinewhinge.

Visions of Grocers

Yesterday I was visiting with some of my new mom friends (holla Jess, Suzy, and Clare!) and we were talking about the difference between customer service in the US and UK. I said that I'd love to train retail and restaurant workers on proper customer service. Waitstaff who never check on you or act put out if you want a refill of your water irritate me. The people who stand at the entrance of Next (a department store) drive me bonkers. I assume they are meant to be "greeters" a post I filled often when I worked in retail. In the US, this person cheerfully welcomes people to the store, informs them of any sales and encourages them to ask for help if it's needed. In the UK, however, it seems that this person is meant to awkwardly and pointlessly hover by the entrance. From time to time they may shyly make eye contact and tentatively smile. The very bold ones might mumble something about "Do you receive the catalogue?" as you walk past. It seems an utterly pointless thing to have a staff member do if they aren't actually going to do anything.  (Oops.  Are my crazies showing? I think so.)

At any rate, I was relating a story about when Ross and I were dating and he'd come visit me in Dallas.  My apartment was in walking distance to a Tom Thumb.

Not this one, but one a lot like it.

While I was at work, Ross would work from my apartment and often walk to the store and buy some food. Often times, he would actually cook dinner for me too. He's a keeper! Very early on, we went to the store together and all of the employees made eye contact and said "Hello".  Many asked how we were doing or wished us a nice day. Ross leaned over and whispered to me "Do you know them?" I laughed, confused why he was so bewildered.  After living in the UK for over 2 years now, I get it.  

After telling this story, one of my friends said that they loved that I call it a "grocery store". I paused, caught off-guard, never having thought to call it anything else. I asked what I should be calling it. She declared that I should never stop calling it that because it made her envision me shopping at a quaint little shop served by men in striped aprons, surrounded by fresh fruit and veg. I started to correct her, but she cheerfully insisted that I not ruin her illusion. There are some that are a bit like that. Central Market and Whole Foods are the best grocery stores known to man, even they don't quite fit that image. In my experience, American grocery stores and British supermarkets are pretty similar. 

I learned afterwards that someone in the UK would call it a "supermarket", though most often I find that people say the name of the actual store they are going to (Morrison's, Sainsbury, Tesco, Asda, etc.). Ross and I were discussing that "supermarket" is actually an American term, but it's not one that I would ever think of using in the sentence "I'm going to the supermarket later to pick up some bananas".  It strikes my ear strangely. Just, I'm sure, in the way that "grocery store" strikes the ears of my British friends. I don't find it strange to think of a store a supermarket, but to actually refer to it as one is another story. 

I think Clare is safe as I can't imagine calling it anything but a grocery store... If you need me I'll be spreading false images of the American grocery shopping.

Wait, what would a British person say instead of "I have to do the grocery shopping?" or "Tonight I'm shopping for groceries?"?
I just asked Ross and he wasn't able to offer any clarity...
Would it be something like "doing the weekly shop"?
I don't think I'll ever stop coming across these little fun idosyncracies! Isn't learning about a new culture fun!?

Sick

It isn't often any more that I get tripped up by word meaning differences, but the other day I had the following conversation.

First, let me set the scene:

Ross and I took our nephew to Katsouri's for lunch.  Katsouri's is a very tasty deli in Manchester (there's also one in Bury) that we like to frequent.  We'd go in for lunch maybe once a week when I was pregnant and have been in once since Linus arrived.  There's one lady in particular who usually takes our order and was very excited when we brought Linus in and made a big fuss over him.  The deli is pretty tightly packed at lunch time with not much room to manoeuvre a stroller, so I was wearing Linus.

We arrived and were standing by the refrigerator case picking out our freshly made sandwiches.  (Side note: I recommend The Olympus [hummus, feta, grilled peppers, olives, lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers] or the Bacon, Brie and Cranberry [those things plus lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers].  Delicious!!)  The woman came rushing over to say hello with a big smile on her face.  She coo-ed over Linus' adorableness and how sweet he looked in his sling.

Woman:  He's been sick.

Me:  No.  He's been fine.

Woman:  (looking confused) No.  He's been sick.

Me:  (even more confused) No.  We've been fine.  Just haven't been in for awhile.

Woman:  (so confused, firmly) He has.  He's been sick!

I finally look down and see some spit up on Linus' shirt.  The woman hadn't been telling me that we hadn't been in because Linus had had a cold or something.  She was telling me that he'd spit up.  I forgot that "sick" here means vomit.  As in "Oops.  You've got some sick in your hair!"  The way Americans use sick is usually called "ill" here.  So if you say to a Brit "I feel sick", don't be surprised if they hand you a trash can.  

Anyway... we had a nice laugh when I explained my confusion and then I grabbed a rag and cleaned Linus' shirt.  Then I ate a tasty Bacon, Brie and Cranberry sandwich, a few olives, and split a caramel chocolate square with my nephew.

The end.

Light and Tasty Summer Salad

I made this salad for dinner tonight.  Well technically I made it last night and then we ate it tonight.  The friend who recommended the recipe (as well as some of the comments on the webpage) indicated that it's actually better after sitting for a day, so I made it ahead.

ZucchiniCourgette Summer Salad

I used Israeli Couscous instead of quinoa and added lemon zest and halved kalamata olives.  It was very yummy.  It tasted summery and fresh and lovely.  Ross was a fan and went back for more after his original helping.  (I have to introduce new kinds of food with caution, as he can be set in what he "likes" to eat.)

This dish was great because it was easy to throw together, with almost no cooking- only the couscous!  It was really nice to know I just needed to pull it out of the fridge at dinner time.  I served with a crusty bread and a green salad.  Easy peasy.  I could definitely see this at a picnic, cookout or covered dish.  

What are your favorite easy summer recipes?

Cheerful Sunday

So yummy!

Word of the Week

checkbill

Are you being served?

Definition:  The itemized document presented at the end of a meal in a restaurant which indicates the amount due to the restaurant in exchange for the food, drinks, and service provided.

Used in a sentence:  When you have a moment, may I have the checkbill, please?

I don't think that word means what you think it means

I had to laugh the other day when we were at the grocery store and I saw this:

These watermelons were slightly larger than canteloupes.  I don't know that I've ever seen a watermelon that small in Texas... never mind calling them giant!  

Isn't it funny the difference in perception based on what you're used to?  Here, these truly are giant watermelons (and shockingly uniform in size and shape!).  I've never seen any bigger.  In the US, I don't know that I've ever seen one this small.  

Makes me wonder what causes this difference... Anyone know?

Maybe climate? 

Cheerful Sunday

A few nights ago I was making dinner.
I was preparing Jersey Royals and found the most awesome potato ever!

It made me almost irrationally happy.  I summoned Ross to view it with great excitement.  Luckily for me, he thought it was just as cool as I did.  We sure are dorks.

So our dorkiness and my love of heart shaped carbs is a great reason to be cheerful!

Word of the Week

rutabagaswede

He was rooting through my rutabagaswedes*

Definition: a root vegetable that is a cross between a turnip and a cabbage

Used in a sentence:  British people seem to use a lot more rutabagaswedes in their cooking, especially to make a mash.

*Sondheim only used the US word for some reason...

Word of the Week

Sprinkleshundredsandthousands

Donutlicious!

Definition:  Tiny pieces of sugar candy used to decorate desserts, generally multi-coloured 

Used in a sentence:  Looking at that picture of a chocolate donut covered in sprinklehundredsandthousands is making me want one really badly!