Lavazza Gran Crema Espresso, 0.25-Ounce Pods (Pack of 150)

10 Review to this product

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  Vladimir Tankhimovich
  September 11th, 2010 on 11:34 pm

  Rating

  I recently switched from Illy espresso membership to Amazon Lavazza subscription and very glad I did. I don’t care how loosely they are packed – Lavazza pods produce better tasting and much stronger coffee than Illy. Not to mention the price difference.
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  Sam G. Mubara
  September 13th, 2010 on 12:42 pm

  Rating

  Probably the best ese pods in the market. they taste better the the much more expensive Illy pods. These pods made me decide on buying a top of the line semiautomatic double boiler espresso machine with a Mazzer mini grinder and enjoy the beans in addition.
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  Tucker Mac
  September 14th, 2010 on 4:49 pm

  Rating

  Makes my espresso better than Starbucks by far. Just open a pod and the smell is like no other coffee. The POD system makes is easy to clean up. I use it in my espresso machine in my office. I am working on my second case of Lavazza Gran Crema. You can’r go wrong with it.
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  B. Speer
  September 15th, 2010 on 4:32 am

  Rating

  Let me qualify myself. Been brewing espresso for about ten years. Last five years using fairly high end equipment and superior beans ground for each cup. Nearly all the time I make my espresso straight with a quarter tea spoon sugar and no milk. Therefore my espresso reflects the flavor of the type of bean with a light softening of the bitterness by sugar.

  All this experience indicates beans taste best immediately after roasting and/or opening a vacuum bag. Taste and crema amount tapor off in the first week quite a bit. Personal tastes may come to other conclusions but freshness makes a big difference.

  Bought two fifty pod bags of espresso. Among those the Lavazza Gran Crema was best of the twenty five varieties (four each) I tasted. Your taste might be different. This Lavazza Gran Crema is smoother, less bitter, and hints at some pleasant subtle flavors I found unique with a hint of cinnamon?

  Perhaps more important than this particular pod expresso is the clear conclusion for me that pods produce much better espresso flavors than all my efforts to brew from freshly ground beans. Clean up to a lot easier and each shot consistantly fresh due to the foil containers. It is possible over time even the foil wrapping will not prevent loss of flavor I do not know. There is no date on wrapped pods.

  Bottom line: Pod espresso is superior to grinding your own. Freshness is more consistant. Clean up is a LOT easier. Time from start to finish is much less. Now I grind only for regular coffee.

  IMPORTANT for POD brewing with my machine is plenty of warm up time for espresso machine which reduces amount of extraction in normal brew time of TWENTY TWO SECONDS plus or minus a few seconds. Too short warm up can double ounces extracted in given time. And it is possible that some brands of pods allow too much liquid to pass in twenty two seconds which is the standard time generally accepted.

  Have you noticed these pods are the same concept as the Nespresso machines and other similar types? However pods offer more variety and more competition among suppliers can lead to lower prices if you buy the 150 pods size.

  Some other pods would get four or less and my own extractions would get only three stars compared to this Lavazza Gran Crema pod. My scratch espresso is pretty darn good in my humble opinion. Are pods the future of espresso? Some may miss the ritual details of making the long way. For flavor it would be interesting to “blind test” from scratch espresso to the most popular pods brands.

  After reading most of the other comments: I agree that these and many other pods produce too much water volume in twenty two seconds. Besides allowing more warm up time I will try pressing pod into portafilter and twisting portafilter a little tighter to reduce water volume in twenty two seconds.
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  GardenGoddess
  September 15th, 2010 on 5:58 pm

  Rating

  I was hesitant about ordering these pods because of the one poor review they had received. However, I found these pods to be identical to the Lavazza ESE pods that I had bought from other merchants: the same amount of coffee, the same tamped pressure, and the same wonderful flavor of Lavazza espresso. I changed my order to a subscription order and the significant savings makes this coffee even tastier! I use a Briel espresso machine and have only good things to say about these pods.
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  Shannie AKA 'TheJavaGoddess'
  September 15th, 2010 on 7:52 pm

  Rating

  I’m puzzled, particularly by the person who had trouble with a FrancisFrancis machine. I have 2 X5 machines and these fit perfectly in both. Did they send a defective batch? Does your machine need to be broken down and cleaned? If I dont keep the more tempermental of my two machines spotless, it rewards me with symptoms as some reviewers mention. That being said, this is the best price around for Lavazza ESE pods. A nice espresso without the harsh toast.
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  Fun Traveler
  September 16th, 2010 on 4:08 am

  Rating

  this is a great little espresso pod- lots of crema, great taste and my husband has tried many brands. you can get a lot of espresso out of 2 pods (fills his espresso cup up to the top) without sacrificing quality. and with Amazon’s auto ship program, the price is about a quarter a pod- unheard of for this quality! Buy a Gaggia espresso machine and you can say goodbye to expensive store coffee forever and enjoy it fresh in your own home.Gaggia 14101 Classic Espresso Machine, Brushed Stainless Steel
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  J. Zambetti
  September 17th, 2010 on 2:37 am

  Rating

  Great Espresso Pod. I use it with my Breville 800. Good flavor, and its quick and easy to dispose. At first I was running into problems with the pod but followed anothers advice and now it works great. You need to wet the pod filter first, then put the pod in and tamp it down. The moisture on the filter helps hold the pod down. Other than that it works great. Buy with subscribtion and save…
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  Dominick
  September 17th, 2010 on 3:21 am

  Rating

  Lavazza coffee the best!! this package is an awesome deal got it in record time. The pods are so simple,fast and clean to use when I throw parties I can bang out coffee’s faster that a Italian social club,
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  Camilo
  September 17th, 2010 on 2:50 pm

  Rating

  I have a Francis Francis X1, and I read a couple of reviews about people’s pods not being packed tightly enough. I noticed this on the first brewing and just chose a smaller setting tightening the filter holder onto the machine a little tighter. With the Illy pods I would usually pick the large size “espresso lungo,” but now I just tighten it down a setting to “espresso” or medium size.

  I like the flavor of these pods a lot better than the Illy ones, and they’re a lot cheaper and easier to buy in bulk. I had previously tried the Illy regular AND dark roast. I’m not a connoisseur by any means, but I really like the flavor of the Lavazza better for making lattes. Overall, I’m 100% satisfied with the product and will definitely stock up with the same ones when I run out.