Coffee, capsule & Nespresso® Machine FAQs
Here are a selection of useful FAQs and answers about our eco coffees, compostable pods & pouches. For our pod drinking customers there’s lots of great advice and troubleshooting to help you get the best performance from your Nespresso® machine too.
If you’ve been given some Blue Goose bean or ground coffees or you’re just after some super useful brewing tips and tricks then our coffee brewing guides cover how to create the perfect mug of coffee each and every time.
New to our eco Nespresso Compatible Pods?
Then we definitely recommend re-programming & cleaning your Nespresso® machine so visit our Nespresso® compatible pod brewing guide for top tips for creating the perfect mug of Blue Goose eco coffee pods each and every time!
Compatible with ‘Traditional Drop Through’ Nespresso® machines, our compostable capsules deliver exceptional speciality coffees each and every brew, without the guilt. So models such as the Nespresso® Pixie machine, the Essenza, CitiZ and Inissia, for example. They are not designed for the new Vertuo machines that Nespresso offer, which take more of a UFO shaped capsule.
This is vital to get the very best Blue Goose cuppa!
Your machine comes pre-programmed to deliver a Nespresso-capsule-specific amount of water but our capsules are best enjoyed as a 25ml Ristretto or a 35ml Espresso, so you’ll want to reset your Nespresso® machine as the coffee to water ratio is key to achieving the best possible coffee from our eco capsule range and re-calibrating your Nespresso® is therefore really important. We’d therefore heartily recommend you read our Nespresso® Hints & Tips blog post to set yourself up for wonderful capsule coffee every time!
To fully appreciate all the complex, and intense flavours our capsule coffees deliver, we’d recommend you first drink them without adding any milk, so as black Espresso or Lungo coffees. Shock horror for those who love a milky coffee, but once you try it you’ll soon see why so many people are getting more into their coffee these days as they discover what coffee really should taste like! You see, to achieve a consistent taste many (most!) capsule companies simply dark roast their beans as it’s the only way they can ensure their coffee tastes the same each time. But that means the coffee generally doesn’t taste, well…good.
>> Enjoy an eco-espresso! If you love a good espresso, then try our Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee capsules. Fragrant and clean, you’ll love the subtle notes of fruity spice with hints of chocolate. This espresso is more about enjoying a complex mix of flavours than a bitter, dark hit of coffee.
>> For lungo lovers and milk fans: If you like a long coffee or a good bit of steamed and frothy milk in your coffee, then our Lungo eco pods or our Swiss Water decaf pods or our Peruvian eco coffee capsules are for you (although our Ethiopian capsules also taste great with a splash!). Don’t put too much milk in there though, or you’ll mask the more subtle flavours and it’ll be more akin to high street coffee, aka warmed milk hehehe…
Our Peruvian will give a smooth lungo style drink with hints of cocoa. Weird to think you’ll taste all of these flavours in a coffee isn’t it…but that’s what a lighter roast and quality coffee bean will bring to the table, versus overly-roasted beans. Our Swiss Water Decaf coffee capsules will give you a slightly indulgent lungo without the caffeine kick. Whichever you choose, have a lovely guilt-free mug of the good stuff!
Depending on the Nespresso® machine model you own and the water hardness where you live, we’d recommend descaling every 6-12 months.
Find the specific Nespresso® machine troubleshooting advice for your model, where you can also see a whole section on descaling your Nespresso® machine. As for a descaler to use, we’d recommend the organic certified Cafetto@Home eco pod/capsule coffee machine cleaner available on Amazon.
Nespresso® give some brief advice on their website that should help you to solve machine issues yourself at home, but should the problem persist you should visit the Nespresso Club Assistance webpage, then just select your Nespresso® machine model and you can then access Nespresso® instructions guides and videos as well as troubleshooting guides. You should also download the Nespresso maintenance guide for your machine to get specific advice. In the meantime here is a summary of common issues and solutions from Nespresso’s own website::
>The machine doesn’t switch on: check the power cord and fuses.
>The coffee isn’t warm enough: preheat your cups and descale your machine. Also, try running a shot to flush out your machine and the water will heat your cup at the same time.
>No coffee extraction: clean and descale if necessary.
>Leakage in capsule area: clean the capsule holder and ensure the capsule is inserted correctly.
>No hot water or steam: clean and descale if necessary.
> The milk doesn’t froth: clean the frothing device. We also recommend using semi-skimmed milk.
> No water flow: fill the tank and make sure it is correctly inserted.
The Swiss Water® Process uses the elements of water, temperature and time to create decaff coffee. In their own words: “Swiss Water® is the innovative craft of using pure water to gently remove caffeine. Our 100% chemical-free process decaffeinates coffee in small batches.
This means we can remove caffeine from very select amounts of Speciality Coffee. Coffee that is grown and harvested with the utmost care. Coffee that we’re excited to taste. Coffee that once decaffeinated, will still taste every bit as delicious as it did before we got our hands on it!”.
What this means is that you are helping minimise the use of industrial chemicals in the coffee decaffeination process, and thanks to our environmentally friendly Swiss Water Decaf capsules you are minimising the waste that goes into landfill or the energy and emissions used to get your used capsules back to Nespresso® for recycling. Not a bad argument to make the switch…
Please visit our compostable FAQs page for useful and informative insights, tips and advice on everything you need to know about our compostable and biodegradable coffee products.

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