When I started this trip I stocked up on Urban Brew biodegradable coffee pods. They’ve served me well and I’ve been enjoying a daily brew happy in the knowledge that I haven’t been leaving a trail of plastic pods to sit in landfill until the end of time. Well, a long time at least.
When I left I also packed a couple of Pod Star refillable pods although haven’t really used them because where we’ve been, good coffee beans are just as hard to find as a good cup of joe.
So I put in an order with my temporary travelling companions to bring a bag of my favourite Ona blend all the way from the National Capital, and I took delivery of it a couple of weeks ago when we all caught up in Blackall. Over the past few days I’ve been playing around with the refillable pods, attempting to come up with the perfect brew.
So what’s the verdict? With the right beans, correctly ground, it is possible to get a good coffee from these pods. You do have to use two of them (the makers recommend two pods per cup) and it takes a bit of playing around to get the right amount of grounds in the pod, packed not too firm and not too loose. I set the machine to pour one lungo and one espresso which gives me a nice strong cup. And as long as I can get fresh good quality beans, I’ll happily keep using them (just not when I’m in a hurry!).
As we hit the coast I’m expecting there’ll be plenty of locally sourced coffee beans to keep me going until I can grab another bag of Ona.
Oh happy day … (half) decent coffee!!