Pods promise the seductive smoothness of an espresso, just minus the faff! But is this for real? And should you buy a pod machine for your relatives this Christmas? We look at the case for pods from every possible angle. We cut them up, time them, try to recycle them and taste them! Jools is open to the idea of pods, but can she convince Scott, the planet’s biggest pod-hater, that pods might actually have a place in our kitchens? To help settle the bickering, James speaks to Nathan McCarley-O'Neill (Assistant Food and Beverage Director and co-author of Claridge's The Cocktail Book) and carries out a taste-test experiment between a pulled shot vs pod coffee. We pick up the phone with sustainability journalist David Burrows and try to untangle the massive recycling mess us poor consumers face every time we puncture one of these small capsules. And to cap things off, we decamp to Casa Bentley for an especially ridiculous espresso drag race! ------------- Come join our Patreon Community to support the show: https://bit.ly/3vrispx Discover how much CO2 is produced in each litre of Oatly compared to cow's milk: http://bit.ly/3aidSA3 Help other people find the show by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts: http://apple.co/39iTRdk Click to buy Claridge's The Cocktail Book by Nathan McCarley-O'Neill and Denis Broci: https://bit.ly/3qiKFOM Try the Volcano coffee pods we tasted on the show for yourself. Nespresso compatible, and commercially compostable: https://bit.ly/3H0RryE Read David Burrows’ writing on sustainability here: https://bit.ly/3qqBnQK Follow us on Instagram! Scott Bentley / Caffeine Magazine: https://bit.ly/3oijQ91 Jools Walker / Lady Velo: http://bit.ly/39VRGew James Harper / Filter Stories: https://bit.ly/2Mlkk0O Elevator Muzak: Royalty Free Music from Bensound.com