11 Best Nespresso Pods For Making Irish Coffee

There's no drink quite like Irish coffee. Warming, rich, and complex, an Irish coffee is any coffee lover's dream cocktail. Made with nothing more than Irish whiskey, coffee, and whipped cream (and maybe a little brown sugar), Irish coffees are incredibly easy to make at home — especially with our 10 tips for the best Irish coffee. What makes the drink even easier, however, is using Nespresso pods to make the coffee.

With nearly 100 different Nespresso pods to choose from (some of which rotate in and out as limited-edition flavors), you might be wondering how you can possibly pick a pod that makes the perfect Irish coffee. As a former barista, I'm here to tell you which are most likely to make the best base for this classic cocktail.

The fun part about Irish coffee is just how much you can mix things up. You can have two completely different drinks that both appropriately fall under the name "Irish coffee," with different people using different brews and booze for each mug. With that in mind, I've picked a range of coffees you can try when you're whipping up your next digestif. Whether you're looking for a medium roast to balance out a strong liquor or you want something dark and bitter, there's a Nespresso pod for every flavor of Irish coffee you can dream of.

When it comes to Irish coffee, the Fortado pod is one of Nespresso's top recommendations. And it's easy to see why — it's a chocolatey dark roast that has a lot of body and can make 5 ounces of coffee, giving you more liquid to enjoy. After all, this drink isn't called an Irish espresso.

Fortado is an underrated Nespresso pod for many. It's bold and strong, but it's not so powerful that it becomes off-putting. Naturally, this pod will become even stronger with the addition of alcohol, so be ready for a rich and extra warming drink. Using whipped cream to top this brew will help to cut through some of the strength that the Fortado pods have, which makes them delightful to use for this mixed drink. For the best cup, try this simple spoon trick to create the perfect whipped cream topping for your Irish coffee.

Another bonus of the Fortado pods is that they come in a decaf variety. If you enjoy the taste of an Irish coffee but find that you want a drink that's a little less energizing, then the Fortado decaf pods are the perfect Irish coffee replacement.

If you love a strong and exciting drink, then an Irish coffee made with Nespresso's Cape Town blend is the drink for you. Cape Town isn't for the faint of heart. Nespresso describes it as packing a bit of bitterness — which, if you're familiar with Cape Town's coffee culture, might not be much of a surprise to you.

The great part about the Cape Town pod is its natural woodsy flavor. It's grounded, earthy, and smooth on the palette. It's a well-balanced pod that tastes deeply roasted and darkly bitter. This is another pod that's well-matched for an Irish coffee given its size, making 3.7 ounces of coffee. Somewhat uniquely, Cape Town also uses Robusta beans, which give the brew more bite (and a lot less acidity) than Arabica beans.

This pod's intensity is what makes it a great match for an Irish coffee. The earthy base notes of this brew make it a great match for Irish whiskeys that range in profile from sweet to spicy to fruity. It's a good partner for pretty much any Irish whiskey you can think of. It also pairs well with traditional Irish whiskey sweeteners — usually brown sugar, but maple syrup is also used. If you want to elevate your Irish coffee with spiced cinnamon syrup, this intense Nespresso pod is a great match for that, too.

Another 3.7-ounce pod, Stockholm is a bitter brew that boasts a bit more acidity, a two out of five on Nespresso's scale. It's a dark roast that has a complex flavor profile: hints of chocolate, malty sweetness, and bitterness from the roasted beans all come together.

Some fans of Stockholm say that the pod is not quite as intimidatingly bitter as the description on Nespresso's website makes it sound. This means that the pod is a good pick for those who like stronger drinks as well as those who are just starting out with making their own Irish coffees. Also, if you're trying to find a good pod to help you explore Irish coffees with dark roasts (rather than medium roasts), Stockholm could be a good first pick for you — especially if you add a little extra whipped cream on top.

Stockholm will pair beautifully with any sweet or spicy Irish whiskey. The malty flavors of Nespresso's Stockholm pods are a perfect match for whiskeys with complex, rich, and warming flavor profiles. For classics like Jameson Irish Whiskey, Stockholm could be another fantastic pairing — the spices, nuttiness, and floral notes of the whiskey are an exciting match for a coffee that's both sweet and slightly bitter.

If you've been waiting for a coffee that's a little less dark and bitter, Arondio is the pod for you. Nespresso describes its intensity as "gentle," and sure enough, this pod has a medium roast level. Keep in mind that this pod is still relatively bitter, but it has a lot of acidity to help balance that out. It has notes of nuts and cereal — two flavors that compliment the sweet, spicy, and nutty notes of Irish whiskeys. You might also find that a more fruity Irish whiskey will pair well with the Arondio pods.

If you're a fan of Fortado pods — either alone or in an Irish coffee — then Arondio is another great pick for you. Some coffee drinkers describe the two as relatively similar. Because Arondio is well-rounded and generally agreeable, it's a good base for adding Irish whiskey. It makes a coffee that isn't extraordinarily caffeinated and features solid base notes that pair well with most kinds of Irish whiskey.

Stormio — as its name implies — is a beautifully complicated and intense brew. Its strong tasting notes mean you'll need to find a whiskey that pairs well with all of its unique flavors, but it's well worth the work. It has base notes that are woodsy, it's extremely full-bodied, and has bitterness that manages to pack a gentle punch.

The pod also boasts flavors of spice and cereal, adding to its earthy taste. When paired with a sweeter Irish whiskey, it makes a great Irish coffee. If you're looking for something even more daring and bold, pairing it with a spicy whiskey will give you an extra-warming winter drink that's sure to wake up all your senses. Stormio is a 7.7-ounce coffee pod, which makes it the perfect size for serving with a splash of whiskey (or a little more than that) for a truly traditional Irish coffee

Nespresso's pour-over style pods are one of the best matches for Irish coffee. These pods are delightfully smoky and woodsy, and when we compared pour-over style pods to Nespresso's cold-brew pods, we found that the pour-over pods taste just like a classic medium roast brew — giving you the type of Irish coffee you might find at a bar or late-night coffeehouse. 

They're not too bitter, which makes them good for an Irish coffee with a less punchy aftertaste. The pour-over pods also create that special, hard-to-achieve flavor profile that almost every kind of coffee drinker can appreciate. This makes them a really solid starting point for an Irish coffee.

One pro (or con) of the pods — depending on how many Irish coffees you want to make — is that they are XL style, the largest style of Nespresso pod there is. This means that you'll be brewing 12 to 18 ounces of coffee for each pod you use. As long as you've got a friend to drink with (or if you're just looking for a long night of coffee-filled bliss), then these pods have zero flaws. But if you want to stick to one Irish coffee at a time, your best bet is to brew the full pod, put half in a thermos, and refrigerate it for later. It can be used for another Irish coffee later on — or to take the edge off the headache you might be troubled with the following morning.

The Bianco Forte pod is a great pick for an Irish coffee that is balanced yet punchy. The main reason for this is that the blend is made to be drunk with milk. In order to create a good balance between the milk and coffee, Nespresso makes Bianco Forte very roasted and bitter, with cereal notes that are flavorful enough to punch straight through any latte. Obviously, a traditional Irish coffee isn't made with milk. But it does have a beautiful topping of sweet whipped cream, which helps create the same flavors and sweetness that Bianco Forte is made to pair with. 

The Bianco Forte pod is well-loved by black coffee drinkers because of its intensity, making it a great pick if you like a strong drink. But because Irish coffee is typically sweetened with sugar, Bianco Forte is still a good choice if you're a fan of a well-sweetened Irish brew. Since Nespresso designed this pod to be paired with the sweetness and creaminess of milk, adding sweetener to the Bianco Forte Irish coffee creates a smooth, easy, and well-balanced flavor. As another bonus, Bianco Forte pairs especially well with brown sugar because of its earthy cereal flavors.

A blend of both Arabica and Robusta beans, Intenso is an extremely full-bodied coffee. The most amazing thing about this Nespresso pod is that it already comes with flavors of sweet brown sugar, which makes it a classic pairing for Irish coffee — whether you're sweetening the drink or not. The brown sugar notes make it a great match for even more sweetener, or you can just allow the natural notes of Intenso to create a deeply intense, complex, and traditional-tasting Irish coffee.

According to most fans of Intenso, the brown sugar notes come through well despite the coffee's strength and bitterness — a key for this coffee's pairing with Irish whiskey. Many people refer to Intenso as an absolutely classic coffee through and through: no wacky flavors, no experimental tasting notes, just a plain good cup of coffee. For many people, that's exactly what you want to have in an Irish coffee.

The Vienna is a 3.7-ounce pod that's great for a slightly smaller Irish coffee. This bright and smooth South American coffee sports a gentler, lower bitterness for a perfect medium roast. This is the right pick for those who want a less intense, more well-rounded Irish coffee. Whether you want to balance things out with a little extra whiskey or just enjoy a simple drink that isn't as strong as others on this list, Vienna is a solid pod to go for.

Vienna boasts a well-balanced body with low acidity, giving more room for the flavor of the Irish whiskey you choose. Nespresso calls the coffee "nutty," which makes it a good pairing for a sweeter, maltier Irish whiskey. You could also pair it with a hefty, punch-packing, rich whiskey for a little extra pop.

Since this is a smaller pod, it's a good choice for an Irish coffee with less whipped cream — or no whipped cream at all. Most Irish whiskeys are made with whipped cream, but it's not a necessity. For a smaller and less sweet Irish coffee, using nothing more than Vienna with a bit of sweetener and a splash of your favorite Irish whiskey is fantastic way to take full advantage of this Nespresso pod.

El Salvador is a unique pairing for an Irish whiskey. This pod literally tastes like sweet, bright jam. Its flavor notes shine through really well, one of the reasons it got a glowing review in our ranking of Nespresso Vertuo Master Origins pods. It's a less intense pod that's very well-balanced, making it perfect for those who don't love strong coffees or just want something simple to enjoy in the morning or as a dessert coffee.

When it comes to Irish whiskey, this pod's fruity notes make it best for floral and fruity whiskeys. A liquor with heavy spices would also bring a lot more complexity to El Salvador's coffee pod. This pod also makes an outstanding crema, which makes it even more fun to drink as an Irish coffee.

I would personally recommend tasting El Salvador before adding any whiskey to it, so that you know which Irish whiskey from your collection will pair best. It's not a very limiting pod in terms of flavors, but it's jammy sweetness might make it clash just a tad with certain whiskeys. You might also want to add less (or no) sweetener to this drink depending on your preferences — though I still think this coffee will pair beautifully with a little bit of whipped cream.

A pod that is a little gentler in its flavor profile offers an option for an Irish whiskey that isn't quite as rich and heavy as some of the others on this list. Melozio boasts fairly unique notes of honey, which makes it pleasantly sweet and smooth. It has a perfectly balanced body and also features notes of nuts — a full and charming profile that is easy to pair with most Irish whiskeys. 

Whether floral, sweet, spicy, or fruity, there are bound to be tasting notes in your favorite whiskey that pair perfectly with Melozio. It's a pod that will allow your whiskey to shine through while also complementing Irish whiskey's traditional companion: brown sugar.

Nespresso also offers a boosted (extra caffeine) and decaffeinated version of the Melozio coffee pod, making it a good pick if you to change up the intensity of your Irish coffee without switching up the flavors. Because it has so many different variations, you can probably already guess that Melozio is a beloved Nespresso pod — its classic taste and gentle flavor profile makes it a go-to for all kinds of coffee lovers, which is just another bonus for those still exploring what kind of Irish coffee they like best.

With so many Nespresso pods, it wasn't easy to narrow down the best pods for Irish coffee. To start, we took a peek at the coffees that Nespresso itself recommends for Irish coffee — after all, what better place to begin than with the brand itself? Then, using a mix of customer reviews, Nespresso flavor profiles, and personal experience, we perused the rest of Nespresso's offerings to find a good mix of Irish coffee brews. 

Generally, slightly more intense and full-bodied roasts pair well with whiskey (especially for a warming drink), but we also made sure to throw in a few extra pods that were a little on the lighter side. Each pod's flavor notes are sure to pair well with most kinds of Irish whiskey, since there's no one whiskey that Irish coffee calls for (though Jameson is often thought of as traditional). 

We also wanted to recommend Nespresso pods that make enough coffee for a full mug of Irish coffee. So, any Nespresso espresso pod, no matter how perfect the flavor match, was automatically eliminated from this list. Though you'll find a range of sizes, we tried to keep things relatively standard.