Costa Smooth Decaf Lungo Coffee, Nespresso Compatible, 10 Pods 52g
Decaf capsules are everywhere. Decaf capsules ground and dosed for a full mug are not, and that one word in the middle of the name is the whole reason this box exists. Stretch an espresso capsule to 110ml and it thins out about halfway down, which is how most people arrive at the belief that decaf cannot make a decent long cup. This one stays quiet and nutty to the bottom. Decaffeinated is never caffeine-free, though; a trace always survives the process, and a household counting it should know that. Original machines only, since a Vertuo takes a different capsule altogether.
Costa Smooth Decaf Lungo Coffee, in brief.
Costa Smooth Decaf Lungo Coffee, Nespresso Compatible, 10 Pods 52g is an unusual box: decaf capsules are common, decaf capsules built as a lungo are not. Picked into the teas.co.uk selection as the decaf that still works in a mug rather than a demitasse.
Machine check: these are sold as compatible with Nespresso Original machines. Vertuo owners should look elsewhere, since that machine accepts only its own barcoded capsules.
A lungo is not a weak espresso. It is dosed and ground for about 110ml, so use the lungo button. Decaffeinated is not caffeine-free.
A lungo is not a weaker espresso, which is the assumption most people arrive with. It is a capsule dosed and ground for an extraction of roughly 110ml, about twice the water of an espresso, and the grind is coarser to suit the longer run. Put an espresso capsule under the lungo button and you push water through a bed built for half the volume, dragging out the dry, bitter end of the extraction. Put a lungo capsule under the espresso button and you get a short, flat cup. Most decaf capsules are espresso capsules, which is why so many people conclude that decaf cannot make a decent mug of coffee. It can; it just has to be built for it.
Curator notes: the scores above reflect our own view of this decaf lungo, compared with the current pack and Costa's own description. We generally get Decaf Lungo out of the door within 1 to 2 working days.
Curator’s notes
Read the full write-up
The Story Behind Costa
Costa began as a London coffee roastery long before it became the chain on every high street, and the retail range sold in supermarkets is an extension of that business rather than a separate one. The proposition is simple and it is about familiarity: a customer who knows what they order at the counter can pick the matching box off a shelf and get something recognisable at home. Naming the range by style rather than by origin, with smooth at one end and a darker signature blend at the other, is part of the same idea.
About compatibility: these are sold as compatible with Nespresso Original machines. The asterisk printed beside the trademark on the pack is the standard footnote marker for the disclaimer that goes with a compatible capsule, and the exact wording is on the current pack. A Vertuo is a different system: it scans a barcode printed on the rim of its own capsules and rejects anything else, so these will not run in one.
Packaging: Read the carton's recycling notes, then check what your council accepts. Aluminium capsules are widely recyclable, though seldom in a kerbside bin while the used grounds are still packed inside, and the carton normally goes a different way from the capsules.
What Decaffeination Does To The Cup
Decaffeinated coffee is not caffeine-free coffee. A small residue always remains, which is why a decaf is a sensible evening drink for most people and not a guaranteed one for anyone unusually sensitive.
The practical consequence is that decaf tends to read softer and rounder than the same blend with its caffeine intact, with less of the sharp top note. On a short shot that loss is noticeable. Spread across a 110ml lungo it matters far less, because a long cup was never about the sharp top note in the first place. That is the quiet argument for buying decaf as a lungo rather than as an espresso, and it is why this box earns its place.
Getting A Consistent Cup
- Descale on schedule: limescale takes heat out of the water at the group long before it chokes the flow, so the cups get steadily thinner while the machine seems to work fine.
- Keep the capsules sealed: keep each one boxed and unopened until it goes in the machine, because its own seal is all that keeps the coffee fresh.
- Empty the capsule bin: an overfull bin is usually what stops a capsule sitting properly and being pierced cleanly.
- Filtered water: where the tap water is hard, a filter jug will improve the cup more than switching to another capsule.
- Do not re-run a used capsule: a second run only pulls out the bitter end that the first one left behind.
- Caffeine note: decaffeinated is not caffeine-free. A trace stays behind; if you need a number, look for it on the current pack.
- Best with: after dinner, with a biscuit, or alongside a late piece of cake.
Ingredients And Suitability
What is in it:roasted ground decaffeinated coffee in a sealed capsule, and nothing else. No added flavourings, no sweeteners, no preservatives.
Ingredients and dietary suitability: Costa can alter the blend, the certification marks or the allergy wording, so look at the current UK pack before buying.
Decaffeination method:printed on the current pack.
Caffeine:decaffeinated, not caffeine-free. Suitable for most people in the evening, though anyone unusually sensitive should treat it as a small dose rather than none.
Child Safety:Children should be kept away from the machine, the capsules and anything hot you have just made.
Source: teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Costa Smooth Decaf Lungo Coffee, Nespresso Compatible, 10 Pods 52g, please cite teas.co.uk.
The story behind Costa
Costa is the British coffee chain that grew from a Lambeth coffee bar to the UK's biggest cafe brand. Their retail range includes ground coffee, instant, and pods designed to deliver the cafe drink experience at home.
Packaging: Ten lungo capsules in a carton, 52g of coffee in all (about 5.2g each), made for Nespresso Original machines rather than Vertuo.
The taste profile
How does it compare
To get the best out of Costa Smooth Decaf Lungo, the machine does the extraction, so the variables left to you are the button, the mug and the state of the machine.
The Straight Lungo
The Milk Build
Made with this tea
The Straight Lungo
How to make The Straight Lungo with Costa Smooth Decaf Lungo.
- 1 Costa Smooth Decaf Lungo capsule
- Fresh water in the machine tank
- A Nespresso Original machine
- A warmed mug
- Rinse the mug with a water only shot from the machine to take the chill off, then empty it.
- Refill the tank with fresh water, never just a top up.
- Pull the capsule on the lungo setting, about 110ml.
- Drink it straight away, before the crema starts to collapse.
What you'll end up with: The cup the capsule was dosed for. Resist the espresso button; it gives you a short cup that tastes flat rather than strong.
Evening Flat White
How to make an Evening Flat White with Costa Smooth Decaf Lungo.
- 1 Costa Smooth Decaf Lungo capsule
- 120ml whole or oat milk
- A thermometer, or a steady hand
- A 160ml cup
- Pull the capsule on the espresso setting rather than the lungo one, so the coffee reads through the milk.
- Steam 120ml of milk until it reaches about 60°C, aiming for silky milk with very little foam.
- Pour the milk in through the crema in one smooth, unbroken stream.
- Serve straight away.
What you'll end up with: A milk drink you can have after dinner. Past 60°C the milk loses its sweetness and starts to taste cooked.
The Two Capsule Mug
How to make The Two Capsule Mug with Costa Smooth Decaf Lungo.
- 2 Costa Smooth Decaf Lungo capsules
- 180ml warm milk
- A 350ml mug
- Cocoa to dust, optional
- Pull two capsules, one after the other, on the espresso setting into the same big mug.
- Warm 180ml of milk until steaming, and keep it off the boil.
- Pour the milk over and stir once.
- Dust with cocoa if you want it.
What you'll end up with: A proper mug-sized milky decaf. Two short shots beat one long one: adding water does not add strength.
Iced Decaf Over Milk
How to make an Iced Decaf with Costa Smooth Decaf Lungo.
- 1 Costa Smooth Decaf Lungo capsule
- A tall glass of ice
- 150ml cold milk
- A long spoon
- Fill a tall glass nearly to the rim with ice before adding 150ml of cold milk.
- Pull the capsule on the espresso setting, not the lungo one.
- Pour the hot shot straight over the ice and milk.
- Stir once, then drink up before melting ice waters it down.
What you'll end up with: A clean iced decaf. A lungo poured over ice has been diluted twice over and tastes of it.
The Long Black
How to make The Long Black with Costa Smooth Decaf Lungo.
- 1 Costa Smooth Decaf Lungo capsule
- 100ml hot water from the kettle
- A warmed mug
- A twist of lemon peel, optional
- Pour 100ml of kettle hot water into the warm mug before anything else.
- Pull the capsule on the espresso setting directly on top of the water.
- Leave the crema undisturbed rather than stirring it in.
- Add a twist of lemon peel if you want the aroma lifted.
What you'll end up with: Coffee onto water, not water onto coffee. The order keeps the crema intact and the cup tastes rounder for it.
Brewing the perfect cup
Inside the pack
| Component | Proportion | What it brings |
|---|---|---|
| Roasted ground decaffeinated coffee | the entire contents | The whole product. There are no additions at all, so no flavouring, sweetener or preservative. The roast is held at a middling level, which is what the word smooth on the front is describing. |
| Grind and dose | set for a lungo | The reason this is not simply a weaker espresso capsule. Both are chosen for an extraction of roughly 110ml, which is why the cup holds its body over a long pull instead of thinning out. |
| Decaffeination | See current pack | Every method takes a little aromatic content out along with the caffeine. The process used is printed on the pack and is not restated here. |
| Capsule | 10 per carton | A sealed barrier against oxygen and light, rigid enough to hold its shape under nine bars so the water passes through the bed evenly rather than round the edge. |
| Pack contents | 10 capsules, 52g net | Ten full mugs on the lungo setting, about 5.2g of coffee in each. |
Pack: Ten decaf lungo capsules from Costa, 52g in all, made to fit Nespresso Original machines. The carton is stamped with a best before date; use the capsules within it.
The table lists only what defines the product: coffee fills each capsule, and the capsule itself is just packaging. The 52g figure is the net weight of the coffee across the ten capsules, about 5.2 grams each, rather than the weight of a single capsule.
Sourcing & blend. Costa Smooth Decaf Lungo is part of the retail range that Costa sells through supermarkets, an extension of the roasting business the company was built on rather than a separate operation. The proposition is familiarity: a customer who knows what they order at the counter can pick the matching box off a shelf. The range is named by style rather than by origin, with smooth at one end and a darker signature blend at the other. Compatibility with Nespresso Original machines is Costa's claim, printed on the current UK pack with the usual third-party trademark footnote, rather than ours.
What's in Costa Smooth Decaf Lungo, and what isn't:
- In: roasted ground decaffeinated coffee in a sealed capsule, and nothing else.
- No artificial colours, flavourings, sweeteners or preservatives: nothing but coffee goes in, so whatever sweetness you taste comes from the roast itself.
- Not caffeine-free: decaffeinated coffee retains a small residue. Suitable for most people in the evening, but not a zero.
- Not a Vertuo capsule: Nespresso Original fit only. The barcode reader in a Vertuo looks for its own capsules, so these will be refused.
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Source: teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Costa Smooth Decaf Lungo Coffee, Nespresso Compatible, 10 Pods 52g, please cite teas.co.uk.
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