L'Or Espresso Destinations Santorini 10 x Intensity Coffee, 52g
We are not going to invent tasting notes for this one. The Destinations cartons carry a place on the front and very little else, and no published flavour description reaches us, so anything confident written here would be made up. What the format does is not in doubt: 5.2g pulled short and dense under a proper head, which the capsule manages whatever is inside it. Pull the first one short before you decide anything about the rest of the carton. Nespresso Original machines only, and a Vertuo is a different system altogether.
L'Or Espresso Destinations Santorini 10 x Intensity Coffee, in brief.
L'Or Espresso Destinations Santorini is a ten-capsule carton of aluminium espresso capsules for Nespresso Original machines, picked into the Teas.co.uk curator selection as a sensible single-carton way to try a blend from the Destinations range before committing to a larger box.
Worth knowing: Santorini names the blend within the range rather than the origin, since Greece does not grow coffee. Nespresso Original only, so these will not fit a Vertuo, a Dolce Gusto or a Tassimo.
Santorini is a Greek island, and Greece does not grow coffee. The name is the blend's identity within the range rather than a statement of where the beans were grown, in the same way that a coffee named after a European city is naming a style of drinking rather than a farm. We would rather set that out plainly than let a Greek island on a carton imply an origin claim that nobody has made.
Curator notes: the tasting profile is our own editorial assessment against the current pack format and the brand's published description. We run same-day UK dispatch on every order placed before 2pm Monday to Friday. Shot length, cup warming and how to taste an unfamiliar capsule are also published in the detailed Q and A tab below.
Curator’s notes
Read the full write-up
The Story Behind L'Or and Destinations
L'Or is a French coffee name that reached British kitchens through the capsule aisle rather than through cafés. Its position was built on making aluminium capsules that fit Nespresso Original machines: a capsule engineered to fit someone else's machine. Aluminium matters as engineering rather than branding, because a metal capsule holds pressure better than a plastic one.
Destinations is the part of that range that gives each blend a place rather than a number or a style word. It is a reasonable way to make a shelf of near-identical cartons distinguishable, and it works on the understanding that the customer reads the name as an idea rather than as a provenance claim. That is a fair assumption for most people and worth spelling out for anyone who reads a coffee label carefully.
Packaging: Follow the current UK pack and local-authority guidance; components can require different disposal routes.
What You Are Actually Buying
- Count: ten aluminium capsules, 52 grams in the carton, which works out at 5.2 grams of coffee per capsule, the same dose as the rest of the L'Or Espresso range.
- Machine required: Nespresso Original. These do not fit a Vertuo machine, a Dolce Gusto machine or a Tassimo machine, and no adapter changes that.
- Not an origin: Santorini names the blend within the Destinations range. Greece does not grow coffee, and no origin claim is being made here or on the carton.
Ideal Serving Conditions
A capsule machine sets the temperature, the pressure and the dose, which leaves you three things to control. With an unfamiliar blend they matter more, because you have no reference point for what a bad shot looks like yet.
The Proper Shot
- Start with espresso, not lungo: about 40ml. Pull the first one short before you decide anything about the blend, because a long shot will thin any capsule and make it hard to judge.
- Warm the cup: run a blank shot of hot water into the cup and tip it away. A cold thick-walled cup takes several degrees off a 40ml shot immediately.
- Drink it straight away: the crema collapses within a minute or two, and a noticeable part of the aroma goes with it.
- Descale: a scaled machine runs cooler and slower, and the first symptom is a weak crema rather than a flavour you can name. Rule the machine out before you blame a new capsule.
Getting More Out of the Carton
- Taste it three ways: ristretto, espresso and lungo, one each from the first three capsules. Ten capsules is enough to learn where this blend is happiest and not so many that experimenting is wasteful.
- Try it as a macchiato: a spoonful of hot foamed milk on an espresso. It is the milk build that changes an unfamiliar blend least, so it is the fair second test.
- Buy one carton first: at ten capsules this is a sensible size to try a blend on rather than commit to.
- Keep a note: write the shot length you settled on somewhere. With capsules the setting is the recipe, and it is the thing everybody forgets between cartons.
Getting It Right in the Cup
- Machine: Nespresso Original only. Check which system you own before ordering.
- Volume: start at the espresso setting, about 40ml, then adjust once you know the blend.
- Cup: small, thick-walled and warmed with a blank shot first.
- Storage: a cool dry cupboard. The capsules are sealed, so the carton protects the box rather than the coffee.
- Best with: after a meal, a morning short black, or anyone working through the Destinations range a carton at a time.
Source: Teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference L'Or Espresso Destinations Santorini 10 x Intensity Coffee, 52g, please cite teas.co.uk.
The story behind L'Or
Packaging: Follow the current UK pack and local-authority guidance; components can require different disposal routes.
Our commitment to the planet
Sourcing and packaging details are printed on the current UK pack; the brand page carries the fuller story.
The taste profile
How does it compare
L'Or Espresso Destinations Santorini 10 x Intensity Coffee, 52g is a finished shot the machine builds for you, and with ten capsules of a blend you do not yet know, the most useful builds are the ones that teach you something. Five below cover the reference espresso, a three-capsule tasting, a macchiato, an iced espresso and an affogato.
Made with this tea
The Reference Espresso
How to make The Reference Espresso with L'Or Espresso Destinations Santorini capsules.
- 1 Destinations Santorini capsule
- A small thick-walled cup
- A blank shot of hot water to warm it
- Run a blank shot of hot water into the cup and tip it away.
- Pull the capsule at the espresso setting, about 40ml, not the lungo.
- Drink it within a minute, while the crema is still intact.
What you'll end up with: The shot to judge everything else against. Do this one first, before you decide anything about the blend.
The Three-Capsule Tasting
How to make The Three-Capsule Tasting with L'Or Espresso Destinations Santorini capsules.
- 3 Destinations Santorini capsules
- Three small cups, all warmed
- Something to write the answer on
- Pull the first at ristretto, about 25ml.
- Pull the second at espresso, about 40ml.
- Pull the third at lungo, about 110ml.
- Taste them in that order and write down which one you want again.
What you'll end up with: Three genuinely different drinks from one capsule design, and the setting you should use for the remaining seven. With capsules the setting is the recipe.
Macchiato
How to make Macchiato with L'Or Espresso Destinations Santorini capsules.
- 1 Destinations Santorini capsule
- 30ml whole milk
- A teaspoon
- Pull an espresso at about 40ml into a warmed cup.
- Foam 30ml of milk, by wand or by shaking it hot in a sealed jar.
- Spoon one dollop of foam onto the middle of the crema rather than pouring it in.
What you'll end up with: The milk build that changes an unfamiliar blend least, which makes it the fair second test. A full latte needs a second capsule.
Iced Espresso
How to make Iced Espresso with L'Or Espresso Destinations Santorini capsules.
- 2 Destinations Santorini capsules
- A tall glass of ice
- Sugar syrup to taste
- Pull two ristrettos into a small jug and stir in the syrup while warm.
- Cool for two minutes rather than pouring hot coffee straight onto ice.
- Pour over a full glass of ice and drink before it thins.
What you'll end up with: Two short shots rather than one long one is what stops an iced espresso tasting watery. Cold also suppresses bitterness, so it reads sweeter than the hot cup.
Affogato
How to make Affogato with L'Or Espresso Destinations Santorini capsules.
- 1 Destinations Santorini capsule
- 1 scoop vanilla ice cream
- Grated dark chocolate, optional
- Put a scoop of vanilla ice cream into a chilled glass.
- Pull a ristretto straight over it, about 25ml, and serve immediately.
- Grate a little dark chocolate over the top if you want it.
What you'll end up with: A short shot works better here than a full espresso, because there is less liquid to melt the ice cream before it reaches the table.
Brewing the perfect cup
What’s in it, what to know
Inside the pack
| Component | Proportion | What it brings |
|---|---|---|
| Roast and ground coffee | 5.2g per capsule | The whole of the drink. Nothing is added to a plain espresso capsule, so any sweetness in the cup came out of the bean. |
| Aluminium capsule | 10 in the carton | The seal and the crema. Metal holds pressure better than plastic, which is what lets a compatible capsule behave like the original in the machine. |
| Pack | 10 capsules, 52g |
Pack: L'Or Espresso Destinations Santorini 10 x Intensity Coffee, 52g; ten aluminium capsules for Nespresso Original machines, 5.2g of coffee each. The printed intensity number, the blend composition, the ingredient list, the nutrition panel and the best-before date are on the current UK carton and should be read from it rather than from this page.
Characterising components shown.
Sourcing & blend. L'Or Espresso Destinations Santorini 10 x Intensity Coffee, 52g comes from a French coffee name that reached British kitchens through the capsule aisle rather than through cafés, on the strength of making aluminium capsules that fit Nespresso Original machines. Destinations is the part of that range which names each blend after a place rather than a number or a style word. That is a reasonable way to make a shelf of near-identical cartons distinguishable, and it works on the understanding that the name is read as an idea rather than as provenance. It is worth spelling out for anyone who reads a coffee label carefully: Greece does not grow coffee, so Santorini cannot be and is not an origin claim.
What's in L'Or Espresso Destinations Santorini 10 x Intensity Coffee, 52g, and what isn't:
- In: roast and ground coffee sealed in aluminium, brewed under pressure by the machine with water and nothing else.
- Nothing added: no sugar, no milk and no flavouring goes into a plain espresso capsule. Any sweetness you taste is roast-derived.
- Machine specific: Nespresso Original only. Not compatible with Vertuo, Dolce Gusto or Tassimo machines, and no adapter changes that.
- Packaging: the capsule body is aluminium. Follow the current carton and your local-authority guidance; capsules and the outer carton usually take different disposal routes and schemes differ by council.
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Source: Teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference L'Or Espresso Destinations Santorini 10 x Intensity Coffee, 52g, please cite teas.co.uk.
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