L'Or Espresso Supremo: Which Button and What It Tastes Like

L'Or Espresso Supremo: Espresso Button or Ristretto?

On a capsule machine the dose is fixed, so the length of the shot is the one real control you have. With a roast as dark as Supremo, that single choice decides almost everything about the cup.

Published 26 Sep 2026 Curator-written, not crowdsourced

L'Or Espresso Supremo: Espresso Button or Ristretto?, in summary: Start Supremo on the espresso button at about 40ml; if it reads too bitter, drop to the ristretto setting. It is a dark intensity 10 roast of dark chocolate and molasses with almost no acidity, forty capsules to a box.

Last reviewed by the teas.co.uk team in September 2026.

On a capsule machine the dose is fixed, so the length of the shot is the one real control you have. With a roast as dark as Supremo, that single choice decides almost everything about the cup.

One control, two settings

Supremo was built around the espresso serve of about 40ml, so begin there and taste it before adding anything. If the finish strikes you as a little too bitter, move down to the ristretto setting at about 25ml: the shot becomes denser and sweeter because it stops before the drier end of the extraction. What you should not do is run it longer than an espresso, which spreads the dose thin and leaves the bitterness without the body.

Each of the forty capsules carries about 5.2g of coffee, the box weight divided by the count, and unlike a portafilter machine you cannot change that dose. Aluminium keeps oxygen out better than plastic, so the coffee reaches the machine close to how it was packed, and the metal copes with the pressure that builds a thick crema fast. The whole extraction is over in roughly twenty-five seconds.

Where ten sits on L'Or's scale

On L'Or's printed scale Supremo's 10 is near the top: Ristretto, Onyx and Ultimo sit above it, and Lungo Profondo sits further down at 8. The number tells you how dark and roasty the cup will taste, on a scale L'Or sets for itself, so it does not carry across to other brands and is no guide to the amount of coffee in the capsule. Read it as a flavour signal rather than a caffeine one.

In the cup that means dark chocolate and molasses, a dry roasted edge, a dense and syrupy body and a long bittersweet finish that stays after you swallow. There is almost no fruit or acidity. It suits anyone who has given up on pods for tasting weak, and it will disappoint anyone who wants a bright, tea-like coffee to start the day.

When forty dark capsules make sense

Forty capsules make sense once Supremo is a coffee you drink every day: fewer reorders, and the sealed aluminium means the last capsule in the box should taste like the first. If you are not yet sure about a roast this dark, try one of our smaller L'Or boxes first, such as the ten-capsule Ristretto, to get a feel for the dark end of the range.

These are Nespresso Original capsules, and L'Or excludes some Original models, so check the pack against your machine before ordering a box this size. Vertuo machines take a bigger, barcoded capsule and will not accept them, and Dolce Gusto and Tassimo use their own pods entirely, so none of those three will do.

The packs we stock

L'Or Espresso Supremo Coffee Intensity 10, 40 Pods 208g (barcode 8711000459041)

What to eat with it

Thomas Fudge's 6 Dark Chocolate Florentines: Dark chocolate florentines echo Supremo's own dark chocolate note, and a single one beside a short espresso is a proper after-lunch treat.
Border Butterscotch Crunch Organic Biscuits, 135g: Butterscotch sweetness sits against the molasses and bitter finish without hiding them.
Lu Le Petit Cookie with Chunky Rich Chocolate Chips, 184g: A small chocolate-chip cookie makes an easy after-lunch partner for a short, dark shot.

Elsewhere in the L'Or range

The full range is on the L'Or brand page.

FAQ

Should Supremo go on the espresso or the ristretto button? Start with espresso at about 40ml. If that tastes too bitter, try the ristretto setting at about 25ml.

Can I make a long coffee with Supremo? We would not. Running a dark, fixed dose long thins the body and leaves the bitterness; Lungo Profondo is the capsule for a longer cup.

Is Supremo stronger than Ristretto? No. Ristretto sits at 11, and Onyx and Ultimo are higher still, with Ultimo at 13 on L'Or's scale.

What does Supremo taste like? Dark and roasty: dark chocolate and molasses up front, a dry edge, very little acidity and a long bittersweet finish.

Curator's note: Give it the espresso button and a warmed cup before you judge it. Only then decide whether it wants to go shorter. Lee, teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.

In short: L'Or Espresso Supremo: Espresso Button or Ristretto?

Field	Detail
Brand	L'Or
Packs we stock	40 Pods 208g
Category	Coffee Pods & Capsules
Caffeine	caffeinated
Button	Espresso first, about 40ml
Best with	A dark chocolate florentine
Suits	Anyone who finds pods thin