You may or may not be obsessed with what's available in different parts of the world for the Senseo coffee maker, but I certainly am. After hearing a lot of buzz about the fact that us Europeans get a lot more variety with regards to the official Senseo selections, I decided to check out what was available for different European territories. As you can see from my screenshots from the official sites, the availability differs a lot more from country to country than you might have realised if you're from the States. I've ordered these countries from the greatest number of pods available to the least.
Senseo Netherlands (17 varieties)
It's no surprise that the Netherlands has the largest number of pods available, considering that both the parent companies (Philips and Douwe Egberts) are Dutch. Pods are called 'koffie pads' and come in Hot Choco (new), Cafe Choco, Cappuccino (pad and topping), Espresso, Cappuccino (no topping), Colombia Blend, Brazil Blend, Kenya Blend, Sevilla, Vienna, Rio de Janeiro, Cafeïnevrij (Decaffeinated), Mocca Gourmet, Extra Dark, Dark Roast, Regular and Mild Roast varieties.Senseo France (16 varieties)
France is a big coffee drinking country, so the fact that it has such a wide variety of coffee pods available doesn't surprise me. Called 'les dosettes', pods are available with the following blends: Kenya Blend, Noir Subtil (Subtly Dark, I guess...), Petit Déjeuner (Breakfast), Cafe Choco, Cappuccino (no topping), Espresso, Colombia, Brazil, Sevilla, Vienna, Rio de Janeiro, Décaféiné, Classique, Corsé (Strong), Doux (Mild) and Marrakech.Senseo Germany (14 varieties)
One of the largest and richest countries in Europe, Germany comes in a close third for the number of pods available. Called 'kaffeepads', pods are available in Caffè Crema (which seems to be an Italian-inspired blend), Guten Morgen (Breakfast), Typ Cafe Choco, Typ Cappuccino, Typ Espresso, Colombia Blend, Brazil, Sevilla, Vienna, Rio de Janeiro, Entkoffeiniert (Decaffeinated), Kräftig (Strong), Mild and Klassisch (Classic) varieties.Senseo UK (8 varieties)
Despite being out in the UK for several years, there aren't many varieties available to UK Senseo owners, just Dark Roast Mug, Classic Roast Mug, Colombia Blend, Brazil Blend, Kenya Blend, Decaffinated, Dark Roast and Medium Roast. Let's face it, the mug blends are the same as the cup blends, but bigger... Maybe it's to do with the fact that we're a nation of tea lovers?Senseo Austria (7 varieties)
Like a pared-down version of the German Senseo offerings, the Austrian site calls pods 'kaffepads' and offers Guten Morgan (Breakfast), Typ Cafe Choco, Typ Cappuccino, Entkoffeiniert (Decaffeinated), Kräftig (Strong), Mild and Klassisch (Classic) varieties.
Senseo Hungary (5 varieties)
Just five to choose from here, and Hungary offers Cafe Choco, Cappuccino, Decaffeinated, Dark Roast and Regular. They call coffee pods kávépárnák.I haven't included Belgium or Denmark because both sites use a different format for listing their blends, and I wanted an easy visual comparison for the availability.
Obviously I'm not claiming to own these images - they were taken as screenshots directly from websites you can reach from
www.senseo.com. I don't own them, I didn't make them - please don't sue me!
As well as the Senseo Origins (called Selections in the UK) range, which contains Brazil, Kenya, Colombia and Sumatra blends (the latter not available in the UK), the US also gets Espresso, Cafe Noir, Cappuccino (without topping), Vienna (Hazelnut Waltz), Killarney (Irish Creamery) and Paris (Vanilla Bistro) - all three artificially flavoured, Medium Roast, Dark Roast, Decaffienated, Breakfast Blend, plus the two Godiva flavours (Chocolate Creme and Creme Brulee). There are also flavour packets in the form of Barista Blends, which come in Caramel Macchiato, Vanilla Latte, and Café Mocha types - sachets that you add to your coffee to give them a "gourmet" taste.
Whilst I can't vouch for the taste of any of these, it's still interesting to see the differences in the pods available for different territories. For example, the Cafe Choco and new Hot Choco pods aren't available in the US, but the US has a great emphasis on City Blends like Killarney and Paris. Weirdly, although you can buy Vienna, Sevilla, Rio and Marrakech blends in Continental Europe, you don't seem to be able to get Paris or Killarney blends...
