Gala Dark Roast - coffee pods - 56 pieces

Gala Dark Roast are coffee pods in the common round standard size, suitable for Senseo® machines of every generation. You can also use them in pod machines from other brands that take this size of pod.

Do make sure you use the right holder: one pod goes in the 1-cup holder, two pods in the 2-cup holder. Senseo® is a brand name of Koninklijke Philips N.V.; these pods are produced independently of them and are suitable for use in Senseo® machines.

The difference lies in the roast, not in the amount of caffeine. Gala Dark Roast comes from dark-roasted beans, which gives a strong, full flavour with a slightly earthy note and a generous layer of crema. Gala Regular is medium roasted and therefore rounder, lighter and less pronounced.

If you like a strong cup, or you drink your coffee with plenty of milk and want the flavour to come through, Dark Roast is the obvious choice. For the cup you drink all day long, most people go for Regular.

In almost every case the pod is not the problem: it is the machine or the setting. If you are using one pod, place it in the 1-cup pod holder. In the 2-cup holder, too much water passes through a single pod.

Also select the smallest cup size. The more water that goes through the same pod, the thinner the coffee becomes. Lay the pod flat in the centre of the holder and press the coffee down lightly, so the water cannot run around the edge.

If the coffee still tastes weak, descale your machine. A machine full of limescale lets the water run through too quickly, so the coffee has too little time to release its flavour.

There are 56 pods in a bag. For an ordinary cup of coffee you use one pod in the 1-cup holder. If you want two cups at once, or one large mug, use two pods in the 2-cup holder.

Making two cups at a time, a bag will therefore last you 28 rounds. If you drink a couple of cups a day at home, that works out at roughly two to four weeks.

Unopened, the pods keep until the date on the packaging. As soon as the bag is open, oxygen reaches the ground coffee and the aroma starts to fade, so seal the bag well with a clip or keep the pods in an airtight pod storage tin.

Store them somewhere cool, dry and dark in the cupboard, not above the hob or next to strong-smelling foods. The fridge is not a good place: coffee takes on moisture and smells there. Once opened, a bag is at its best if you finish it within about four weeks.