Caffé Nero | Napoletano

A blend named after the fine espresso-guzzling city of Naples. It comes in a bright pink box. Fruity.

What do they say?

"Our distinctive Napoletano Blend brings out the traditional Italian coffee flavours from the south."

Pink box ensures this won't be missed on the shelves

The no-nonsense version, please?

Before I begin, it's confession time. Of the 'big three' chains in the UK (Costa, Starbucks and Caffè Nero), this lot's coffee is the only one I can drink on a regular basis. Costa coffee tastes like nothing and are more interested in doling out soup bowls of hot milk that may have been passed near an espresso machine, while Starbucks coffee tastes like burnt toast. Therefore, I am inclined to favour Caffè Nero products from the get go.

Whether or not it was an unconscious bias, I've got to admit that I enjoyed this pod very much. Put very simply, it has the right balance of kicking you in the nuts and being absolutely charming. There is strength in the taste, but it's not extreme to the point of being either sticky or too bitter. I've had a few of these at various times of day, and it tastes just as good as a mid-morning pick-me-up as it does as an after dinner espresso. The box mentions nutmeg and perhaps they've got this one right. There's definitely little spiciness that lifts the flavour beyond a basic flat-out dark roast espresso.

Perhaps the biggest compliment I can give this pod is that it reminds me of the finest coffee I've ever had; a 7.30am espresso in a backstreet breakfast place in Catania, Sicily on a chilly March morning. Not dear old Napoli, but even further south.

Should I buy it?

• Absolutely!

• Yeah, why not?

• Worth a punt, but don't put yourself out.

• Only if the alternative is dishwater. In fact, try the dishwater first, anyway.

What did Bruno McSwan-Neck, Editor-at-Large of The Coffee Courier say about it?

Hmm. Having spent many a morn loafing around both the seedy streets of Naples and, a mere hop, skip and jump away, the exclusive haunts of Capri, I have to say that this pretentious primrose pod doesn't quite deliver me to the shadows of Vesuvius. Although the information is not displayed on the pack, this is clearly full of robusta beans. While that is not always a negative, especially for the blue collar workers that hunt for a little taste of la dolce vita in their ritualistic coffees, I would have appreciated a little more refinement. Perhaps surgical removal of approximately 75% of my tastebuds may have allowed this coffee to pleasure me in the same way it did Mr Jones.