A single-serve coffee container is a container filled with coffee grounds, used in coffee brewing to prepare only enough coffee for a single portion. Single-serve coffee containers come in various formats and materials, often either as hard and soft pods or pads made of filter paper, or hard aluminium and plastic capsules.
Single-serve coffee containers can both reduce the time needed to brew coffee and simplify the brewing process by eliminating the need to measure out portions, flavorings, and additives from large bulk containers. They can also help to keep the unused product fresher by individually packaging portions separately without exposing the entire supply batch to air and light. Paper coffee pods can be functionally identical to plastic and metal coffee capsules, if the paper pods are individually sealed in separate bags. At the same time, the disposable single-use products add to global waste production.
In 1958, the Flemish Rombouts coffee company launched its pre-filled One Cup Coffee Filter for the Brussels World Exhibition. Unlike newer capsules and pods, this system consists of a single-use drip coffee filter placed over the cup. In 1964, the company began marketing the concept, gaining success in the horeca and retail sectors. The company was founded in Antwerp in 1896, and in 1966 was appointed a "Certified Royal Warrant Holder of Belgium".
Several different systems exist:
The plastic and metal coffee capsules typically are used in a non-removable receptacle on the brewing device. The capsules have an outer ring or rim that stays dry during use, allowing for removal and disposal after use without getting the user's hands wet or sticky. Handling of a used moist coffee pod is not necessary if the brewing device has a removable filter tray. This tray is removed after brewing and inverted to eject the used coffee pod.
Coffee pods, bags, and capsules can be sized for individual or multi-serving portions. In food service businesses, pods and capsules used with automatic brewing can help to provide consistency of product strength and flavor for customers.
Paper coffee pods such as those used in Easy Serving Espresso Pod or Senseo machines have the benefit of being a fully biodegradable product that can decompose naturally, while plastic and metal capsules such as those used in Keurig or Nespresso machines either are not recyclable, or require additional processing to separate the plastic/metal container from the organic waste products.
Many capsule machines specifically warn the user to not disassemble the machine or put their fingers inside the capsule receptacle, as the devices commonly use sharp razor-edge tubes or prongs for piercing the coffee capsule during use.
Different single-cup systems are not interchangeable; some systems force machine owners to buy capsules from a single company (usually the patent owner), locking the machine owner into a single source of coffee. Coffee pods are made by a variety of manufacturers and are interchangeable between brand of pod and model of pod brewer most of the time.
| System | Owned by | Year invented | Machine manufacturers | Capsule / pod manufacturers | Markets | Type | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Espresso Point MAXI | Lavazza | 1992 | The ECL (Espresso e Cappuccino Lavazza) branded as 1x | Lavazza | Worldwide | Capsule | The ECL used a bi-dose capsule system and had a double dispensing head that could brew two coffees at the same time. | |
| Espresso Point | Lavazza | 1983 | Uno Per branded as 1x | Lavazza | Worldwide | Capsule | The single-dose capsule machine by Uno Per (Gattinara), acquired by Lavazza in 1989 | |
| Espressotoria | Vittoria Coffee | Own brand | Worldwide | Capsule | Australian coffee brand that produces its own pods for its Espressotoria machines as well as Nespresso-compatible pods. | |||
| A Modo Mio | Lavazza | 2007 | Saeco (Philips) branded as Lavazza/Gaggia, Electrolux | Lavazza | Worldwide | Capsule | Lavazza vertical | |
| BLUE | Lavazza | 2003 | Lavazza | Worldwide | Capsule | BLUE stands for "Best Lavazza Ultimate Espresso” - mostly used in business and vending machines | ||
| Bialetti Diva | Bialetti | 2013 | Bialetti | Caff dÕItalia | Worldwide | Capsule | ||
| Bodecker Brewer | Bodecker Brewed | 2005 | TBD | Bodecker Brewed | Canada | Capsule | ||
| Caffitaly (Caffita) | Caffita System SPA | 2004 | Various inc. Princess of Netherlands, Tchibo, Gaggia until recently | Various, inc. Dualit, Gaggia, Ecaffe, CBTL, Gloria Jeans, MAP, Woolworths | Central Europe, Northern Europe, Brazil, Australia | Capsule | Physically compatible with K-Fee machines/pods | |
| Delta Q | Delta Cafés | 2007 | Flama, branded Delta Cafés, Brasilia S.p.A., Casa Bugatti | Delta Cafés, Tetley | Canada, Portugal, Spain, Luxembourg, Brazil, Angola, Poland | Capsule | ||
| Dolce Gusto | Nestle | 2008 | Krups, Delonghi, branded Nescafe. | Nescafe (Nestle) | Worldwide | Capsule | Nestle vertical. Also brews cold beverages. Limited Edition machine designs also available. Rewards program.Capsule recycling programs exist in some countries. | |
| Easy Serving Espresso Pod (ESE) | Italian ESE Consortium for Development | 1998 (standard) and previous | Various including Delonghi, Dualit, FrancisFrancis, Handpresso, Kitchenaid, Krups and Saeco | Various | Worldwide | Pod | Open, generic standard not tied to particular vendors, pods fit most traditional espresso machines. Not all pods are 44 mm (the standard diameter). | |
| Flavia Beverage Systems | Originally Mars, Inc. Now Lavazza. | 1984 | Flavia (Lavazza) | Alterra (Lavazza), Lavazza, La Colombe Coffee Roasters, Starbucks, Peet's | United States, United Kingdom | Capsule | The "fresh pack" (the capsule) is the brewing vessel, so that the drink is not tainted by previous user. Controlled by Lavazza. | |
| Folgers | Folgers | 1953 | None needed | The J.M. Smucker Co. | United States | Bag | Folgers coffee singles,[2] instant coffee | |
| iperEspresso | Illy | 2007 | FrancisFrancis (Illy), Gaggia[3] (Saeco), Cuisinart[4] | Illy | Worldwide | Capsule | Recyclable[5] | |
| K-Cup (Keurig) | Keurig Dr Pepper | 1992 | Many: Keurig, Breville, Mr. Coffee, etc. Unauthorized clones that are branded with brands like Cuisinart and Insignia exist. | Many. Keurig's house brands include but are not limited to Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Revv, Tully's Coffee, and The Original Donut Shop Coffee. Several other companies have licensed Keurig's K-Cup design. Unauthorized clones exist. | United States, Canada | Capsule | Two versions of My K-Cup are available as a reusable filter for using any filter coffee, with the newest version being designed to be compatible with Keurig machines with MultiStream technology since the old version is incompatible. Keurig 2.0, an attempt to lock out unlicensed clones, has been withdrawn from the market. Genuine K-Cups from Keurig and licensed partners now carry 2D bar codes to allow smart brewers with BrewID technology to brew K-Cups with factory-customized brewing profiles. The patent on the original K-Cup design has expired, so unauthorized clones exist. K-Cups made since the end of 2020 are made with polypropylene to allow them to be recycled.[6] | |
| Compostable K-Cup clone | OneCoffee | 2017 | Many: Keurig, Cuisinart, BUNN etc. | Many, including OneCoffee and Club Coffee | United States, Canada | Capsule | A soft-bottomed pod that is designed to be compatible with any Keurig K-Cup machine. This is an unauthorized clone of the K-Cup. | |
| K-Fee | Krüger Group | 2010 | Aldi Expressi, K Systems GMBH Preferenza | K-Fee, Paulig Cupsolo, Mr. and Mrs. Mill (Krüger Group), Milky Moo (Krüger Group), formerly Starbucks (K-Fee was formerly rebranded as Starbucks Verismo in the United States) | United States, Europe, Australia | Capsule | Physically compatible with CaffeItaly machines/pods | |
| L'OR | JDE Peet's | Philips | L'OR, Peet's | Europe, Australia, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, United States | Capsule | Espresso capsules are an unauthorized clone of Nespresso Original Line. Coffee capsules are incompatible with either line of Nespresso. | ||
| Nespresso (Original Line) | Nestle | 1976 | Eugster/Frismag branded as Krups, Magimix, Siemens; Delonghi make Latissima model | Nespresso, Starbucks. Unauthorized clones exist. | Worldwide | Capsule (Pod in bars[7]) | In 1976, Eric Favre, an employee of Nestlé, invented, patented, and introduced the Nespresso system Formerly a Nestle-controlled system until the patent expired, so unauthorized clones exist. Recyclable[8] Capable of brewing smaller sized coffees such as espresso or lungo. | |
| Nespresso VertuoLine | Nestle | 2014 | Nespresso, Starbucks | United States, Canada, France, United Kingdom, Australia, Japan | Capsule | Nestle-controlled system. Recyclable. Capable of brewing espressos, much larger coffees, and sizes in between. Uses a barcode under the capsule's ring to customize the brew to factory-designed brewing profiles. | ||
| Coffee Pods | None | 2001 (Senseo patent) | Bunn, Philips, Melitta, Grindmaster, Cuisinart, CafeXpress, etc. | Douwe Egberts, Café Liégeois, Reunion Island, Wolfgang Puck, Melitta, Fratello Coffee Roasters, etc. | Worldwide | Pod | Not owned by a specific corporation. Many more manufacturers of pods and brewers exist. Also biodegradable. | |
| T-Discs (Tassimo) | JDE Peet's | 2004 | Bosch branded as TASSIMO | JDE Peet's and Kraft Heinz (in Canada. Formerly United States) | Canada, Mexico, Europe. Withdrawn from United States. | Capsule |
Environmental activists have said that single-use coffee pods are harmful, as they are often composed of a mix of plastic, aluminium, and organic material (the used coffee) which makes them difficult to recycle. In early 2016 the German city of Hamburg banned coffee capsules from state-run buildings on environmental grounds.[9] [10] There are some capsules that are plant-based and that can be compostable as bio-waste.[11]