Nespresso compatible pods launching June 2021
Coffee capsules are a super handy way to make your coffee. When you don't have the time or energy to deal with an espresso machine, a coffee machine that uses capsules saves you the effort. You can simply warm the machine up, pop the pod into the machine and have coffee ready to drink in less than 2 minutes! We know that many coffee drinkers love the convenience of coffee capsules, which is why we are releasing our Rwanda Bwishaza Washed and Costa Rica SL28 Honey Processed coffees in ethical coffee pods. We're bringing you an easy way to enjoy your favourite coffees in the morning (or whenever you like a cup of joe) while supporting ethical coffee producers. Want to order now? Head over to our Ethical Coffee Pods page.
About the Coffees in Our Ethical Coffee Pods
We work closely with our partner producers to bring you ethical coffee. Our Rwanda Bwishaza Washed Processed and Costa Rica SL28 Honey Processed coffees are two of our most popular products, which is why we've chosen them as our first coffee to be offered in convenient Nespresso pods. These coffees are directly traded at fair prices to ensure everyone involved in the process is paid a fair wage. We choose high-quality, speciality grade coffee to ensure both that it's produced ethically and that it provides the very best experience for our customers. Both of these coffee score 85+ points on the SCA grading scale (Bradley, one of our directors, is a licensed Q grader).
We are launching our Nespresso compatible pods with the following two relationship coffees:
Rwanda Bwishaza
This Red Bourbon coffee comes from north of Kibuye in Rwanda and has been directly traded with producers who offer full transparency of their production process. We've visited Bwishaza co-operative several times and love their dedication to producing fantastic speciality grade coffee.
This well-balanced coffee has gentle fruit notes that include orange, caramel and chocolate and works very well as an all-round capsules. We already sell it as a whole bean product and pre-ground, and now it's available in handy ethical coffee pods.
Costa Rica SL28
Produced by the Aguilera brothers in the West Valley region of Costa Rica, this honey-processed coffee is sourced in partnership with Selva Coffee. It's a clean and bright coffee with juicy flavours, including crisp red apple, blackcurrant, and caramel. If you've been enjoying it as either whole bean or pre-ground or you're looking for something new to try, why not try this coffee in a capsule?
Recyclable Coffee Pods
One of the concerns that some people might have about coffee capsules is that they could produce a lot of waste. While some coffee capsules are not recyclable or not typically accepted in your household recycling collection, the packaging that we use for our Nespresso-compatible pods is fully recyclable. The pods are made from aluminium which means that, like aluminium cans or other products, they can simply be placed in with your standard metal recycling. The cardboard boxes can be recycled with your paper and card recycling too.
The Rise of Coffee Capsules
The use of coffee capsules has grown hugely in the last ten years or so. Since 2009, the market has grown from being centralised around Western Europe to being a more global market. Nespresso is one of the most popular coffee machine brands for people who want the convenience of coffee pods that they can simply pop into the machine. While you can buy Nespresso products for your machine, it's also possible to buy products like ours that are compatible with Nespresso machines, opening up the possibilities and allowing you to enjoy a greater range of different coffees. While it's possible to find budget capsules, these tend to contain coffee that isn't traceable or speciality grade. We wanted to make sure we focus on producing pods that contain coffee that we have directly sourced at prices that are fair to the producers.
There are several reasons coffee capsules have become more popular over the years. Many people want to recreate the experience of having a coffee from a cafe or coffee shop when they're at home. However, not everyone wants to buy an espresso machine and grinder to make their coffee from scratch. A machine that uses coffee pods offers an easy option for fast coffee that still gives you the delicious taste of fresh coffee. It offers an alternative to instant coffee that's still convenient but tastes a whole lot better.
Previously, you could only use Nespresso pods in Nespresso machines, but that changed in 2014 after a French court ruled that Nespresso had to co-operate with compatible capsule makers. This means that you can now use compatible pods in most Nespresso machines without voiding your warranty.
Over the last year, coffee pods have only become even more popular due to the pandemic. With cafes and other establishments closed to the public, people were desperate to get their delicious coffee fix without necessarily having to buy a cafe-worthy setup for their home. A machine like a Nespresso or something similar provides an alternative, giving you the best of both worlds. You get the convenience of instant coffee and the great taste of freshly ground coffee, and you can have the pods delivered straight to your home too.
How to Use Coffee Capsules
If you don't already own a coffee machine that takes capsules or you've just bought one, they're not at all difficult to use. In fact, they're designed to be easy. You just need to make sure that any ethical coffee pods that you buy are compatible with the machine that you own. Branching out from pods made by the same brand as your machine manufacturer gives you a few advantages. You get more variety from your coffee, you can make sure the pods contain ethically sourced coffee. Our ethical coffee pods are available in boxes of 10 capsules, and we offer great discounts when you bulk buy!
Using a coffee pod is simple. Follow these steps to get the best from our capsules:
- Use fresh, filtered water.
- Turn your machine on and allow it to warm up. (Most machine heat up within 2 minutes.)
- Purge water through into your cup to warm everything up.
- Place the capsules into the machine.
- Brew your coffee!
Most pod machines have two or three buttons, and these can be calibrated to dispense different amounts of water. We recommend setting one button to dispense a short shot of 25-30g and another to dispense a longer shot of 70g. You can then decide how you'd like to brew your pods depending on personal tastes.
If you don't already own a capsules machine take a look at the Opal One. These are fantastic Nespresso compatible pod machines designed to get the best from speciality coffee pods. It features adjustable temperate and a silicone brew chamber that creates a proper seal around the capsule to ensure all the water is pushed through the coffee.
Our ethical coffee pods are perfect for anyone looking for an ethical, eco-conscious way of making their coffee. The coffee is sourced responsibly, and the packaging is fully recyclable via household recycling collections.
