A company has invented CoffeeB, the waste-free alternative to coffee capsules

CoffeeB could be the most environmentally friendly coffee “capsule” format ever invented, whose leftovers don’t even need to be recycled – just buried in the ground for compost ready to use in fertilizing your garden.

Very convenient to use, coffee espresso pods all have the same “dirty” secret, taking the form of plastic or aluminium waste that is theoretically collected and recycled. Except in the vast majority of cases this is not the case at all, with used capsules going straight to landfill.

The new capsule format is expected to come in packs of 8-10 “balls,” with the price of just $5 per pack being the lowest on the market. Coupled with the eco-promise of not polluting the environment with every coffee brewed, the low price could justify for many coffee lovers brewed at the push of a button the purchase of a new coffee espresso maker compatible with the new capsule format.

Unlike other “recyclable” capsules, the entire set of CoffeeB capsules will be able to be loaded into the espresso machine, sparing you an extra worry. In fact, this is a requirement of the coffee machine, as the capsules require pre-soaking of the outer shell in order to be prepared without additional waiting time.

Fully biodegradable, CoffeeB capsules have a glazed outer shell made of a soluble substance that does not affect the taste or safety of the brewed coffee. Although the inventor of the new system doesn’t say exactly what the composition is, we can assume we’re dealing with a mixture of sugar and some starch-based “hardeners”. Basically, we can only wonder why such a completely environmentally friendly system has not been invented before. Could it be because future “coffee balls” could easily be manufactured (with or without the licensee’s consent) by other coffee suppliers, eroding the potential for profit?

In any case, the new CoffeeB espresso machine will operate at 7-12bar pressure (depending on the model), theoretically delivering coffee as good as the competition’s products, only at a better price and without tons of aluminum or plastic waste left behind.