STiR coffee and tea magazine

Volume 3, Number 1

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46 STiR tea & coffee industry international T he notion that capsules make better coffee than fresh ground is mere marketing. Meaningful comparisons always give skillfully prepared handmade premium fresh-ground coffee the nod but when it comes to convenience, coffee pressed between filter paper wins hands down. Single-serve pods (ground coffee pressed between two sheets of filter material) predate sealed and open-sided plastic and aluminum capsules. Individually packed, they retain their freshness as long as cups and discs. At 40 cents per serving they are also 15-20 cents less expensive per cup and a much more sustainable single-serve option. Roasters have practiced 50 years to control the variables that insure consistent cup quality keeping pace with advances in restaurant, convenience and office coffee brew- ers that are well beyond the capabilities of all but the most expensive capsule machines. Filter pods are a significant part of the predicted $8 billion growth in single-cup sales by 2017, a five-year increase of 2.5 times, according to Ross Colbert, analyst with Rabobank International. In his presentation "In Pods We Trust" Colbert estimated pod sales at $5.1 billion in Europe in 2013, almost twice that of the U.S. His calcula- tions include Nespresso capsules which in 2012 accounted for 26% of market value, according to research by Euromonitor International. "Pods are actually benefitting from the recession – European consumers are not spending money in cafes but purchasing pod coffee machines in order to replicate the café experience at home for a better value," he said. Coffee Pods are Homeward Bound Senseo plans a return to North America. By Dan Bolton Filter pods contain 7-12 grams of ground roast and sell for 40 cents.

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