Capsules and pods with ground coffee: what are they and how are they divided?

CAPSULES and PODS

All of you have already heard of capsules but perhaps a little less often than PODS!

But what's the difference? Let's see it together ...

Usually the capsules have a cylindrical shape, more or less large, and are produced with various materials, such as aluminum, plastic and fortunately today we also find compostable materials.

It must be said that in general they are designed for a "closed" system, that is, the big brands have conceived and placed their capsules on the market, creating a proprietary "container", which subsequently, thanks to their diffusion, have become a "common good". let's say so, since the relative compatible capsules were able to be produced at a later stage ... obviously this varies according to the type and diffusion of the capsule we are talking about.

The weight, on the other hand, depends on the size of the capsule or pod used for our Espresso coffee and can vary from approximately 5 to 7 grams.

The pods, in addition to having a flattened shape, are usually composed of filtering paper materials, containing cellulose, but this is not always the case, since there are also those who use other materials that are not strictly attributable to pure cellulose.

But the question that each of us could ask is: is it better capsules or pods?

Of course we would say our capsules hehe since we are talking about high quality coffee SPECIALTY MONORIGINE, whose aroma is perfectly enclosed in a double casing, its capsule and a package sealed in a protective atmosphere, both for hygienic reasons and for the maintenance of all the organoleptic characteristics of our fresh roasted coffee.

But the question comes back ... better capsule or wafer? Better weight of 5 gr or 7 gr?

The most correct answer, considering the vast world of capsules and pods, is definitely to go back to your personal taste! 

But now we come to some in-depth information on the subject, trying to give you the best advice and trying to list a series of elements that can be very useful:

- always check that they are well protected by a double casing (LIKE OURS!);

- pay a minimum of attention to the production date and / or expiry date, to avoid buying capsules or pods that are too old; keep in mind that our Nespresso * compatible capsules are never older than 15/30 days from roasting to ensure the freshness and fragrance of the coffee they contain (needless to say that very often "convenience" is not synonymous with quality. ..but it's not always so obviously, exceptions confirm the rule!).

 Many of you will ask "eh but what does freshness matter, the duration of the capsules or pods sometimes even reaches 3 years of expiry ... this is precisely where we invite you to reflect:

- Didn't we say that a freshly ground coffee already loses a good part, up to 50%, of its aroma? This is the reason ... the older a coffee is, the easier it will be for it to lose aroma, texture, taste and above all quality.

Unfortunately too often the best coffee capsules or pods are not sought in terms of quality and organoleptic characteristics, but rather the cheapest ones, forgetting that the best coffee capsules from the point of view of aroma, taste and aromas, certainly will not cost a few tens of cents, and we are convinced of this, because also and above all in the world of coffee, Quality with a capital Q requires great professionalism, experience, attention to detail, meticulousness, a careful selection of suppliers and related techniques of cultivation, production and storage, up to a refined selection of the finest single origins and blends.

We now come to something more technical:

E.S.E.PODS (Easy Serving Espresso)

First of all, what are they? For those who have never heard of them, they are pods invented in the 70s specifically for sale abroad, therefore for the export of our coffee, to offer a quality extraction standard, constant over time but above all to remedy all problems related to the operator's manual skills.

In the late 1990s, a consortium was born that improved the aforementioned standard, called the Consortium for the Development and Protection of the ESE Standard.

The non-profit Consortium was created voluntarily to support the culture of serving and portioned coffee, as the ESE pod, in its approximately 44 mm in diameter and approximately 10 mm thick, contains exactly 7 grams of coffee, single-portion and ideal dose for obtaining an aromatic, full-bodied Espresso coffee with the right cream, as in the BAR, certainly among the best and simplest solutions for tasting an excellent Espresso.

Now we come to the ADVANTAGES of ESE type pods:

1) They are pods produced with compostable material, therefore they can be discarded in the household waste, as the dose of coffee is enclosed within 2 sheets of filter paper, completely natural and therefore compostable; if we then have the pod casing and the relative box, also in compostable material, we will have a completely eco-sustainable and therefore eco-friendly product!

2) One of the big advantages is the compatibility of the aforementioned pods with all those Espresso machines with the E.S.E brand (now most of the Espresso manuals) or all those Espresso machines dedicated and created specifically for serving, therefore Espresso type with E.S.E pods; in this case we are talking about an "OPEN system" and certainly not closed like the previous ones or as certain brands that only admit certain types of proprietary pods or capsules, with the aim, rightly, of carving out their market niche!

 NB

 Do not forget that there are other types and formats of pods, with different shapes or two portions, which are NOT and do not reflect the E.S.E.

3) The ease of use and therefore of extraction of our Espresso coffee, since the water must not first pass through any type of resistant material, such as plastic and aluminum, but must simply pass through a very light and very thin layer of completely natural paper, the which does not release any type of residue but above all will never have any compatibility problems with the ESE branded Espresso machine as an international standard that has been tested and consolidated for decades, although not yet widespread today.

Kanuni Coffee is also working so that you can take advantage of this extraordinary invention of E.S.E. but in the meantime we offer all our customers a product of the highest quality, as we are talking about coffee Monorigine Specialty, in Nespresso * compatible capsules, from Ethiopia and Colombia.

Until next time

Coffee Code

* The brand is not owned by Kanuni Coffee