Connecting the Dots
What comes to your mind when you hear “single serve coffee”? Do you think of K-cups and coffee pods or bean to cup machines? Perhaps you prefer a lovely four-minute pour over or a thirty-second AeroPress®? Whatever your preference there is no denying that single serve is rapidly escalating in its share of the specialty coffee industry. And even though consumers are paying 50 plus dollars a pound for arguably unexceptional coffee, single-serve coffee systems only continue to gain in popularity. Improvements in design and technology are overcoming many of the previous drawbacks and criticisms of weak coffee, the ability to brew only one cup at a time, and most notably, flawed capsule designs and water heating systems. Capsule systems now offer bigger and bolder portions, some with their own travel mugs serving up portions from a 4 oz. cup to a four-cup carafe and some machines allow you the options of using capsules, pods or ground coffee.
As far as the environmental havoc that disposable K-cups create, the race is on to see who can realistically create a recyclable or compostable K-cup that will still maintain the freshness of the coffee. Much backlash stems from the vast amount of waste involved in single serve and 2020 is the target date for which Keurig intends all K-Cups to be 100% recyclable. Illy has already introduced its IperEspresso capsule recycle program where you can mail in your used capsules and they will take it from there, and Ethical Coffee of Switzerland advertises their capsules as the only biodegradable ones available. Nespresso, meanwhile has introduced recycling bins in Switzerland to collect its used capsules. In British Colombia the Lafarge cement plant turned 1.4 million K-Cups into cement last year by teaming up with Van Houtte Coffee Services, who collected the used pods for recycling.
Between the Halifax-based Egg Studios (in partnership with Social Bean Gourmet Coffee Co.) video of pods attacking the earth and K-Cup inventor John Sylvan’s interview in which he regretted creating them, it is indeed encouraging to see companies compete to make capsules more environmentally friendly.
Thankfully consumers are no longer relegated to only a few choices in the single serve realm. K-Cup varieties now include tea, hot chocolate, iced teas, fruit drinks and flavored waters. You can even carbonate them if you so wish. Many companies offer custom coffee blends, flavored coffees, certified and organic coffees, and a variety of roasts. The number of refillable reusable filters is growing and even small batch roasters are getting on board with making their own compatible capsules.
So, CoffeeTalk invites you to peruse the following pages to delve further into the single serve phenomena and explore the innovative single serve products and machines available.
Pods & Cups
by Pod Pack International, LTD.
podpack.com | 225.752.1160
Choose the Single Cup Experts. Choose the quality and service oriented copacker specializing in private labeling and national branding using your coffee and tea blends. Now, you can also choose between the convenience of the Cups or the quality, greener, and value story of the Pods.
EcoCup™ with RealCup™ Technology
by Mother Parker’s Tea & Coffee Inc.
realcup.com | 800.387.9398
With smart product design, committed industry partners and productive discussions, Mother Parker’s developed EcoCupTM to give consumers the ability to separate (without tools) all the components of the capsule, giving it the ability to compost what can be composted, recycle what can be recycled, and significantly minimize landfill waste.
Cafe Don Pablo Signature Blend Single Serve Cups
by Cafe Don Pablo
cafedonpablo.com | 305.249.5628
If you are not getting a deep, rich, fresh, full-bodied and flavorful coffee from your single serve brewer, don’t throw it out. Try Cafe Don Pablo Single Serve; it’s specialty coffee roasted in small batches that’s compatible with your Keurig machine. It’s surprisingly good!
Omnidegradable® Films
by TekPak Solutions
TekPakSolutions.com | 416.505.3839
With 54 Billion single use cups entering our waste stream each year, we offer a solution that allows enhanced Biodegradation in Landfills or Oceans in a fraction of the time it would take traditional plastics. We can replace the Lidding, Cup and Outer bags with high barrier Omnidegradable (R) materials.
KReal In-Room Capsule Brewer
by Bloomfield World Wide
bloomfieldworldwide.com | 314.678.6336
Fresh & fast flavor in every cup! The NEW Bloomfield in-room brewer is simple to operate, has better coffee extraction (more complete coffee soak) and has a large 14oz brewing capacity. Can be use with any K-Cup® or capsule. The perfect cup of coffee every time!
Curtis Gold Cup™
by Curtis
wilburcurtis.com/ | 800.421.6150
What’s new in the single cup brewing world? The Curtis Gold Cup Brewer! Each cup delivers SCAA “Golden Cup” standard coffee and perfects American-style, drip filtered brewing. Elevate the coffee experience and bring your customers the ultimate coffee experience with this remarkable new “open source” brewer. Check out wilburcurtis. com/goldcupbrewer
AeroPress coffee maker
by Aerobie, Inc.
aerobie.com | 650.493.3050
The AeroPress coffee maker uses a rapid, total immersion process to brew amazingly delicious, rich, smooth coffee in less than a minute without any bitterness and with very low acidity. It brews a clean cup without any grit and cleans up in a few seconds, both unlike a French press.
Club Coffee L.P.
by Club Coffee L.P.
clubcoffee.ca | 800.387.4367
Coming in 2015: First 100% Compostable Pod!
This revolutionary pod is designed to work in Keurig brewers including the new K2.0 models. But unlike K-cups, our entire pod is 100% Compostable. No separating, no mess, no hassle. After brewing simply drop the pod into your kitchen compost bin. “Convert to dirt!”
PodPerfect Espresso
by ABCD – Automatic Brewers and Coffee Devices, Inc.
abcd-pods.com | 610.828.6000
PodPerfect Espresso Pods from ABCD 610.828.6000 | abcd-pods.com. We precision grind your espresso beans to your exacting specs, pod it precisely in biodegradable filter paper, nitrogen flush and seal for freshness. ABCD is the first co-packer of pods in North America. For more information email ABCD today at pods@abcdusa.com.
Coffee Condiment-Spinner
by Plastic & Products Marketing
plasticpm.com | 800.654.5741
Keep your coffee customers engaged with just a spin. Look how much this holds in just 12” of counter space. From K-Cups, creamers, sugars & stirrers on 9” commercial grade turntable. Made in the USA (including Plastic!) and from a Female 100% owned business.
Double Wall Glass French Press
by Service Ideas, Inc.
serviceideas.com | 800.328.4493
French Presses allow your guests to customize their coffee experience. Brewing coffee at the table, and having it readily available is a great way to allow customers to truly appreciate the coffee they’re drinking. Double wall glass offers clear view without heat transfer.
RC400 Single Serve Brewer
by Grindmaster
rc400brewer.com | 800.695.4500
The RC400 Single Serve Brewer has revolutionized single cup brewing. The machine’s patent-pending brew chamber design combined with the utilization of pulse brewing and pre-infusion results in beverages that boast an outstanding flavor product. Superior beverage quality no longer has to be sacrificed in favor of convenience.
Bistro 10T3 HC
by Newco Enterprises Inc.
newcocoffee.com/family-bistro10.htm | 800.325.7867
The Bistro 10T3-H&C gives customers the option to serve 10 hot or cold drinks in less than 10 seconds. The H/C option allows dispensing of ambient coffee and drinks to be served over ice. The 10T3 allows sales of two liquid coffees, French Vanilla cappuccino, hot chocolate and powdered milk.
Presse by bobble
by bobble
pressebybobble.com | 919.809.5219
Presse by bobble is a clever one-cup-at-a-time coffee brewer that combines immersion brewing and reverse flow filtration. Brew, press & go for the perfect cup of coffee every time. Micro-filter prevents over-brewed bitterness and grit. 3-wall insulation keeps your coffee hot for hours. No plastic pod or paper filter waste.
FLAVIA® Barista
by Mars Drinks
barista.marsdrinks.com/barista | 484.332.3017
The Mars Drinks FLAVIA® Barista single-serve brewer was designed with the office of the future in mind; crafting perfect coffees, teas, lattes, cappuccinos, and now espressos, at the press of a button. In fact, the only thing it won’t do is misspell your name on a paper cup.
Single Serve
by Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA
mzb-usa.com | 757.215.7300
No matter your need for single serve coffee, Massimo Zanetti Beverage has you covered. MZB offers a propriety closed loop system for Office Coffee Service, or if you have an existing single serve program, try our new Filter Cups™, which offer an eco-friendly design, more coffee aroma and richer flavor.
