Single Served Coffee
We live in an age of undeniable convenience. We live in a time when everything moves much faster: information, transportation, expectation. We surround ourselves with conveniences that make our over-scheduled lives easier to navigate. We are a people on the go and we need portability in our products. Welcome to the 24/7 world.
Single serve packaging has been around for many years in the food industry. As a kid in the 70’s, I grew up eating cereal out of individual boxes you cut open, pour in the milk, and voila, portability in a snap, crackle, pop.
Recent history is filled with examples of the subtle shift to single serve packaging within the food and coffee industry. Just over 20 years ago, we saw children’s lunches become portable, with the birth of the “lunchable”. It is an example that, when broken down to its simplest form, is the response to a changing society. A society where both parents worked and/or were divorced, where technology was developing in ways that we could only imagine the impact it would have on our lives, and where time was money.
Fast forward a few decades and we are a society in constant motion and coffee is no exception. There once was a time where we enjoyed a leisurely pot of coffee, sitting at the breakfast table, reading the morning paper. Now, we quickly brew a single cup of coffee as we head out the door, scanning an average of 3-5 different news sources on our way to work, checking email, and of course, wishing our Facebook friends happy birthday.
Single serve in coffee has two completely separate paths; the single serve cup brewing system and the pour over method that serves one single cup of coffee at a time. One is solely based on convenience, the other is based on quality. “Coffee” people have very strong feelings about both methods and can make the layperson feel like they have to choose one. But do we?
Single Serve: The Cup
The explosion of single serve coffee has been written about, analyzed, and – love it or hate it – has found a home in specialty coffee. The popularity is simple and a direct result of the limitations we have on our time. We have sacrificed quality for convenience, generally speaking. However, with the patent coming off the “k cup”, more and more specialty coffee roasters are creating the avenue for their customers to enjoy great coffee in the single serve brew systems.
Single Serve: The Pour
Conceptually, it is a very simple method of making coffee. Paper or ceramic filter, ground coffee on-demand, a carafe or cup, pour the water over the grounds, and you have coffee. It can be done at home or in your local specialty coffee shop where you can watch the craft of coffee brewing and savor your individually served single cup of coffee. It is single serve with quality at the forefront, but it is not a quick on-the-go cup of coffee. This is the option for those who want to linger, who have three to five minutes to wait while their coffee is brewed. This is “foodie” coffee.
“Coke or Pepsi?”
I appreciate the dual development of both methods for brewing a single cup of coffee and the irony of the opposite spectrums. While one focuses on convenience/quality and the other on quality/convenience, both offer options that fit into my life as a consumer of coffee. For me, it has never been an “either/or”, but simply different methods for different times of my day.
Keeping on pouring.
By Kelle Vandenberg
The Curtis G4 CGC Single Cup Coffee Brewer
by Curtis
wilburcurtis.com | (800) 421-6150
Digital Control Module provides precise control over all brewing aspects: time, temperature, volume plus specialty coffee needs from pre-infusion to pulse-brewing to water bypass. Brew basket’s siphon allows for water level to rise to the perfect level without exiting. Produces the true profile of the intended roast taste and experience.
AeroPress coffee maker
by Aerobie, Inc.
aerobie.com | (650) 493-3050
The AeroPress coffee maker delights coffee roasters and retailers who appreciate the control it provides over the brewing process. By managing variables like grind, water temperature, coffee to water ratio, and steep time, you can optimize the recipe for each coffee and enjoy all the beautiful flavors of your coffees.
LMI Packaging Offers Single-Serve Lidding
by LMI Packaging Solutions
lmipackaging.com | (262) 947-3300
With nearly 50 years in the flexible packaging market, LMI Packaging combines large-run production capability with boutique-style service to offer a proven line of lidding for brewable beverage packaging. Committed to new product innovations, product line expansions, and efficiency advancements, LMI partners with all segments of the brewable beverage market.
Subtle Earth Organic Coffee Single Serve Cups
by Don Pablo Coffee Roasting Company
cafedonpablo.com | (305) 249-5628
Top selling Subtle Earth Organic Coffee by Burke Brands LLC is now available in Keurig® 2.0 compatible Single Serve Cups. Full Body with a Deep, Rich Chocolaty Flavor and a Clean Finish. 100% Arabica, Organic certified by CCOF, Non GMO. Contact Rocco Schettini, National Sales Manager at: rschettini@burkebrands.com
Don Francisco’s Single-Serve
by Gavina Gourmet Coffee
gavina.com | (800) 428-4627
Our Family Reserve coffees reflect the art of four generations of passion for coffee. We select only the world’s best beans and roast them to perfection. Try the newest members to our Single-Serve Coffee line: 100% Colombia Supremo, Decaf 100% Colombian, and Hawaiian Hazelnut.
Brown Gold 100% Kenyan and 100% Sumatran Coffee
by Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee Inc.
realcup.com | (800) 387-9398
100% Single Origin Coffee
S&D Single Serve Collection
by S&D Coffee & Tea
sdspecialtycoffee.com | (800) 933-2210
S&D Coffee wants to meet all of your coffee needs. We offer multiple single-cup options to help you balance your customers’ demands for freshness and variety with your desire for convenience and waste management. S&D is proud to pour eight decades of experience into the single serve cup.
