Your coffee is compostable again

From the classic Senseo to the high-tech Nespresso Vertuo: lots of people love a cup of coffee. But consumers face a dilemma: do you go for top flavor, for the convenience of, say, an all-in-one milk solution, or do you follow your green conscience? A critical look at flavor and the necessary return to compostable alternatives.

For many, the morning ritual is sacred: press a button and instantly enjoy a steaming cup of coffee. This revolution in convenience began decades ago with the Illy ESE serving, the ‘mother’ of all single-dose systems. This was an open standard, essentially a tea bag for espresso, which changed the market forever.

Today, however, the landscape looks radically different. Tech giants such as Nestlé and JDE Peet's have divided the market. We are seeing an arms race of patents, barcodes, and new materials. But as the machines become smarter, the waste mountain grows.

The gold standard and the taste illusion

With its Original line, Nespresso set the undisputed standard for home espresso. With a pump pressure of 19 bar and hermetically sealed aluminum capsules, the system approximates the experience of a real espresso machine. Yet that taste experience is not without controversy. Coffee authorities such as James Hoffman note that the coffee in these capsules is often roasted quite dark. While this guarantees consistency, it comes at the expense of the fruity, complex nuances you taste in specialty coffee. For the average consumer, however, convenience far outweighs the convenience of a piston machine.

For a long time, this focus on convenience had a major downside: the enormous mountain of waste. In theory, aluminum is infinitely recyclable, but in practice, it is more difficult. Because a large proportion of the capsules still end up in the residual waste, the actual recycling rate in the Netherlands remains low. Moreover, remelting requires a lot of energy. The market responded to this with a proliferation of cheaper, plastic alternatives. Ironically, this exacerbated the problem: plastic cups are even more difficult to recycle due to their composite materials and pollute the chain. The real gain lies in a third option that is gaining ground: fully biodegradable cups.

The printer model

Manufacturers are watching with regret as competitors make (sustainable) cups for their machines. Their response is a technological offensive. New systems such as Nespresso Vertuo and Tassimo use a closed ecosystem, in which the machines read a unique barcode on the cup. With Vertuo, this code determines the rotation speed, temperature, and amount of water. This is sold to consumers as the ultimate guarantee of quality: every cup is made exactly as the roaster intended.

It is the classic ‘printer model’ or ‘razor blade model’: the machine is offered at a relatively low price, but the profit is made on the consumables. The patented barcodes make it extremely difficult for third parties to produce compatible cups. This system mainly offers advantages for the manufacturer. As a consumer, you are tied to the brand and its prices, while losing the freedom to choose your own beans or supplier. Your coffee supply thus becomes completely dependent on one manufacturer.

Good coffee, without guilt

While manufacturers are putting up digital walls, pressure from the EU and conscious consumers is forcing them to innovate in other ways. Packaging must become greener. Spurred on by niche players such as De Koffiejongens—who have already been successful with compostable cups—the big players are having to follow suit. Nespresso recently introduced paper cups that can be composted at home for their Original machines. These cups, which have a biopolymer coating, are a direct response to life cycle assessments (LCA). These analyses conclusively show that compostable cups are the most sustainable option, provided they actually end up on the compost heap. They are far more environmentally friendly than both energy-intensive aluminum and fossil-based plastic.

Nestlé's other brand, Dolce Gusto, is also taking steps towards the green consumer with its NEO system. Here, hard plastic cups are being replaced by compostable pads and sachets. The aim is clear: to enjoy a good cup of coffee without the guilt of residual waste. However, if you look beyond the marketing, you will see that this ‘innovation’ is suspiciously similar to a step back in time. The new sachets are the spitting image of the pads used in a machine that is often forgotten in today's world of barcodes and high-tech: the Senseo.

The silent power of the pad

Amidst all the hype surrounding barcodes and high-tech extraction, the ‘old’ Senseo is often forgotten. This ‘old’ system was actually ahead of its time in terms of sustainability. JDE Peet's Senseo pads are fully industrially compostable and contain hardly any plastic. The system works at a much lower pressure (around 1.5 bar) than Nespresso, making the coffee more like filter coffee than espresso.

For many people, however, this is exactly the intention: a large mug of coffee without any fuss. The price per cup is considerably lower than that of the competition, and the ecological footprint is minimal. Senseo demonstrates that sustainability does not always require high-tech solutions. The disadvantage remains the intensity of the flavor; a pad system is physically unsuitable for a syrupy espresso. However, those who care about ‘no-nonsense’ coffee will still find a strong ally here.

Conclusion: Convenience versus freedom

Nowadays, choosing a coffee machine is no longer just a matter of taste, but also a choice for the environment. The emergence of compostable cups at both Nespresso and Dolce Gusto is a necessary step to make the environmental impact of our convenience manageable.