Contents
As you read this article, you will find the following answers:
- What was the capsule coffee machine made for?
- What is the biggest disadvantage of coffee machine capsules?
- What does their content look like, do you need to be concerned about the composition?
- What is the effect of the capsules on the environment?
Coffee is one of the most-commented topics on our blog, we encourage you to read our reflections on whether coffee can be drunk on a diet and on a sentimental journey in the article about cereal coffee.
Capsule espresso machine – cheap and… expensive way to make coffee
The first capsule coffee machine appeared in the USA in the early nineties. It was supposed to be an ideal solution for an office – clean, fast, comfortable, prestigious. This is a difficult matter to estimate, but it is assumed that currently in the United States even 1/3 of all coffees served can be prepared using this method. While overseas coffee lovers are very fond of capsule coffee machines, it is not so easy in Europe – tradition is still the leader, although a few years ago the popularity of capsules was growing.
How about this cost, because we mentioned that it’s both cheap and expensive fun? The capsule coffee machine itself – neat, designer, pleasing to the eye – can be purchased for the price even several times or More than ten times smaller than a traditional coffee machine. The first example from the edge – Krups and Tchibo coffee machines can be found for amounts in the order of PLN 100.
Expenses only start when it is operated and the cost of one capsule depends on the system, but usually ranges from PLN 1 to even PLN 3 per coffee. Trying to “water” in this way even a family of three, consisting of adults who drink at least two coffees a day …
Perhaps you associate the recently popular systems for heating tobacco, such as IQOS or GLO – the heating device itself is relatively cheap, and the producers earn real money on the purchased «cartridges». Just like the capsule coffee machine and the capsules themselves – these are expenses that almost everyone can afford, but in the long run we spend much more money than drinking classically brewed coffee.
13 BILLION plastic coffee capsules
Interesting and terrifying information can be found in this article: https://smoglab.pl/czlowiek-ktory-wynalazl-kawe-w-kapsulkach-zaluje-nie-wiem-d Why-ludzie-to-kupuja/. After all, billions of used, non-biodegradable plastic packaging is another huge environmental problem.
Suffice it to say that we have added them to a trillion others that now glide lazily across the ocean in huge plastic stains. Capsules for the coffee machine were and are convenient, but this patent certainly has one fundamental problem – it has absolutely nothing to do with ecology. Maybe this is why, apart from the momentary popularity, he did not win the hearts of recipients on the Polish market – contrary to appearances, our ecological awareness is constantly growing, and in addition to environmental protection, real coffee lovers also choose more sophisticated methods of brewing coffee.
Everything we mentioned has been collected in the form of a visualization in the following video (economy + ecology):
Even the creator of the whole project, John Sylvan himself, officially admitted the error, who did not expect his idea to be so well received on the market. As he claims, his assumptions about the development of the market concerned only a handful of offices, where such a convenience was justified – he certainly did not assume that the capsules for the coffee machine would spread so quickly to private customers.
Are coffee capsules healthy?
Since we already know the extent of the environmental catastrophe inflicted on us by disposable packaging, now is the time to check their contents. Are coffee capsules healthy?
In this case, it is much better – most of the small packages usually contain just coffee. It should be remembered about the presence of furan, which is formed during vacuum packing of a coffee portion. In excess, it is a potentially harmful chemical, but there is also good news – it is a volatile compound, so after preparing the coffee, wait a while for it to evaporate, and the longer we wait, the less it will remain in the brew.
The mentioned furan is also absent in capsules for the coffee machine in such doses that could significantly affect the human body. In order to exceed the permissible norm, it is not enough to drink 1-2 coffees from the capsules into the coffee machine, a minimum of a dozen of them should be consumed.
However, you should be careful about any flavor-enhancing additives that may be inside the coffee capsule with the coffee. Be careful especially with any flavored or 3 in 1 coffees – these often have sugar or palm oil added. Particular attention should be paid to very cheap substitutes – they can surprise you not only with a terrible composition, but also with a bad taste.
At the end, we would like to point out that, as in the case of classic brewed coffees, it is worth simply being moderate. Drinking five strong coffees a day is a rather bad idea for our physical and mental health, why? Here we refer once again to the article about coffee on the diet, which we mentioned at the very beginning.
Is there a place for a capsule coffee machine in your home? Does coffee prepared in this way actually taste better? What do you think about the ecological aspect of the whole matter?