Last update September 3rd, 2022
You can’t start the day without a good espresso? You have given in to the sirens of Nespresso or any other machine using capsules and are looking for an alternative to Nespresso capsules (or other) to make an economic gesture (it is often cheaper) and ecological (less waste)? Then refillable coffee capsules are perhaps for you. We tell you all about it!
Which brands of coffee machines are affected?
Made of aluminium, disposable capsules are recyclable but few are actually recyclable. To limit waste, the reusable coffee capsule is an optimal solution. They are available for all major brands of coffee machines: Nespresso refillable capsules, Dolce Gusto or Tassimo reusable coffee capsules.
Refillable coffee capsules: what exactly are they?
These are coffee pods (plastic or stainless steel) that are reusable: you fill them with the coffee of your choice at each use and wash them after use.
Plastic or stainless steel caps, which one to choose?
They are compatible with the main brands (check the instructions on the capsule before buying) and cost between 5 and 30 (per capsule), the plastic ones are often less expensive but last longer, between 150 and 400 uses against a lifetime use for the metal ones.
The metal capsules are really hot after use, you have to wait a few minutes to extract them unlike the plastic ones.
Refillable coffee capsules: why do you need to switch?
Economic reasons
A Nespresso capsule costs 0.45 and some other compatible brands cost 0.25.
With a refillable capsule, you buy coffee in a 250g pack which costs an average of 5 between the supermarket and the roaster. Knowing that you need 5 g per dose of coffee, each coffee made with a refillable capsule costs 0,1.
If your refillable capsule costs 30 and you earn between 0.15 and 0.35 per coffee, your reusable capsule pays for itself between 85 and 235 coffees. If two of you drink 2 coffees a day, your capsule will pay for itself in one to three months.
After amortization, you will make substantial savings: for 4 coffees consumed per day, you will save between 220 and 510 euros per year.
And that’s not counting the extra coffees when you have guests.
More coffee choices
Refillable coffee capsules are compatible with all ground coffees, which means a huge choice of flavours to try!
Environmental reasons
Billions of capsules are thrown away after use in the world and few are recycled. Switching to reusable capsules reduces or even cancels all your waste: for 4 coffees per day, that’s 3 kgs less waste per year… small streams make big rivers.
