Colonna Rolls Out Fully Recyclable Coffee Capsules

Colonna Coffee has launched a range of entirely recyclable coffee capsules.

Created to be compatible with Nespresso machines, the capsules are 100% aluminium, whereas most capsules usually contain a certain amount of plastic that must be separated before recycling. This means consumers just need to scoop out the coffee into their household waste or compost and then put the capsule into their recycling bin.

Colonna Coffee, based in Bath, England, was founded by Maxwell Colonna-Smalls, a portrait artist turned three-time UK barista champion and coffee connoisseur. Since opening his coffee shop-come-tasting-destination in 2009 – he insists it’s not a cafe – Colonna has worked with researchers from the University of Bath to discover how to get the best out of coffee, from the water to use to freezing beans before grinding them.

As a roastery, Colonna offers single origin coffee in three genres: foundation, discovery and rare. Foundation coffees have a balanced, clean, and full-bodied flavour profile. The discovery genre is full of coffees with exciting and distinctive flavours, whether it is aromatic and floral, or packed full of fruit. The rare genre offers the most sought after lots from auctions and prestigious farms around the world. As harvesting seasons change, so do the coffees in each genre. Colonna celebrates this seasonality by showcasing a variety of coffees in their capsules throughout the year.

“There are multiple coffees we have at the roastery which we think taste best in capsules, better than in espresso or filter form…we’re really excited to be launching these capsules,” Colonna-Smalls told Tea & Coffee Trade Journal. “Capsule coffee is also really efficient in that machines only use the water you need, the amount of coffee you need, but there is still waste [in the capsule itself].”

Moving forward, Colonna is looking at creating a closed loop production cycle where used capsules are returned to the shop, the aluminium is recycled into new pods and the coffee grounds go to an organisation called Bio-Bean, who create biofuel out of the grounds.

Colonna Coffee capsules are available from their website and stockists including Harrods, Selfridges, Amazon Wholesale and specialist coffee shops worldwide. Prices start at £11.00 for 20 capsules. In addition to capsules, Colonna’s coffees are available in whole beans and decaffeinated varieties roasted for espresso or filter.

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