I remember the exact moment when I was inspired to buy my capsule-based home espresso maker. My husband and I were ‘sleep training’ our eldest son (which is, of course, simply a euphemism for “minimally functioning while severely sleep-deprived”). I recall being amazed that the only coffee I could get at work afternoon was from one of those relics that spewed tasteless brown water into a Styrofoam cup. I couldn’t stomach drinking enough to even put a dent in my groggy mid-afternoon slump! While visiting a friend, she served me my first espresso from a Nespresso machine (with frothed milk to boot!) and I was studying Amazon’s espresso maker and pods inventory before I finished the first cup.
Years later, I’m still a Nespresso snob and enjoy several cups a day from both my home and office machines. Nespresso’s used pod recycling program was a great initiative and I have participated in that program since it was available in my area. But still, I admit a bit of lingering guilt for my ‘single use’ habit. Of course, from time to time, I’ve been tempted to try new brands of Nespresso-style pods, but I’ve generally been disappointed in the quality as well as in their use of plastic materials and I’ve always gone back to the branded aluminium pods. I was intrigued but a bit cautious when I learned about the new Woken brand of compostable coffee pods.
Compostable Coffee Pods
Composting coffee pods makes total sense – we used to compost our coffee filters and grounds back when I used a drip coffee maker. I love the idea of having the pods fully composted within 8 – 18 weeks after use! I was also impressed that they are compostable in both home and commercial composters – many other ‘compostable’ plastics I’ve seen are only commercially compostable. Finally, the Woken website FAQ outlines in detail how they have chosen the bioplastic materials as well as their use of renewable energy sources in producing their pods. This is definitely a product I feel good using.
The pods themselves were quite simple without any wasted colors or inks on them. They pale a little in comparison to the variety of jewel-toned Nespresso pods with their shiny aluminium surfaces. Each box is marked with both production date and expiry date, with the website noting that these pods retain their freshness for about a year after production. That seems in line with my expectations based on my use of Nespresso pods. I do like that you can set up a subscription for replenishment at the website (or, for those in Alaska and Hawaii, look for them on Amazon). There is a slight inconvenience in that they are not available in retail locations yet, but hopefully, that will not be too far off. But of course, the taste is the real measure of success!
After brewing a number of cups of the Vanilla flavor, I have been happy with the rich flavor and the thick crema I’ve gotten with these pods. You can tell that they are made with quality espresso made from Arabic and Robusta beans and that Woken has really perfected giving customers a great cup of espresso while also giving them the peace of mind that comes with a more sustainable choice in a single-use application. I think these pods are a great choice and look forward to trying more flavors of these compostable espresso pods from Woken.
Disclaimer from the website: * Woken Coffee is not affiliated with or endorsed or sponsored by Nespresso. Nespresso® is a registered trademark of Societe des Produits Nestlé S.A. Woken Coffee is suitable for Nespresso® OriginalLine machines, excluding professional machines and ‘built-in’ models.
Product received. Thanks to Woken and PR for providing us with the product. All opinions are our own.
I never heard of COMPOSTABLE COFFEE PODS FROM WOKEN. I think this is a great idea and hopefully everyone will start using these. I think I would like the vanilla coffee also!
I didn’t know that these even existed. I definitely have to give it a try! I like the idea of having compostable coffee pods!