HOW IS A NEW PRODUCT CREATED AT SPECIALCOFFEE?

How is a new product created at SpecialCoffee? Carefully balancing tradition and innovation.

The roaster’s recipes and secrets are handed down from generation to generation but beyond this integral building block, an ever watchful eye must look to the future to stay mindful of the values and philosophy of quality and responsibility without neglecting research and innovation.

The great experience and know-how in enhancing the Italian culture of espresso coffee in the world must be blended with the foresight and creativity that characterize the excellence of production.

SpecialCoffee’s history is marked by almost 20 years of evolution and the company continues to create, innovate and grow.

The market

The market is increasingly moving towards premium products driven by key trends such as quality, sustainability and the possibility of personalization. High in demand are products able to satisfy the needs of an increasingly curious, demanding and attentive consumer who are eager to try new experiences of taste, which however can not leave aside the quality of the product.

In front of a consumer of this type, even espresso coffee needs attention, to keep up with trends thus placing itself on the market as an innovative and environmentally friendly product ultimately satisfying the needs of consumers.

The single-serve coffee trend

The consumption of single-serve coffee has now supplanted the soluble version and the ground coffee.
This trend is emerging in many countries which are increasingly overwhelmed by this revolution of habits and customs happening inside the coffee cup.

What does the web say about it?
Blogs and forums are the most used web environments to discuss the preparation of home coffee, a topic that warms the hearts, ignites debate and stimulates passion.

The motivations that push the consumer to opt for single-serve coffee at home are that it’s easy and fast to use and clean without waste.

Those who prefer the pod, they do it above all for ecological and health reasons.

Like all revolutions, this too generates costs and problems.

Every day thousands of capsules end up in garbage bins and become a threat to the environment, a sea of plastic that can take up to 200 years to decompose.

The amount of tons of CO₂ released into the atmosphere for the production of plastic capsules is also under accusation.

The problem of disposal and environmental impact

Earth Day is celebrated worldwide each year on 22 April.
This initiative was first launched by the United Nations in 1970 with the aim of raising public awareness about environmental issues.

Every year World Earth Day turns the spotlight on numerous and increasingly more relevant green issues.

The 2018 edition of Earth Day focused on the ever-increasing production of plastic waste and the resulting pollution of water sources.

From poisoning marine life to littering our beaches and landscapes and clogging our landfills, the exponential growth of plastics is more and more a real threat to the survival of our planet.

Currently, about 300 million tons of plastic are produced each year to make bags, bottles, packaging and other products for people from all over the world. Unfortunately, only about 10% of this plastic is recycled and re-used correctly. The rest ends up in landfills or as waste in our natural environment where dangerous chemicals disperse into the soil and the surrounding waters, endangering human beings and wildlife.

What it takes to fundamentally change human attitude and behavior about plastics.

Bringing citizens of the world to a new level of awareness on plastic pollution by promoting a virtuous circle of positive behavior is an ambitious goal.

It means enforcing best practices to reduce the quantity of plastic waste on a day-to-day basis whether it’s plastic plates or toothbrushes.

They are all everyday objects, just like coffee.

Indeed, with the explosion of coffee in capsules, espresso has also become a pleasure that’s not always sustainable.
Just think of the guidelines of several European cities such as Hamburg, which, in order to reduce the production of non-recyclable plastic waste, already banned the use of coffee in plastic capsules two years ago.

Does this mean we should feel guilty when we drink espresso at home?

By choosing the pod, once the coffee has been dispensed, the pod can be thrown into the organic waste bin and later recovered to be transformed into compost.

This solution offers consumers the possibility to enjoy the ultimate pleasure of authentic Italian espresso while embracing sustainability and awareness.

It can play an important role in reducing plastic waste if combined with proper management of waste sorting on a daily basis.

Manufacturing companies must too commit themselves to face this change.

SpecialCoffee believes in the value of the pod

At SpecialCoffee, we always believed the pods could be eco-friendly and the coffee could taste as good as ever.

These pods preserve the aroma of SpecialCoffee’s blend while ensuring excellent coffee quality in the cup.

The paper pod has many advantages that we do not find in other solutions, such as in plastic or aluminum capsules.

The brand new SpecialCoffee Premium Espresso Pod

In order to guide the consumer in discovering an authentic and unique taste experience, we enriched our product range with a new coffee blend for pods.

We integrated innovation with the increasingly premium and trendy experience of single-serving coffee making it in line with contemporary lifestyles that now harmonize innovation and tradition; speed and rituality; and globality and origin.

Younger consumers usually fall into this category as they are generally lovers of good food and travel while curious and attentive to the issues of environmental impact. All factors we aim to achieve with the quality and sustainability of the new Premium Espresso Pod.

The coffee blend

Blending is an ancient art that nowadays integrates research and experimentation to enhance the ability to combine different varieties of coffee together with the choice of the type of roasting. Conquering the most demanding and attentive palates while offering unique experiences is our aim.

The new Premium Espresso Pod contains a blend of sweet and aromatic taste made up of a high percentage of fine Brazilian and Central American Arabica balanced by Robusta sourced from selected plantations growing the best Asian coffees (for discovering more about Premium Espresso Pod, read here) which is added to the signature Espresso Pod for providing, even better, the experience of a good espresso.

The new Premium Espresso Pod offers a more particular experience as it brings in the cup an unmistakable taste experience. It’s a perfect blend of aroma and body that begins with the study and direct knowledge of the raw material along with its characteristics and history related to preferences of consumers.

The magic and harmony is provided by the blend of several varieties of coffee which is differentiated not only by the country and the area of origin, but also by quality (Arabica or Robusta) and type of processing (natural or washed).
For this, the type of roasting influences decisively.

The pod

Ground coffee inside the pod is made with a professional grinder that’s constantly kept clean and controlled which isn’t always the case for the normal grinders used in cafeterias.

Also, grinding is controlled with high precision instruments and checked with extractions using a traditional machine.

Within each pod, the coffee is pressed by a system that guarantees the same degree of pressing so that the quality of the extracted espresso is constant, regardless of the operator who prepares the coffee.

Finally, the protective atmosphere allows freshness, taste and aroma to be kept intact until the time of extraction.
In fact, let’s not forget that coffee is a delicate product that loses its organoleptic properties in contact with the air causing negative repercussions on the final taste in the cup.

That’s why we have chosen to enclose the new SpecialCoffee blend in eco-friendly pods composed of compostable filter paper, perfect to preserve the taste, aroma and freshness of a just roasted coffee. They are incredibly easy to use and ideal for offering a wide variety of choice..
including HORECA!

Photo credit: thanks to Manuel Orlandi Photographer