Reaching New Heights Of Popularity: Espresso Coffee Pods

Espresso coffee pods, or espresso pods for short, have been around for more than 50 years. First used in Italy to relieve office workers who did not have the expertise, or time, to constantly man the espresso machines for themselves and their co-workers, espresso pods were developed and used as a matter of convenience. Around 1989, French coffee company illy saw the benefit of developing an espresso pod as a way to facilitate getting their espresso machines into the home.

However, the explosion of gourmet coffee shops, like Starbucks and others, drove demand for the not-so-average cup of coffee and increased interest in having the “home” version of the same thing readily available. However, early espresso machines were big, bulky, expensive and intimidating in the home environment. One had to almost be a coffee roaster to be able to deliver a shot of espresso with any level of expertise and drink-ability.

Coffee Roasters and machine manufacturers capitalized on the movement by developing espresso pods that added the convenience and consistency factor, but limited or restricted their pods to their machines. This required the consumer to continue to buy pods from the machine manufacturer, a sometimes less than desirable arrangement for the coffee connoisseur.

The E.S.E., or better known as the Easy Serving Espresso Pod (ese pod), was a standard developed by the coffee industry more than 40 years ago. An ese espresso coffee pod consists mainly of 7 grams of coffee compressed into a disk about 45-50 mm across and sandwiched between two pieces of paper which makes up the coffee filter. These ese pods can be placed in a wide variety of home and commercial espresso machines and with a touch of a button a perfect shot of espresso can be delivered, regardless of the expertise of the brewmaster.

The ESE Consortium (www.eseconsortium.com), based in Milano, Italy, was founded in 1998 when seven coffee roasters and espresso machine manufacturers came together to help form standards for espresso coffee pods and this fast emerging industry. Moreover, today, their membership is a virtual Who’s Who of the coffee industry, touting ease of use, time savings, cleanliness, and constant quality espresso as their mission.

Espresso coffee pods and ese pods are now offered by a growing number of specialty coffee roasters such as: illy; Nespresso; Krups; Lavazza; and DeLonghi. Not only do specialty food stores such as Williams-Sonoma carry espresso machines that accept espresso coffee pods, but more mainstream stores such as Target carry them as well. So the next time you are in your favorite local gourmet coffee shop, remember that with the advent of espresso coffee pods, you could have the same great taste in the convenience of your own home.