Every morning you make coffee. A capsule in the machine, press a button, done. The last thing you want to think about is what that little cup is actually made of. And that's exactly why it's worth a closer look — because most capsules are made from materials you'd rather not bring into your home every day.
What ordinary capsules are made of
Broadly, there are two kinds. The aluminium capsule is mined from bauxite and smelted into metal using enormous amounts of energy. And because you don't want your coffee touching bare aluminium, the capsule gets an inner layer of plastic or lacquer. The plastic capsule is made from petroleum — the same fossil raw material as single-use packaging. Both work fine in your machine, but they're built from harmful substances you'd rather stay well away from.
We thought it could be done differently
We turn it around. The base of our capsule is coffee itself: chaff, the fine fibres released during roasting. To hold those fibres firmly enough to handle pressure and heat in the machine, we add a biological binder — a binder based on plant material instead of petroleum.
That biological binder is called bio-plastic. Which is why you won't hear us say “plastic-free”. But there's a fundamental difference. Ordinary plastic and aluminium capsules can release tiny particles and fossil substances into your coffee under heat and pressure — exactly what you don't want in your body.
What happens after use
This is where the real difference is. A large share of aluminium capsules ends up in residual waste. All plastic capsules end up in residual waste. That means 75% (aluminium) and almost 100% (plastic) is simply incinerated. Our capsule goes straight into the food-waste bin, where both the capsule and the coffee inside turn back into compost. Research by Wageningen University & Research (2023) shows that compostable capsules are up to roughly 100% circular.
Same convenience, better coffee
Our capsules fit every Nespresso Original* machine, so nothing about your routine changes. What does change is what's inside: we fill our cups with specialty and organic-certified coffee, so you get the highest quality in your cup. The same convenience as always, with coffee you'd normally only find at a good barista.
The cleanest choice, every morning
That's how we made the world's most sustainable capsule: made from coffee, without aluminium and without fossil plastic. By choosing Q you get the convenience of a capsule and drink your coffee without worry — for yourself and for the world.
