Coffee pods and caffeine: convenient but bland
I remember bringing my new coffee pod machine home.
It was a Nespresso, and I loved it.
Pop in a capsule, push the button, drink coffee ☕️
No mess, quick. The coffee was okay. But it wasn’t a perfectly crafted espresso.
Everybody loves a coffee pod. Apparently.
The global market for coffee pods (single-serve coffee capsules) has expanded rapidly over the past decade. In 2023 the market was estimated around $38 billion USD. That’s a lot of coin.
Even in the US, revenue is estimated at $5.3 billion (2024) — and its predicted to keep growing.
A whopping 33 million US households have a Keurig machine.
All coffee pods are not equal
This incredibly popularity has lead to an enormous variety of pods, brands, and formats.
| Brand | Typical Caffeine per Pod |
|---|---|
| Keurig K-Cup (Standard) | ~100–140 mg per 8 oz cup |
| Starbucks K-Cup (Standard) | ~130 mg per 8 oz cup |
| Starbucks 2X Caffeine Pod | ~260 mg per 8 oz cup |
| Nespresso Original (Espresso) | Range ~50–100 mg |
| Nespresso Vertuo (Coffee Mug) | ~170–200 mg per 8 oz serving |
Coffee sellers rarely list caffeine amounts.
Caffeine in coffee can vary so much between bean blend, and brew method. So we’re left with estimates based on other info the brand may have provided (like caffeine from a typical cup of instant coffee).
The heavy hitters: high-caffeine pods
- Death Wish coffee pods: Between 300-400 mg caffeine.
- Wake the Hell up pods: Claim ‘50% more caffeine’ than an average blend – so 250-400 mg.
Super-popular, but not for everyone
I enjoyed my pod machine for many years. One of the good things of Nespresso is their closed loop recycling system. Because the pods have aluminum in them, there’s value in the recycling chain.
Join our newsletter
Watching your caffeine intake? Get the latest brews and caffeine news.I was able to drop off a bag of used capsules to a place nearby.
Then one day, they stopped accepting them. That was the beginning of the end, and I upgraded to a proper espresso machine.
Messier, but there is a satisfaction in grinding fresh beans and pulling your own shot.
Keurig K-cups are made from plastic #5 (recyclable polyurethane). However the recycle process is fiddly, and its believed that 90% of them end up in landfill.
All that said, as the wholesale price of coffee continues to increase, we may well be cutting down the amount we drink anyway…
Next
