Recently, wholesale coffee pods and capsules have grown tremendously popular, giving hospitality businesses the ability to conveniently brew high-quality coffee and espresso beverages at the push of a button.
With the meteoric rise of wholesale coffee pods and capsules into the market, there are more coffee flavors, origins and roasts available than ever before.
So, as more foodservice and hospitality businesses work with wholesale coffee capsule suppliers, many of them understandably ask what “their best option” is.
Because every business is unique, it’s a nuanced question. Read on to learn more about choosing the right wholesale coffee pods and capsules for your business.
Before we look at how to find “the best” coffee pods and capsules, it’s important to understand how to measure coffee quality.
The first real measurement of quality in the coffee supply chain is grading. This takes place after harvesting and processing. When they are graded, coffee beans are sorted by size and density, as well as the number of defects present. Grading systems often vary from one producing country to another.
Once graded, it is then cupped. Cupping is the practice of tasting and scoring a coffee to assess its sensory quality. The most well-known and ubiquitous scoresheet is the Specialty Coffee Association's Arabica Cupping Form.
The industry considers any score above 80/100 points “specialty coffee”, whereas anything below 80 points is “commercial coffee” or “commodity coffee”.
So, what influences the quality of coffee capsules specifically?
Chris Petrovich is the Metropolis Director of Coffee. He says: “When measuring quality for capsules, we look at a few different factors, including the flavor, body, crema, and the length of extraction time for a shot. We measure these same factors over time, to ensure the quality continues to hold up, month after month.
“In addition to flavor, crema and extraction time, we also measure roast profile, grind size, distribution, leak rate, oxygen percentage in the capsule and the strength of the seal. Each of these factors contribute to the flavor and longevity of the capsule.”
Chris says that when deciding which coffee to use, information like origin, coffee variety, roast level and processing method are particularly useful.
“These pieces of information help us to develop the capsule recipe to highlight specific nuances or characteristics that ultimately balance out the flavor,” he explains.
Once you select a coffee for your wholesale coffee pods or espresso capsules, there are three more crucial steps: roasting, grinding and filling the capsules.
Once the coffee is roasted, it then needs to be ground. Wholesale coffee pods and capsules require an extremely fine grind size – much finer than espresso.
At this size, even minor inconsistencies can cause issues with extraction. This is why we use a commercial roller mill for Metropolis coffee capsules, rather than a conventional grinder. It allows us to maximize particle size consistency – which means fewer fines, and a more consistent flavor profile.
“The percentage of fines in espresso capsules is extremely important to the overall profile,” he explains. “If you have too many, then the brew will be over-extracted; on the other hand, grind too coarse, and you’ll end up with a thin, watery body.”
“Metropolis espresso capsules are the only specialty commercially compostable capsules in the US market,” Chris says. “We have 20 years of experience in sourcing and roasting some of the best coffees.”
This is why we’re able to provide a full-service, end-to-end solution for hospitality businesses that require wholesale coffee capsules. To start with, we offer our standard range of coffee capsules on a wholesale basis:
However, alongside this, we also provide a private label service. This is where we can either put your coffee into a capsule, or design a bespoke blend for your coffee capsules based on your vision and requirements.
For example, your choice of roast profile will ultimately come down to your customers’ preferences. Darker, more developed roasts are widely popular for their classic, bold flavors and pair well with milk. On the other hand, medium and light roasts are more delicate and complex – and are becoming more prominent.
Chris concludes: “I believe that custom wholesale coffee pods and capsules open up new opportunities for hospitality operators to easily and luxuriously fine-tune the customer experience through great coffee.”
Interested in learning more? Check out our wholesale co-packing and private-label espresso capsule solutions today.
Certified compostable facilities may not exist in your area. To find a composter near you, visit www.findacomposter.com or www.compostnow.org on all packaging and marketing materials.
Metropolis Coffee is not affiliated with, endorsed, or sponsored by Nespresso. Nespresso is a registered trademark of Société des Produits Nestlé.
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