The Fioresso capsule: the capsule that should never have been introduced

The capsule: it seems like a detail in the process of developing Fioresso, the new international coffee concept that would introduce real Italian espresso to the homes of consumers. But to Jack, the Dutch coffee connoisseur who would create Fioresso, there are no such thing as details. ‘Uncompromised. Caffè.’: it’s no coincidence that this is what Fioresso is all about. Even though this would mean that a ‘simple’ capsule would radically differ from all other coffee capsules yet available.

The development of the first capsules about 20 years ago introduced a revolution in coffee-making. It was a new technique for a completely new way of making coffee. All you had to do was put the capsule with the flavour you wanted into a machine and press a button. That was it.

The capsules of familiar brands now sold in stores are still based on that same invention. Behind the scenes, however, the development of the coffee capsule has never stopped. What few people know is that the inventor of that original capsule continued attempts to perfect it. How to improve it

The development of the first capsules about 20 years ago introduced a revolution in coffee-making. It was a new technique for a completely new way of making coffee. All you had to do was put the capsule with the flavour you wanted into a machine and press a button. That was it.

The capsules of familiar brands now sold in stores are still based on that same invention. Behind the scenes, however, the development of the coffee capsule has never stopped. What few people know is that the inventor of that original capsule continued attempts to perfect it. How to improve it Could the capsule still be improved? Actually, yes, and in many ways. Why not, for example, up the size of the capsules so you could increase the amount of coffee by 50%? This would also be nice for the connoisseurs who would like to have more espresso to savour instead of gulping it down. Or what about more perforations in the lid? A standard capsule had just three pre-punched perforations that allowed hot water to be forced through the capsule under pressure.

Yet three is actually too few to have all the coffee become saturated with the hot water. The coffee lining the inside of the capsule surface always remained dry. This limited the flavour intensity to ‘average’. Not until 18 perforations were made would the optimum be reached. Another improvement involved the proportion of coffee to air in the capsule. Just a little less air would intensify the taste sensation.

Not interested…

This revolutionary capsule should have been the follow-up to the previous one, but it never reached the shelves. The big international brands had already completely designed their production process as based on the original invention. OK, everyone realised that the second version was considerably better, but it was simply too late to change all the production equipment. It would involve millions to do it. It was a good idea, but let’s just forget about that new version…

De capsule 2.0: perfect for Fioresso

The plans for capsule 2.0 were indeed dismissed for years. But then Fioresso’s Jack discovered them. This capsule, which could hold more coffee, was exactly what he wanted. Other capsules could hold only four grams of coffee; Fioresso could handle almost 7. This amount of coffee, which the 18 perforations could completely saturate, would provide the ultimate taste sensation. And the concave shape of the cup would minimise the amount of air inside. Not until the water pressure built up would the capsule achieve the characteristic convex shape required for optimising the brewing process.

Uncompromised. Caffè.

These might seem like insignificant details in Fioresso’s complete process of development. But it’s the attention to details that makes it impossible to compare Fioresso with any other espresso. After all, Jack doesn’t mind having others make compromises.