Coffee’s new status symbol is a machine without plastic

For decades, it was the all the bells and whistles that was the selling point for a fancy coffee machine. Now, consumers are looking for what it lacks .

Growing concern over microplastics and sustainability is sparking a wave of plastic-free coffee pods and machines.

Coffee companies and appliance makers have released new machines and redesigned capsules in recent months. Keurig and Lavazza’s new pods ditch the traditional plastic cups for compostable coffee tablets. Caraway’s new machine uses traditional coffee grounds, but unlike a conventional drip machine, the stainless steel and glass machine doesn’t have plastic in its brew path.

More research is needed to determine the actual harm microplastics cause. But nine in 10 Americans are concerned about the effect of the miniscule plastic pieces on the planet and their bodies, according to a 2025 poll conducted by environmental group 5 Gyres; and studies have shown that pods shed microplastics.

The growth in pricey equipment and plastic-free pods fits a broader pattern of consumers trading up on home coffee equipment since the pandemic, said Peter Giuliano, senior advisor for research at Specialty Coffee Association.

The appeal and growth combine three things: health worries about microplastics, concern about plastic in the environment and the “feeling that metal and glass are more ‘luxury’ than plastic,” he told CNN.

In June, Lavazza introduced Tablì in the US, a $129 machine that uses only single-serve espresso tablets made with compressed ground coffee — a shift from its capsules made from plastic and aluminum.

The tablets are made by a custom technology that “compresses precisely dosed, ground, and tamped coffee into a solid, ready-to-use tab,” Lavazza said in a press release.

The Italian company says the new machine is its “largest investment yet” in the United States as it looks to double revenue to $1 billion by 2029, unlocking the stranglehold Keurig Dr. Pepper has on the coffee market.

Tablì is aimed at customers that want a sustainable alternative to the traditional pod, according to Daniele Foti, vice president of marketing for Lavazza North America.

“Consumers want to enjoy their coffee without the waste that usually comes with single-serve,” she told CNN.

Keurig, which ushered in the boom of plastics with their K-Cups back in the 1990s, launched in October a new line of compostable pods with a specially designed machine called the Alta. (The new pods don’t fit in the old machines.)

Called AltaRounds, the pods have been in development since 2020 in response to consumers’ shifting sustainability and health preferences.

The new pods represent a “significant reduction in plastic compared to our K-Cup pods,” said Phil Drapeau, senior vice president for Keurig’s Future Coffee Systems unit.

“We’ve heard clearly from customers that they want more sustainable products and specifically less plastic and plastic waste,” Drapeau told CNN. “Our data shows that drink variety, quality, and less plastic waste are high priorities across almost every group.”

Keurig has come under fire in the past over its pods, agreeing in 2022 to pay $10 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging it misled consumers by marketing its plastic K-Cups as recyclable, though it denied any wrongdoing.

But while the pods and the machine contain less plastic, they are considerably more expensive than a traditional Keurig machine. The Alta bundle that includes glassware and pods costs $499.

Melissa Valiant, director of communications for 5 Gyres, said that both the Lavazza and Keurig products still use plastic, which “ends up in a landfill, incinerator, or our environment after use, contributing to the planet’s growing plastic pollution crisis.”

Caraway has focused on developing a $495 coffee machine, released last month, that’s created entirely of stainless steel and glass, ensuring that no plastic touches the ground coffee. (Lavazza’s and Keurig’s machines contain some amounts of plastic.)

Developing a coffee machine with plastic-free brew path was challenging , according to Caraway CEO Jordan Nathan. That’s because the pricey glass and steel parts all need to be custom-made.

“We had to make the best coffee possible with no plastic on the interior with a full metal body, but also in a small (counter) footprint that had a single dial,” he told CNN.

Concern over plastic in the kitchen and its affects on the endocrine system has been growing for the past few years, Nathan said, referencing a viral article that linked black plastics in the kitchen to alarming levels of toxic flame retardants.

Social media, influencers and various scientific studies have all fueled the conversation, with parents and other health-conscious shoppers avoiding plastic where they can, including in makeup, food and bedding. Caraway’s other plastic-free products, like cutting boards, have soared in sales over the past three years.

Coffee is a natural next step, Nathan added, because “you never want to heat plastic.”

Demand for Caraway’s new 10-cup coffee maker has been so strong that it’s sold out until January, forcing the company to ramp up production. Meanwhile, Keurig and Lavazza reported similar interest with both company’s product selling out quickly after their initial release.

That appetite for these pods and machines signals the industry will move toward more plastic-free alternatives, Nathan said.

“If you’re not doing it, you’re behind where the puck is moving,” he concluded.

几十年来，高档咖啡机的卖点在于其琳琅满目的功能。如今，消费者却在寻找它所缺乏的东西。

人们对微塑料和可持续性的日益关注，引发了一波无塑料咖啡胶囊和咖啡机的浪潮。

近几个月来，咖啡公司和电器制造商纷纷推出新款咖啡机和重新设计的咖啡胶囊。Keurig 和 Lavazza 的新款咖啡胶囊摒弃了传统的塑料杯，转而采用可降解的咖啡片。Caraway 的新款咖啡机使用传统的咖啡粉，但与传统的滴滤式咖啡机不同，这款不锈钢和玻璃材质的咖啡机在冲泡过程中不使用塑料部件。

还需要更多研究来确定微塑料造成的实际危害。但根据环保组织“5 Gyres”在2025年进行的一项民意调查，十分之九的美国人担心这些微小的塑料碎片对地球和他们自身健康的影响；而且研究表明，豆荚会释放微塑料。

精品咖啡协会高级研究顾问彼得·朱利亚诺表示，高价设备和无塑料咖啡胶囊的增长符合疫情以来消费者升级家用咖啡设备的更广泛趋势。

他告诉 CNN，这种吸引力和增长结合了三件事：对微塑料的健康担忧、对环境中塑料的担忧以及“金属和玻璃比塑料更‘奢侈’的感觉”。

6 月，Lavazza 在美国推出了 Tablì，这是一款售价 129 美元的咖啡机，它只使用由压缩研磨咖啡制成的单份浓缩咖啡片——这与它之前使用的塑料和铝制胶囊咖啡机有所不同。

Lavazza 在一份新闻稿中表示，这些咖啡片采用定制技术制成，“将精确计量、研磨和压实的咖啡压缩成固体、即用型咖啡片”。

这家意大利公司表示，这款新机器是其在美国“迄今为止最大的投资”，该公司希望到 2029 年将收入翻一番，达到 10 亿美元，从而打破 Keurig Dr. Pepper 对咖啡市场的垄断地位。

据 Lavazza 北美市场营销副总裁 Daniele Foti 称，Tablì 的目标客户是那些想要寻找传统咖啡胶囊的可持续替代品的消费者。

她告诉 CNN：“消费者希望在享受咖啡的同时，避免单杯咖啡带来的浪费。”

Keurig公司在20世纪90年代凭借其K-Cup咖啡胶囊引领了塑料制品的繁荣，该公司于10月份推出了一系列可堆肥咖啡胶囊，并搭配一款名为Alta的专用咖啡机。（新款咖啡胶囊不适用于旧款咖啡机。）

这些名为 AltaRounds 的胶囊自 2020 年以来一直在研发中，旨在响应消费者不断变化的可持续性和健康偏好。

Keurig未来咖啡系统部门高级副总裁菲尔·德拉波表示，与我们的K-Cup咖啡胶囊相比，新的咖啡胶囊“显著减少了塑料用量”。

德拉波告诉CNN：“我们已经清楚地听到顾客的声音，他们想要更可持续的产品，尤其希望减少塑料和塑料垃圾。我们的数据显示，几乎所有群体都非常重视饮品的种类、质量和减少塑料垃圾。”

Keurig 过去曾因其咖啡胶囊而受到抨击，该公司于 2022 年同意支付 1000 万美元以和解一项集体诉讼，该诉讼指控其通过将塑料 K-Cup 宣传为可回收物来误导消费者，尽管该公司否认有任何不当行为。

虽然咖啡胶囊和机器本身使用的塑料更少，但价格却比传统的Keurig咖啡机贵得多。包含玻璃杯和咖啡胶囊的Alta套装售价499美元。

5 Gyres 的传播总监梅丽莎·瓦利安特表示，Lavazza 和 Keurig 的产品仍然使用塑料，“这些塑料在使用后最终会被填埋、焚烧或污染环境，加剧了地球日益严重的塑料污染危机。”

Caraway专注于研发一款售价495美元的咖啡机，该咖啡机于上个月发布，完全由不锈钢和玻璃制成，确保咖啡粉不会接触到任何塑料。（Lavazza和Keurig的咖啡机都含有一定量的塑料。）

据Caraway首席执行官乔丹·内森称，开发一款采用无塑料冲泡路径的咖啡机极具挑战性。这是因为所有昂贵的玻璃和钢制部件都需要定制生产。

“我们必须用全金属机身，内部不含塑料，做出最好的咖啡，同时还要控制咖啡机的体积小（放在柜台上），并且只有一个旋钮，”他告诉 CNN。

内森说，过去几年里，人们对厨房塑料及其对内分泌系统的影响越来越关注。他引用了一篇广为流传的文章，该文章将厨房中的黑色塑料与令人震惊的有毒阻燃剂含量联系起来。

社交媒体、网络红人和各种科学研究都推动了这场讨论，家长和其他注重健康的消费者尽可能避免使用塑料制品，包括化妆品、食品和床上用品。过去三年，Caraway 的其他无塑料产品，例如砧板，销量也大幅增长。

内森补充说，咖啡是顺理成章的下一步，因为“你永远不想加热塑料”。

Caraway新款10杯咖啡机的需求异常强劲，已售罄至明年1月，迫使该公司提高产量。与此同时，Keurig和Lavazza也出现了类似的销售热潮，两家公司的产品在上市后均迅速售罄。

内森表示，人们对这些胶囊和机器的这种需求表明，该行业将转向更多无塑料替代品。

“如果你不这样做，你就落后于冰球的运动轨迹，”他总结道。