At the moment, various types of coffee pods are present on the market; they are different in terms of weight, dimensions, shape, compression, grinding, blend and roasting of the coffee used.

In other words, there are hard pods for making espresso-type coffee and soft pods, also called pads, for making filter coffee.

Hard pod usually means a 7 gr. dose of coffee compressed between two symmetrical layers of heat-sealing filter paper. The official standard is the so-called ESE (esesystem.com), an association of which ICA is a member.

They are usually sold in bags of 18 units or multiples having a total weight of 125 gr. or multiples.

Hard pods are used for making espresso-type coffee with traditional coffee bar machines or similar more compact ones used in the office or at home.

These pods are round, symmetrical, with internal diameter of 44 mm. and external one of 55 mm., height 10 mm., they feature a finger tab for holding them better, medium grinding and high compression.

Soft pad usually means a 7-10 gr. dose of coffee not pressed  and packed between two symmetrical or asymmetrical layers of heat-sealing filter paper.

Soft pads are used for making North-European or North-American coffee types with the new compact coffee machines used in the office or at home.

These pads are round, symmetrical or asymmetrical, with internal diameter of 55-61 mm. and external one of 65-71 mm., height 6-12 mm., no finger tab, coarse grinding and no compression.

It is possible to obtain also “special” sizes, suitable only for specific coffee extraction systems: squared, rectangular, oval, etc. with grinding and compression rates chosen by the customer.

All pods/pads use heat-sealing food-grade filter paper, weighing between 19 and 25 grm2; it is possible to use different kinds of paper for each layer.

The resulting coffee depends on the sum of the above mentioned parameters.

The best results can be obtained by using each pod on the machine for which it has been designed.

See how pods can be packed