| All products featured on The Wellness Feed are independently selected by our editors for its environmental and ethical impact. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission. |
Coffee’s always changing. Back in the 1990s, we saw the meteoric rise of the K-Cup, which was the best thing since the invention of the Bialetti Moka pot in 1933, which was the best thing since the French press was first patented in Paris in 1852. There are always people out there working to make coffee more convenient, better tasting, and even more sustainable. Enter Smile Coffee Werks, the makers of a compostable coffee pod, a sustainable alternative to traditional coffee pods. I was lucky enough to try out their pods and interview one of their founders, Michael Sands. Read on for more insight into the new coffee pod revolution.
What’s so great about coffee pods?
Coffee pods are so unique amongst coffee products because they’re antithetical to what most people would think of as “good coffee.” Coffee aficionados would say that the best coffee comes from just-ground beans. And proponents of the traditional coffee machine all know that when it comes to making coffee, patience is a virtue.
The coffee pod, on the other hand, is a quick way to get coffee that’s already packaged; it couldn’t be easier for its users. In spite of itself, the coffee pod is a modern convenience that fuels a $25.07 billion industry–and plenty of everyday coffee drinkers.
Coffee pods come with their own problems, however. It’s hard to develop the depth of flavor other brewing methods have in the few short seconds the pods need in their machines. And from an environmental standpoint, things are much worse. Coffee pods are single-use items that range from difficult to impossible to recycle.
While there are currently recyclable pods on the market, they come with a hefty caveat. It’s not as simple as taking the pod out of a coffee machine and tossing it into a recycling bin. The lid of the pod needs to be separated out, the grounds have to be taken out, and the pod must be washed. The coffee pod prides itself on convenience, so the song and dance associated with recycling them seems a bit counter intuitive to their mission. I personally tried this once and decided I’d rather go without coffee than have to do that every day.
I’d also like to mention that at the end of the day, plastic recycling is problematic. Many plastics just sit around in recycling facilities because it’s time consuming and expensive to actually sort through plastics in order to turn them into new items. The EPA estimates that less than 10% of all plastics have ever been recycled. So while a recyclable pod is better than a pod destined for a landfill, it’s not perfect.
Does a better coffee pod exist?
Michael Sands and Frankie Schuster seem to think so. According to Michael, the goal of Smile Coffee Werks was to create a coffee that’s “a) more convenient, b) appeals to people who are drinking better coffee and c) is sustainable.” So with their mutual interest in coffee and engineering expertise, Michael and Frankie set out to approach coffee in a new way by remixing the long-beloved coffee pod.
When you’re making your coffee, Smile Coffee Werks pods are just like any other pods. There’s no trick to making them work or any extra steps you have to take. The only thing is that they brew a few seconds longer, which “allows for a better tasting coffee in the end” according to Michael. As simple as this sounds, it bears repeating that time is an important factor in the alchemy that is a great cup of coffee.
Just like recycled pods, Smile Coffee Werks compostable coffee pods consist of a few key parts. Michael mentioned to me that all pods need a lid, an oxygen barrier, and the actual body of the pod. Plus, at least in the case of Keurigs, coffee pods need to be “readable” to the machines in order for them to be properly brewed.
Though they’re visually indistinguishable from other coffee pods in overall aesthetic, compostable coffee pods bolster a few key differences. They’re made from cellulose and starch, like beets and grass. This makes them biodegradable. In fact, Smile Coffee Werks pods have achieved ultimate biodegradability, meaning that they are completely broken down in the earth to produce nutrients, minerals, and water. And, according to Michael, Smile Coffee Werks pods are gone in less than a year. This marks a big change from other pods–even the recyclable ones.
Perhaps the most appealing part of these pods is that they can be composted at home. They’re designed to break down at the temperatures your backyard compost turner can reach. This makes them more accessible for people without access to a composting facility. It also makes them much more conveniently disposable.
Smile Coffee Werks pods also carry an impressive array of certifications. They’re certified Climate Neutral, members of the Rainforest Alliance, and they’re a USDA certified biobased product. They’re also certified by two organizations that I want to highlight here: BPI and Dincerto. These are certifying bodies focused on biodegradability. They each have their own strict standards and testing that indicate that Smile Coffee Werks compostable coffee pods can be disposed of in safer and more sustainable ways than their traditional and recyclable counterparts.
What’s it like to drink Smile Coffee Werks pods?
We’ve mostly talked about Smile Coffee Werks and other pods from a theoretical standpoint so far. In practice, these pods are a great alternative to traditional coffee pods. They’re easier to dispose of than recyclable pods. Plus they carry the same conveniences of traditional pods.
I’ve been drinking Smile Werks coffee throughout the work week for the past two weeks and I’m hooked. I’ve had the opportunity to try all three of Smile Coffee Werks flavors. When it comes to their High Country and Werkday (light and medium roast respectively), I think they go toe to toe with any other pod or quick coffee method. I’m not a dark roast guy, so it’s tough for me to make a judgment on Woke Up.
Smile Coffee Werks pods have a great flavor. As with other pods I’ve tried over the years, I prefer to drink them with milk or sugar rather than black. While I think they’re better than many other pods, they’re still a step removed from the perfect cup of traditionally brewed coffee. If you’re used to grinding your own beans and doing some complicated 12-step pour-over, this might not be the innovative coffee solution for you. But if you’re looking for a quick cup of coffee without guilt, this is an excellent option.
On another note, while the pods are much simpler to dispose of than traditional coffee pods, they’re not perfectly compatible for traditional machines. For the machine I have at work, this means that I need to go into a bin of used-up pods to fish out my pods. This step doesn’t deter me, but it does make me wonder what the pods would be like if there were machines that were more compatible with them. After all, these pods are disrupting the status quo, not just fitting the mold.
Outside of the pods
As much as I enjoyed trying out the Smile Werks compostable coffee pods, I was particularly stricken by my conversation with Michael and what I learned about Smile Werks as a company beyond their pods. This is a company dedicated to making change in the sustainability space.
In their work with groups like the Plastics Pact and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Smile Werks seeks to build a more sustainable world. One of their aims is to increase transparency surrounding complex topics like composting. As Michael put it, “the composting requirements are changing everyday, and it’s getting tougher and tougher–which is good.” As good as tough standards are, it can make it very difficult for companies and consumers to get a grasp on what exactly is compostable.
Composting is so key to Smile Coffee Werks that Michael thinks of the brand as a composting company first and foremost. The goal is to take their revolutionary compostable coffee pods and apply that general idea to other coffee accouterments, like compostable straws and stirrers. Michael even hinted at the possibility of dipping into other industries. Who knows where you’ll see Smile Werks products in a few years.
The history and future of Smile Coffee Werks
With all due praise given, I want to note the dramatic twist that most companies–especially those that operate sustainably and ethically–can relate to. Smile Coffee Werks launched in December 2019. Needless to say, they were met with more challenges than they could’ve ever expected just a couple short months later with the onset of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic (by the way, get your booster if you’re eligible).
But as so many businesses did, Smile Coffee Werks took the pandemic as an opportunity to reframe and recast. They reworked their business plan to focus primarily on ecommerce. And with the UN reporting an overall 3% growth in ecommerce sales in 2020 in the US and globally, it’s safe to say they made a smart call. They also focused on one of the few factors within their control: quality. Michael reported to me that their pods have a defect rate below 1%.
Michael told me during our interview that “nobody believed that we could do what we were going to do.” But Smile Coffee Werks has exceeded all possible expectations. They’re an example of a company that’s doing good in an interesting and sophisticated way. So whether you’ll drink their coffee or follow their composting advocacy, I hope you’ll keep an eye on the Smile Coffee Werks revolution.