We know what some of you might be thinking: Capsules? Vi-CAFE? Really!?
We’ve spent over a decade crafting exceptional coffee experiences—through the skill of our baristas, the quality of our beans, and the relationships we’ve built with our coffee farmers. So when we decided to enter the world of capsules, it wasn’t about following a trend. It was about creating something that felt truly ViCAFE: considered, clean, and—most of all—delicious.
Bringing our medium roast coffees into capsule form, finding the right technology and partners, and achieving a quality extraction—while staying true to our values—was no easy feat. But after two years of development, and many challenges, we’re proud to introduce a capsule experience that lives up to our standards – now available to order directly from our ViCAFE Online Shop.
Why Capsules, and Why Now?
Switzerland is a capsule country — and the home of Nespresso® as we know it. Capsule coffee is a part of everyday life in many Swiss homes and workplaces. Instead of standing on the sidelines, we chose to meet people where they are. But we knew we had to do it our way — the ViCAFE way.
Done right, we believe capsules can offer a genuinely good coffee experience. Too often, they’re roasted too dark, brewed too fast, or built for efficiency over quality. We saw an opportunity to challenge that — by creating a better capsule: one that’s roasted with care, filled with great coffee (not less of it), and wrapped in materials we’re proud of.
A new way to enjoy ViCAFE at home, or at the office
2 Years. Many Tests. One Small Capsule.
Before we could develop our own capsule, we first had to understand how capsule extraction actually works. We had to put aside what we knew from other brewing methods that we are familiar with. Capsule extraction is its own science — pressure, temperature, and grind size interact differently than with the espresso machines in our ViCAFE Espresso Bars.
Even with our hands-on mindset and in-house development approach, we hit limits. Especially when it came to finding the right capsule material for our coffees, it was a process of two steps forward, one step back. In the end, we chose Blue Circle in Austria — a partner with deep experience in home-compostable coffee capsules. But our journey doesn’t stop here. For us, creating impact means constantly questioning and improving our products. We’ll keep pushing for even better, more innovative solutions.
We enjoy the process and coming up with new ways to introduce people to ViCAFE
A More Inclusive ViCAFE
Since opening our very first coffee window, we’ve been on a mission to make specialty coffee more accessible to a wider audience. Our capsules are a natural extension of that idea. With this new product, more people can enjoy the ViCAFE experience — even if they don’t have a fully automatic or portafilter machine at home, and simply prefer an easier, more convenient way to brew their coffee.
What Makes This Different?
We’ve reimagined two of our most-loved blends — Hausmischung and Crema — specifically for capsule extraction. These recipes were carefully adapted to bring out sweetness, balance, and body in a longer pour format. The result? A clean, easy-drinking cup with high drinkability, designed to work just as well as a single 40ml shot or a double-capsule 80ml brew.
Launching a product in a category that’s often viewed critically wasn’t an easy decision — which is exactly why we approached it with care, responsibility, and attention to detail.
Each capsule is:
- Certified home-compostable by TÜV Austria
- Free from petroleum-based plastic
- Made from plant-based materials like PHB (a biopolymer derived from renewable resources) and paper
Each capsule contains around 6g of freshly ground ViCAFE coffee — developed specifically for this format. Using a smaller amount of coffee helps drastically reduce the carbon footprint of our capsules, since the biggest share of emissions across the value chain comes from coffee at origin (read more in our Impact Report).
Delicious and tasty!
Staying True to Our Mission
Put simply, we wanted to create a capsule that reflects not just our taste — but our values. Our capsules capture what we believe in: that truly great coffee should be accessible to all, crafted to the highest quality, and made with sustainability in mind.
A New Way to Experience ViCAFE
Our capsules aren’t here to replace your espresso bar visits or your grinder at home. They’re a simple new way to step into the world of ViCAFE — perfect for busy mornings, office coffee breaks, or introducing friends to specialty coffee.
If you already know and love ViCAFE, help us spread the word. Maybe you have a colleague, a brother, or a neighbour who already brews with capsules. Now they can enjoy ViCAFE too. Or maybe you just want to try them for yourself? We’d love to hear what you think.
Try our new coffee capsules today — available now in our ViCAFE Online Shop.
(Nespresso® is a registered trademark of Société des Produits Nestlé S.A.)
