Is This The end of the pod era?

There was a time when coffee pods felt revolutionary. A clean kitchen, a quick press of a button, and boom, coffee in seconds. I remember those days vividly. Racing to the airport before sunrise, needing something hot in hand while checking Flightradar24 and calculating if I’d have time for lounge access before boarding. The pod machine was my co-pilot.

But let’s be honest. The romance wore off pretty fast. Watery brews. Questionable quality. Piles of single-use plastic. And the creeping realisation that something which felt so efficient was actually… kind of wasteful. Both in taste and impact.

Now, there’s a shift happening. People are waking up to the idea that better coffee doesn’t have to come in a shiny capsule - and at Jet Bean Coffee, we’re proud to be fuelling that change

Pods: Convenient? Yes. Compromised? Absolutely.

Here’s the deal: most coffee pods are filled with commodity-grade beans. Think cheap robusta, mass-roasted months ago, ground too fine, and sealed up tight. It’s industrial coffee in a suit. Slick on the outside, empty on the inside.

Sure, it’s quick. But you’re paying a premium price for subpar taste. And once you factor in the environmental cost, that convenience starts to feel like a poor trade-off.

Jet Bean coffee, on the other hand, is about doing things differently. We roast 100% arabica, single-source beans in small batches. We roast to order, not to shelf life. So every bag that leaves our hangar is bursting with fresh, complex flavour, and zero compromise.

If you're going to start your day with a coffee, why not make it one that’s been treated with care, not crammed into a pod six months ago?

The sustainability problem no one talks about

Coffee pods generate a mountain of waste. In the UK alone, it’s estimated that over 300 million pods are thrown away each year. Globally? Billions. And even the “recyclable” ones often require special processes or collection schemes, which most people simply don’t use.

That means those shiny pods are probably sitting in landfill… for the next 500 years.

At Jet Bean, we believe that coffee should lift you up, not weigh down the planet. That’s why all our packaging is fully recyclable, and we champion brewing methods that create little to no waste, like French press, V60, moka pot, or espresso machines.

It’s better coffee with a cleaner conscience.

Flavour should take off, not flatline

Here’s a personal one. I was flying to Düsseldorf for a meeting, stuck in row 14 with lukewarm airline pod coffee in hand. It was bitter, flat, and somehow both too strong and too weak. I sat there thinking: Why do we accept this as normal?

That was part of the inspiration behind Jet Bean. As someone who’s passionate about both aviation and quality coffee, I wanted to create roasts that actually reflect the feeling of flying—of pushing limits, of travelling with purpose, of doing things properly.

That’s why every Jet Bean roast has a name that celebrates aviation icons:
✈️ Jumbo Jet Espresso – bold and powerful, just like the aircraft.
🛫 Concorde Cappuccino – smooth and balanced, with a silky finish.
🛬 Dreamliner Decaf – rich and chocolatey, without the caffeine crash.
🖤 Blackbird Blend – dark and deep, with altitude to spare.

They’re all crafted from ethically sourced arabica beans, with complete transparency from farm to cup. We’re not just cutting out waste, we’re cutting out compromise.

From pod life to pilot-grade coffee

It’s not just a trend, it’s a movement. More and more people are waking up to what real coffee should taste like. They’re investing in better brewing gear. They’re buying from roasters who care about farmers, flavour, and the future. And they’re leaving the pod machines to gather dust in the back of the cupboard.

You don’t need to be a barista to make incredible coffee at home. You just need the right beans, a little curiosity, and maybe a few YouTube tutorials. Trust me, once you taste freshly ground Jet Bean coffee brewed just right, you’ll never go back.

Make the switch. Taste the difference.

If you’re still on the fence, start simple. Grab a bag of our Jumbo Jet Espresso or Blackbird Blend and try it in your Espresso Machine, French press or whatever you have. You’ll notice the difference immediately - richer aroma, smoother taste, and a feeling that this is what coffee is meant to be.

We’re not trying to sell you a gimmick. We’re inviting you to enjoy a better cup.

Because good coffee shouldn’t come in a pod. It should come with pride, passion, and purpose.

Welcome to Jet Bean.

Chris Louch
Frequent Flyer | Coffee Evangelist | Jet Bean Loyalist