Why choose coffee beans?

It’s a revolution in the making… It was a revolution that took some time, given the dominance of coffee pods in the French market, but coffee beans are making a comeback with French consumers. And what a comeback!

Consumption of coffee beans in France has risen by over 36% in the last 12 months and by 91% in the last 2 years. It’s a turnaround that industry professionals have been patiently waiting for, and one in which consumers have everything to gain.

But what are the advantages of drinking coffee beans?

Many consumers have switched from ground coffee to pods, abandoning their filter coffee maker in favour of a capsule machine, which has been heavily advertised by the big names in the sector, such as Nespresso with George Clooney and Jean Dujardin. But individual aluminium capsules, with their ultra-polluting appearance, are tending to put off more and more consumers, who prefer a more environmentally-friendly option. As a result, the market for coffee in individual pods has only grown by 5.6% over the last twelve months, six times less than for coffee beans.

But it’s not just greener consumption that is contributing to the explosive growth of the ‘coarse grain’ market, but also the appeal of quality. Indeed, the unprocessed, artisanal aspect of roasted coffee beans is a guarantee for consumers of a ‘premium and gourmet’ product. As a result, the coffee beans are usually bought from local roasters and are roasted to order, a far cry from the industrial roasting by the tonne of the big market players.

And that makes a big difference! The quality of the beans unearthed by the artisans can therefore be expressed in all the richness of their aromatic repertoire, far from the over-roasted beans used by mass retailers to hide their defects and save costs with cheap beans. Four multinational agri-food companies acquire more than 70% of the world’s coffee with the aim of transforming it…

Thanks to its raw, unprocessed nature, coffee beans have become the trendy commodity on the black gold market.

Added to this is the argument of freshness, so dear to the hearts of fans of speciality coffees. Coffee beans retain all their purity of taste and organoleptic qualities. Once ground, coffee degrades rapidly: it is estimated that it loses 60% of its aroma within 30 minutes if left in the open air. So the fresher the grind, the more powerful and complex the aromas. The coffee is kept in beans until the last moment and ground just before tasting to reveal all its aromatic complexity. With this in mind, Cafés du Monde is committed to providing you with coffee in sachets specially designed to maintain maximum freshness, thanks to protective anti-oxygen valves and a hermetically sealed re-sealable opening.

Since 2020, 850,000 households have switched to coffee beans. Sales of machines with shredders have followed suit, rising by 74% since the start of the year. The price of these machines has standardised considerably, even if the initial investment remains substantial. With entry-level prices at around €250-300 and mid-range models at €400, machines with grinders pay for themselves on average within 10 to 12 months, thanks to the low cost of coffee beans. 500,000 machines have been sold over the last twelve months, meaning that just over 2.5 million homes are now equipped with one.

Because as well as the ethical and taste appeal, many consumers have a compass in their eye. Coffee beans are a very good deal economically. With capsule prices averaging around €43 a kilo (and even €86 a kilo for the cheapest Nespresso capsules), compared with around €30 a kilo for speciality coffee beans, it’s a great value for money. Buying a speciality coffee of exceptional quality, which accounts for less than 2% of world production, is therefore less expensive than a coffee processed by industrialists in capsule form.

But while the transition may be difficult for some pod aficionados, Cafés du Monde is here to support you with 2 ranges of eco-responsible pods, one 100% biodegradable and the other reusable stainless steel pods with a guaranteed 10-year lifespan. All with ultra-fresh, custom-roasted speciality coffee to delight your taste buds…

I promise, you’ll love drinking the cup! 😉