Best supermarket coffee capsules for taste and price according to French consumer group

The 51 most popular brands of coffee capsules and ground coffee sold in supermarkets in France were analysed for composition and taste by a leading consumer magazine in 2023 - with the study finding that price was not necessarily an indication of quality. 

All the brands tested were found to be free of pesticides but some of the ground coffee contained dead bugs - this is not thought to pose any health risk.

Coffee is France’s favourite drink after water, with more than eight out of ten people enjoying at least one cup a day, the majority of whom (67%) were said to drink capsule coffee from machines like Nespresso, Senseo, Dolce Gusto or Tassimo.

The remainder use ground coffee.

The wide-ranging study by consumer magazine 60 Millions de Consommateurs paid particular attention to taste, price and the presence of contaminants, which can include the potentially cancerogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and acrylamide as well as pesticides and foreign bodies.

Each brand was given a note out of 20. The highest scoring capsule was among the lowest priced on the list: the organic coffee Auchan Expresso Bio.

The results

All coffee was found to contain PAH in low concentrations, likely absorbed by the grains during the drying process, however the Planteur des Tropiques (Intermarché) and Carte Noire, as well as decaffeinated L’Or capsules were found to have the most PAH.

The potentially carcinogenic compound acrylamide was also present in all coffee. The maximum recommended dose of this is 400µg/kg per capsule, with Lavazza’s containing the highest concentration at 345µg/kg.

None of the coffees were found to contain pesticides, an absence explained by the roasting process (at 200C), which destroys these compounds.

As a result, there was no qualitative difference between organic coffee and those treated with pesticide.

However, the study found high levels of foreign bodies in ground coffees, particularly dead insects. 

While the presence of insect parts is common in coffee (and chocolate), the highest levels were detected in Bellarom, Lidl and Alter Eco ground coffee, all of which contained more than 80 insect parts.

The top three capsules