In June 2026, Lavazza, the Italian coffee giant, opened US preorders for Tabli. It is their new single-serve espresso system, inclusive of coffee tablets made from compressed ground coffee without any plastic packaging or individual coating or wrapping. In its initial stage, Lavazza is pitching the product primarily as a convenient, quality-focused coffee experience engaging multiple senses, rather than as a direct response to the industry-wide problem of plastic waste caused by plastic packaging or single-serve packaging used for coffee capsules and pods.
“Tablì eliminates the trade-off between quality and convenience entirely it’s a true multisensory experience: coffee you can smell, feel, and see before it ever brews,” Daniele Foti, VP of Marketing, Lavazza North America, said in a press release on Monday, June 8. “And what’s in the cup matches what’s in your hands: the perfect espresso, every single time.”
With the launch of Tbli, Lavazza is facing tough competition with Keurig Dr Pepper for plastic-free single-serve coffee tablets. Keurig introduced its clear vision for the Alta brewer in 2024, alongside plastic and aluminum-free pods, then called K-Rounds and now called AltaRounds.
Under Tabli’s plastic hood, the coffee brewing machine can brew single or double doses, also known as espresso or lungo. Consumers can adjust the water volume automatically added to lungos. The user-friendly and home-friendly coffee machines are expected to be shipped by August 2026. Each stands 12.9 inches tall, 6.5 inches wide, and 15.4 inches deep, and weighs 9.9 pounds. A discounted preorder bundle for the U.S. market including a machine, five 12-packs of Tabs, a separate electric milk frother, and “tab tweezers” has already sold out. The retail price of the bundle will later be $250.
The Italian coffee giant is launching the US system with five blends, including one decaf option. Once the plastic film on a sleeve of tabs is opened, the company recommends refrigerating them for up to 45 days. The tabs stay fresh for 14 days at room temperature, according to the company. The 131-year-old Lavazza also narrates that it spent almost 5 years on research and development for proprietary technology, compressing precise doses of ground coffee into a solid and ready-to-use tab holding its shape without a capsule or coating. Lavazza developed Tablì following its 2020 acquisition of the Italian startup Caffemotive and its tab concept.
Beyond fillable, reusable pods or capsules- which have struggled to get widespread adoption in the single-serve automatic category- the first big splash in the packaging came with the help of the Coffee Ball in 2022.
CoffeeB, the Swiss brand, powering the product, came up with a sphere of pressed coffee encased in a thin, plant-based protective packaging. Alginate is one of the major extracts used in packaging. It is perfectly brewed in a proprietary brewer. The used coffee balls can also be composted easily after brewing.
In 2024, the parent company of Coffeeb, Delica, entered into a strategic partnership with Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) involving the use of its alginate membrane technology for the latter to produce “K-Rounds,” similar to tablets brewed in a proprietary brewer of KDP’s own.
Keurig Dr Pepper CEO Timothy Cofer recently told investors that the Keurig Alta platform, which KDP now says is planned for fall 2026, is slated to play a significant role in the company’s continued growth as it prepares the launch of Global Coffee Co., the massive coffee-focused spinoff planned by KDP following its acquisition of JDE Peet’s.
Both launches have been planned as per the growing demand of consumers for convenience, and meet the quality expectations as well. The consumers also expect a reduction in the use of non-recyclable or non-compostable packaging waste. Hence, many companies have come up with compostable packaging options with existing single-serve machines, with at least one brand, BestCup, having come to market with compostable bioplastics for Keurig-compatible pods.
Another well-renowned player in the single-serve brewer category, Nestle-owned Nespresso, also launched a compostable paper-based coffee capsule in 2023 in France and Switzerland. Its availability expanded further into Europe in 2025, though the paper option has not yet been launched in the US. The efforts to promote recyclability and compostability within the single-serve industry continue to be hampered by fragmented local infrastructure and uneven consumer participation.
After testing the Tablì system in Italy, Lavazza chose the U.S. as its first region for the global product launch.
“The US is one of the most dynamic markets in the world, and the momentum we’ve built here across our different segments is exactly why we’re bringing Tablì here as the first market outside Italy,” Foti said. “This is our biggest bet on this market yet, and we intend to shape what comes next.”
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