It's 40 years since Eric Favre, the inventor of Nespresso, first developed the coffee pod, and 30 years since the first machine was released. By one count, 254 separate patents reference Favre's original design for "a capsule containing a substance for making up a drink using an apparatus". As recently as last year Lavazza, a coffee manufacturer, submitted its own patent for capsule technology.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7o67CZ5qopV%2Bjsri%2FjqaYoJmqnrumeZJubWltaWeE