The world’s best coffees aren’t typically an everyday affair, but one United Kingdom capsule brand is looking to change that.
What does a tea drinker do when they start a coffee company? For Amir Gehl, it involved pursuing some of the world’s rarest and highest-rated beans and putting them into capsules to allow the average consumer to enjoy them.
A decade ago, inspired by his wife’s purchase of a Nespresso machine, Gehl established capsule brand Difference Coffee. Now, he sells rare coffees ranging from Hawaiian Kona and Brazilian Yellow Bourbon to Cup of Excellence winners, all in Nespresso-compatible capsule form.
“There are tens of millions of people in the world with Nespresso machines, yet they don’t have access to the world’s best coffees. Even though coffee is one of the most consumed beverages on the planet, it’s really difficult for people to experience the best,” says Gehl.
“So, I asked a very simple question – what is the best coffee? I discovered which estates produce some of the highest scoring beans in competitions like Cup of Excellence and contacted them to buy lots directly from them.”
Also included in Difference’s broad range of capsules is a Wild Kopi Luwak from Gayo Estate and a Jamaica Blue Mountain from Wallenford Estate.
Additionally, Gehl makes a point of always having a Lot 1 Cup of Excellence Champion and a Hacienda La Esmeralda Geisha available in Difference’s capsules.
The brand focuses on selling a range of single-estate coffees, rather than single origin. Gehl believes it is this high-quality, estate-focused approach that allows the coffee to shine.
“Saying a bean is a single origin from Colombia is like saying you have a wine from France,” he says. “Not all coffee from Colombia is Bourbon, not all coffee from Panama is Geisha, so we sell single-estate coffee.
“We look at the characteristics of varietals from certain countries, then the farm, the lot, and the process. I’m
trying to get the most out of the beans, and the individual farms are so crucial to creating those incredible flavours.
“What I try to do is create a selection of coffees that is distinct, so each capsule tastes really different. For example, if I already have a washed Geisha from Panama, I will usually try to stay away from another one even if it’s from another country.”
Although many of the world’s best coffees fetch a significant price at auction before being sold to consumers at a mark-up, Difference prides itself on keeping its most expensive coffees within the price range of what a standard takeaway beverage would cost.
“My most expensive capsule is £5 (US$6.74), which is about the price of a large coffee with some whipped cream and toppings at a chain café,” he says.
“If you can afford something like that, you can afford to have the best coffee in the world.”
In addition to its retail service delivering to clients around the world, Difference also partners with some of Europe’s best restaurants and hotels, including three-star Michelin venues Piazza Duomo Alba in Italy and Sketch in London.
Notable brands such as The Penthouse at Harrods and Audemars Piguet also serve Difference Coffee in their retail settings.
Gehl says the convenience of a capsule coupled with Difference’s coffee curation makes the pods perfect for the world’s best restaurants and retailers.
“Eighty per cent of our clients are Michelin restaurants. Most restaurants that have a traditional machine don’t have a trained barista, so they under-extract or over-extract the coffee and there’s no consistency,” he says.
“Our second largest market is Italy. It almost seems incomprehensible a British brand with coffee roasted in the UK would be sold and served in some of the best kitchens in Italy, unless you understand coffee.”
With coffee consumers around the world becoming more discerning about what they drink, and at-home brewing becoming more mainstream, Gehl believes demand for the world’s top coffees in more accessible forms will only increase.
“There is a plethora of brewing methods out there, but there will always be a big role for the most convenient method, which is a capsule machine,” he says.
“Convenience wins. If you can provide something that is convenient on one hand and produces a really good cup of coffee on the other, you’re onto a winner.
“Coffee can taste significantly better than it does. I’m trying to convince people there is something better out there that can still be accessed with the convenience of a capsule machine.” CR
For more information, visit differencecoffee.com
This article was first published in the September/October 2025 edition of Global Coffee Report. Read more HERE.
