Hands-on with the Lavazza Tabli, the pod-free espresso maker that swaps wasteful capsules for compressed 100% coffee tablets — and they actually taste great

(Image credit: Future)

Coffee capsules are incredibly quick and convenient, but they have one big drawback: the used pods left over at the end.

Some capsules are relatively easy to recycle — Nespresso pods, for example, are made entirely from aluminum, and Nestlé has well-established recycling program to handle them, but other brands use capsules made from a combination of metal and plastic, which is much more difficult to process. Whatever the material, though, there is still a considerable amount…