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Last Notes

2026-10-24 03:00:02 GMT

Kapex – Coffee from the Phillipines
Introduction
Kapex is a company that makes 3rd party coffee capsules that can be used on an Original Line (OL) Nespresso or Nespresso compatible machine. The company is based out of the Philippines and they produce 100% single origin coffee sourced from the Philippines. The capsules are made out of aluminum, so they are of good quality.
Where to Purchase
Currently Kapex has these four variety packs available (click on the link) on Amazon for purchase; but other varieties may become available depending on popularity and overall sales volume.
Packaging
The 4 pack I received was shipped in a clear plastic bag, and that bag was placed in a very large shipping envelope with bubble pack on the inside. The company mentioned to me that in the future they may use an outer cardboard box to further protect the inner boxes when shipping.
The boxes which hold the capsules, are a lot like the design of the Starbucks by Nespresso boxes. The perforations don’t tear easily, and it’s not easy to fully match the tear pattern when opening them. The capsules inside are excellent, and even though I had one box that was dented on the outside, none of the capsules inside showed any signs of damage at all.
Each box of ten capsules has a Best Before date stamped on the side of the box. Mine were manufactured in July 2026, which is really fresh.
Varieties Available
The current lineup of coffee capsules, with a link to their description and my reviews (as available) are as follows:
Barako – Alvin’s review
Kanlaon – Alvin’s review
Mt. Apo – Alvin’s Review
Sagada – Alvin’s review
Comparision with Other 3rd Party Capsules
I’ve initially tried all the Kapex varieties, and find that these are an excellent choice for a 3rd party capsule. In fact I would say these are superior to the following list of 3rd Party capsules: illy, Peet’s, L’Or, Artizan.
So the coffees used in these are really high quality, and the cost per capsule (at $0.56) is very reasonable.
Please go to my ko-fi buy me a coffee page at: https://ko-fi.com/alvinbunk to support and donate to me for writing coffee reviews. Thank you!
https://alvinbunk.wordpress.com/2026/10/23/kapex-coffee-from-the-phillipines/
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2026-10-18 03:26:23 GMT

Nespresso Swarovski Crystal Spark Espresso
Introduction
This is a review of the Nespresso Crystal Spark coffee for the Original Line machines, which is one of the 2026 Festive Collection coffees as part of a colloaboration with Swarovski out of Austria. Swarovski is notably known for their jewelry, so this is an interesting collaboration.
The beans used in this coffee are arabicas from Guatemala and Costa Rica, plus robustas from Asia. To me this sounds like an awesome combination based on my Nespresso experience from these origins! Notes mentioned are caramel & spice, plus cocoa and toasted cereal. Nespresso mentions a split-roasting technique is used and they are both dark roasts – again, sounds like this might be a real winner!
The sleeve and capsule are colored light green and with a crystal like pattern on both. It’s very stylish looking, and really stands out! The capsules are green and light green with light green crystals (actually – I’m not sure if it’s a crystal pattern, but it’s an octagon shape) on them – very fancy.
Aroma
The Nespresso Crystal Spark has a very nice medium to dark colored dense crema. I’m not getting any strong notes, maybe like cereal aromas and also some sugary notes.
Taste
The Nespresso Crystal Spark is a really nice intensly roasted coffee. This is possibly one of the most intense festive collection coffees I had. I consider this one is way better than the Il Caffè, but not as intense as that one obviously.
The Crystal Spark is very smooth with good bitterness – almost like Kazaar, but not as strong. It also has sweet and slight caramel like notes. Overall I consider this is a winner for sure! I also noticed today there is a touch of spice notes, but the slight sweeteness overpowers the spice notes.
I highly suggest using my god shot technique (aim for a pre-infusion time of about 8 seconds) and brewing this as a ristretto shot, since it seems to taste way better that way.
Result
The Nespresso Crystal Spark is a super nice intense dark roasted coffee that you will love if you like dark roasts.
Please go to my ko-fi buy me a coffee page at: https://ko-fi.com/alvinbunk to support and donate to me for writing coffee reviews. Thank you!
https://alvinbunk.wordpress.com/2026/10/17/nespresso-swarovski-crystal-spark-espresso/
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#crystalspark #nespressocrystal #originalline #notes #festivecollection #costarica
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2026-10-16 02:48:17 GMT

Kapex – Barako
Introduction
This is a review of the Barako coffee capsule made by Kapex. This is 100% Philipino single origin coffee from the provinces of the southern Luzon, the Philipines. The beans used are liberica. Note that liberica beans are a different species than arabicas, and they particularly are grown in the Philippines and Malaysia, and are roughly less then 1.5% of the bean types used in the world. So the liberica taste will be quite unique. Liberica beans have more caffeine than arabicas, but less caffeine than robustas. As far as I know, Kapex is the only Nespresso capsule that I have ever seen that offers liberica beans; so this is a very special coffee.
There are 10 capsules per box, and they are a box shape similar to Starbucks by Nespresso boxes. You can buy the variety 4 pack on Amazon – just search for “Kapex”.
Aromas
The Barako has a thick light to medium colored dense crema. Very light woody and much stronger sugary aromas.
I suggest using my god shot technique when brewing these, and aim for a pre-infusion time of about 20 seconds. Expect the shot to pour slowly when using this technique and produce a ristretto sized output.
Taste
The Barako tastes a bit watery as an espresso. There are woody notes and slight spicy notes. For the Kapex capsules, this one is the one with the most character.
I brewed this one as a ristretto shot, and it’s way better as a ristretto shot. The Barako takes on some sugary notes, with slight spicy and woody tastes with a LOT of character. The intensity on a Nespresso scale is probably 11 or 12. I’m really liking this one, and is as good as the Nespresso Miami. The taste also persists in the mouth long after you have consumed the coffee, and it’s a unique taste as far as coffees go.
Result
The Barako is a really excellent quality liberica beans single origin coffee from the Philippines. This coffee is almost on par with Nespresso coffee, and that has a lot of say for it being a 3rd party capsules. I highly recommend you try them out.
Please go to my ko-fi buy me a coffee page at: https://ko-fi.com/alvinbunk to support and donate to me for writing coffee reviews. Thank you!
https://alvinbunk.wordpress.com/2026/10/09/kapex-barako/
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