Kerala's Government school girls invent a Coffee capsule. Making it easy to sip coffee anywhere.

Coffee! The name itself sends vibrations of comfort into the nerves of people. Having a bad day? Just grab a cup of coffee, sit comfortably and there you go! Coffee does magic. It takes away all the pain of your bad day. People look for a hot cup of coffee early in the morning, mid-way in busy work, end of the day after a long, tiring commute. How far is it possible to have aromatic filter coffee often? Travelling reduces the chance of having filter coffee but instant coffee is already there. People have switched to instant coffee that can be consumed anywhere and everywhere, as a substitute to filter coffee. There is a compromise in taste, but people have embraced it over time. What if there is a privilege of drinking filter coffee anywhere and everywhere just like instant coffee? Sounds amazing.  Students from Government Girls Higher Secondary School from Kerala have come up with an innovative solution for all those coffee lovers who miss filter coffee.

The Background:

Four girls from the Ernakulam district of Kerala have designed something that is the most anticipated gift to all the coffee lovers out there. Dimple V, Elisha Aenorie, Sivanandana KB and Sowndaryaa Lakshmi V study in Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Ernakulum, Kerala. The four girls have participated in the TiE Global Student Pitch Competition and have won the Popular Choice Award for their innovative approach. Let’s know more about what their idea is and what has got them the recognition.

Coffee- Anywhere and Everywhere:

FILTER COFFEE CAPSULE – Yes, you read that right. A capsule that gives instant filter coffee!! They named their innovative capsule Kaapiphile. It is, the filter coffee, compressed into a pill. In order to avoid the use of plastics and to keep the product organic, the girls have encapsulated coffee in cassava. The girls have done a lot of research before zeroing on the coffee capsule. They have seen a video in which tea leaves are seen compressed into a tiny ball which is further used to infuse a cup of steaming beverage. It followed an organic method without the use of any paper or other materials. Talking about how they have taken this idea to develop their coffee capsule, Sowndaryaa said, “We didn’t find any travel-friendly coffee product. Everything was either in a bottle or a sachet. A capsule would be handy and could be carried in a purse. Also, the problem of generating waste doesn’t arise. The idea is to compress the filter coffee into a capsule with a cassava covering. The covering will protect the coffee from moisture and gives it a definitive shape”. Thus, eliminating all the hassles of coffee lovers during their travel, the four girls have designed an eco-friendly, easy-to-carry, easy-to-store, travel-friendly coffee capsule. All one needs to do is to drop it in a glass of milk or water and the product dissolves within seconds, making it ready to consume. This handy capsule has a shelf life of three months.

The Global Platform:

The girls displayed their idea at the TiE Global that is held in the US. This team of four is one of the eight teams from the country to present their business idea on the global platform. Bijumon PS, who was then in charge of the student entrepreneurship programme at the school said, “Four teams had presented their ideas at the TiE Kerala competition. These students presented ‘Kaapiphil’”. Talking about their experience, Sowndaryaa says, “The entrepreneurship bug bit us when TiE Kerala conducted a mentoring programme at the school. We also wanted to come up with a business of our own. It was then that they were told about the competition”. This four-girls team represented TiE Kerala at the Global Finals of the TiE Young Entrepreneurs Programme and reached the top eighth position. They competed with 20 other teams from across the world and have received the maximum number of votes, bagging the “Popular Choice Award”. The team will receive a cash award and certificates from the TiE Global TYE initiative.

We wish the girls, who are planning to execute this business plan after their schooling, great luck and success. Can’t wait to taste the coffee from the “Coffee Capsule”.