lavazza tablì wins designboom special prize third place at seoul design award

Lavazza eliminates capsules with Tablì

Sustainability flourishes in simplicity. Caring for the planet becomes easy when real, convenient and functional alternatives replace more polluting options. Lavazza kept this reality in mind with Tablì, a capsule-free single-serve coffee system that has earned third place in the designboom Special Prize at the Seoul Design Award 2026.

problem with capsule coffee: convenience and waste

Until now, coffee drinkers have had three main options: go through the hassle of preparing a pot each time they wanted to enjoy the drink, use instant coffee or turn to a capsule machine. The third option is widespread because of its convenience, but there is a hidden side that not everyone is aware of.

According to figures from Deutsche Umwelthilfe, cited by Lavazza in its award submission, around 20 billion coffee capsules are used, and therefore discarded, every year. Germany alone consumes around 3.4 billion, generating approximately 13,500 metric tons of waste annually.

Hailing from Italy, a country where coffee is both a rule and a tradition, the multidisciplinary team, led by Florian Seidl and joined by Angelica Rella, Marco Rotundo and Nicola Bettoni, was well aware of this problem.

Capsule-free coffee: revolution comes from thinking outside the box

The team posed a revolutionary question: what if there were another way to prepare coffee? Tablì was born from the ambition to replicate the convenience of capsule coffee while designing a product with minimal environmental impact.

Their vision went beyond replacing capsules with a less harmful form of packaging. Instead, they designed a system built around a tab made entirely of coffee. No plastic, aluminum, additives or coatings. Alongside the tabs, they completed the ecosystem by designing a compatible machine, packaging, accessories and a connectivity system.

Sustainability beyond coffee tabs

Lavazza Tablì considers environmental care from production through maintenance and everyday use. The machine is made using post-consumer plastics, and its construction takes repairability and low energy consumption into account. Moreover, because the tabs are made entirely of coffee, they generate only organic waste.

This commitment to sustainability has been key to securing the Special Prize with designboom. The Seoul Design Award’s purpose is precisely to promote projects that have achieved harmony between people, society and the environment.

The designboom Special Prize introduces a series of additional requirements. Award-winning projects must connect with designboom’s values: Intentionally Curious, Disrupt Playfully, and Fearlessly Meaningful. Ultimately, they must demonstrate an ability to think outside the box, create products that bring us joy and pursue design that, beyond being beautiful, expresses a bold vision with functionality rooted in its very conception.

Lavazza Tablì has the honor of taking third place in the category for its attention to detail, aesthetics and functionality as a whole rather than as separate elements. The product’s specifications speak for themselves: the height-adjustable cup rest with a metal grid; the sliding opening for inserting the tab; and the transparent water tank that allows users to check the water level are examples of a project conceived for intuitive, smooth operation that elevates the user experience while protecting the environment.

Discover more about the designboom Special Prize and explore the full gallery of Lavazza Tablì — here.

project info:

product: Tablì

company: Lavazza | @lavazzaofficial

prize: third place, designboom Special Prize at the Seoul Design Award 2026