Douwe Egberts hopes to take the grind out of making ground coffee with the launch of a compressed ground coffee tablet a UK first, it claims.

Aromettes, which will hit Tesco in mid February, are solid, single-portion blocks of ground coffee (rsp: £3.69/30 servings).

The blocks, which dissolve in boiling water, come in two variants smooth and intense and are suitable for use in filter machines and cafetières.

They would appeal to the one in four UK instant coffee drinkers who thought ground coffee was “too difficult to make”, predicted Julie Baker, managing director of Douwe Egberts UK.

Aromettes had been a big success in France since launching in 2009 and there was a “clear opportunity” for the concept in the UK,” she said.

“Many consumers lack the confidence and know-how to make it at home,” she said.

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