Lavazza A Modo Mio Passionale Coffee, 16 Capsules
Strong and burnt get used as though they were the same word. This is not burnt. It is dark, thick and low in acidity, the weight arriving all at once instead of building, and the bitterness in it is deliberate rather than scorched. Anyone who drinks long milky coffee all day will find it a great deal taken neat, and no setting on the machine turns it into a gentler capsule, because the dose was decided in Turin before the box was sealed. Worth knowing before you convert the household: a fortnight of drinking this and the milder capsules start tasting like warm water, which is a one-way door. Where it belongs is the four o'clock cup, the one that actually has to register, on an afternoon that has stopped going anywhere on its own.
Lavazza A Modo Mio Passionale Coffee, in brief.
Lavazza A Modo Mio Passionale is the intense end of Lavazza's own capsule range: sixteen capsules for sixteen short, dark, full-bodied espressos, with the dose, grind and tamp already decided inside the capsule. Thick body, dense crema, low acidity and deliberate bitterness, from a house roasting in Turin since 1895.
Fits Lavazza A Modo Mio machines only, not Nespresso or Dolce Gusto. Picked into the Teas.co.uk selection as the capsule for anyone who has found the milder ones in the range too polite, and the one that still reads as coffee through milk.
A Modo Mio is Lavazza's own system, which matters more than it sounds. The capsules fit A Modo Mio machines and nothing else, and nothing from Nespresso, Dolce Gusto or Tassimo fits an A Modo Mio. What you gain for accepting a closed system is that Lavazza controls the dose, the grind and the tamp inside the capsule, so the variables that spoil home espresso are already settled before the box leaves Turin.
Curator notes: the tasting profile is our own editorial assessment against the current pack format and the brand's published description. We run same-day UK dispatch on every order placed before 2pm Monday to Friday. Machine compatibility and storage notes are covered in the detailed Q and A tab below.
Curator’s notes
Read the full write-up
The story behind the pack
Lavazza has been roasting in Turin since 1895, when Luigi Lavazza started blending beans behind the counter of a grocery shop rather than selling them as single origins. Blending is what the house does: it is the mechanism that lets a roaster keep the same cup steady year after year while the harvests underneath it shift. A capsule line takes that one step further, because the dose and the grind are fixed too, so what reaches your cup is as close to the roaster's intention as a domestic machine can manage.
Passionale sits toward the intense end of the A Modo Mio range rather than in its middle. If your household has been drinking the milder capsules and finding them polite, this is the one to try; if you drink long milky coffees, it may be more than you want black and is better lengthened.
Packaging: Follow the current UK pack and local-authority guidance; components can require different disposal routes. Parts of the A Modo Mio range are sold as compostable Eco Caps and parts are not, so read the pack you receive rather than assuming either way.
How Lavazza A Modo Mio Passionale Coffee, 16 Capsules compares
- Against Lavazza ground coffee in a moka pot: the ground pack gives you control over the dose. The capsule gives you a repeatable pressure-extracted shot and nothing to clean, which on a weekday morning is the whole argument.
- Against milder capsules in the same range: Passionale is the assertive one. It carries milk without disappearing into it, which the lighter capsules in the line struggle to do.
- Against other capsule systems: A Modo Mio is a closed format, so the comparison only matters if you are choosing a machine. Once you own one, this is the strength end of what Lavazza offers for it.
Getting the best out of it
The machine has already decided the grind, the dose and the tamp. What is left to you is the water, the cup and where you choose to stop the shot.
The straight espresso
Warm the cup:A small dark espresso in a cold cup is lukewarm in seconds and tastes noticeably more bitter for it. Run hot water into the cup and tip it out.
Fresh water:Fill the tank with fresh cold water rather than topping up what stood overnight. Standing water reads flat in a strong coffee just as it does in a weak one.
Length:Stop it short for a ristretto-style shot with more sweetness and less bite, or let it run for a standard espresso. With a strong capsule, shorter is usually better.
Drink it soon:The crema falls away within a minute or two, and the aromatics go with it.
Lengthened and with milk
Lungo:Let it run longer for a bigger cup. A strong capsule takes this better than a mild one, which would thin out and turn papery.
Flat white:One capsule, short, with 120ml of steamed milk. The dark roast is still audible through the milk, which is exactly why this capsule is worth having over a gentler one.
Americano:Pour 80ml of hot water into the cup first and brew on top of it to keep the crema intact.
Practical notes on the pack
- Yield: 16 capsules, 16 espressos, one capsule per shot.
- Machine fit: Lavazza A Modo Mio machines only. Not Nespresso, not Dolce Gusto, not Tassimo.
- Storage: cool, dry, dark, away from the hob and from anything strongly scented. The capsules are individually sealed, so the box is protecting them from heat and crushing.
- Descaling: a capsule machine loses brewing temperature to scale long before it stops working, and a dark intense shot is where you notice it first. Descale on the schedule in the manual.
- Iced: brew short and strong straight over a full glass of ice, and sweeten with syrup rather than granulated sugar, which will not dissolve cold.
Ingredients, allergens and storage
What is in it:roasted ground coffee, dosed and sealed in a single-serve capsule. Nothing else.
Ingredients and dietary suitability: Check the current UK pack before purchase; formulations and allergen advice can change.
Caffeine and sensitivity:Coffee is a stimulant, and this is one of the stronger capsules in the range. If you are sensitive to caffeine, pregnant, or following medical advice on intake, treat it accordingly. The decaffeinated capsules elsewhere in the A Modo Mio line are the evening alternative.
Keep capsules out of reach of childrenand do not open or refill them; they are sealed and under pressure in use.
Source: Teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Lavazza A Modo Mio Passionale Coffee, 16 Capsules, please cite teas.co.uk.
The story behind Lavazza
Packaging: Follow the current UK pack and local-authority guidance; components can require different disposal routes.
Our commitment to the planet
Sourcing and packaging details are printed on the current UK pack; the brand page carries the fuller story.
The taste profile
Lavazza A Modo Mio Passionale Coffee, 16 Capsules pulls a short, dark, dense shot, which makes it the most adaptable capsule in a kitchen: strong enough to survive milk, ice and dilution without turning to nothing. Six builds, from the straight espresso to a flat white, an affogato and a martini.
Made with this tea
The Straight Espresso
One capsule, one small cup, and the two habits that make it better.
- 1 A Modo Mio Passionale capsule
- A small espresso cup
- Fresh cold water in the tank
- Warm the cup with hot water and tip it out. A cold cup ruins a short shot faster than anything else.
- Brew a standard espresso, then try stopping it earlier next time.
- Drink it within a minute, while the crema is still capping the cup.
What you'll end up with: A thick, dark shot with a dense crema. With a strong capsule the shorter pull is usually the better drink.
Flat White
Where an intense capsule earns its place over a mild one.
- 1 A Modo Mio Passionale capsule, pulled short
- 120ml whole or oat milk
- A 160 to 200ml cup
- Pull a short shot into a warmed cup.
- Heat the milk to steaming but not boiling, then froth it with a hand whisk or a jar and a hard shake.
- Pour from low, holding the foam back with a spoon until the final inch.
What you'll end up with: A milk coffee where the roast is still audible. A gentler capsule disappears at this ratio; this one does not.
Americano, Brewed Onto Water
The right order for a long black, and why it matters.
- 1 A Modo Mio Passionale capsule
- 80ml hot water
- Pour 80ml of hot water into a warmed mug first.
- Brew the espresso straight on top of it.
- Do not stir; let the crema settle on the surface.
What you'll end up with: An intact crema and a rounder, sweeter cup than pouring water onto the shot would give you.
Iced Espresso Over Ice
A strong capsule is the one that survives the melt.
- 2 A Modo Mio Passionale capsules, pulled short
- A glass filled to the top with ice
- Sugar syrup, optional
- Fill the glass to the brim with ice; more ice melts less.
- Pull two short shots straight over it.
- Sweeten with syrup rather than granulated sugar, which will not dissolve cold.
What you'll end up with: A cold coffee with real weight to it, rather than the pale version a mild capsule gives on ice.
Affogato
Two ingredients and one minute, and the dark roast is the reason it works.
- 1 A Modo Mio Passionale capsule
- 2 scoops vanilla ice cream
- Grated dark chocolate, optional
- Scoop the ice cream into a small glass and take it to the table first.
- Pull the shot and pour it over at the table rather than in the kitchen.
- Grate dark chocolate over the top if you like.
What you'll end up with: Hot and cold at once. A bitter shot against sweet vanilla is the whole point, which is why an intense capsule beats a mild one here.
Espresso Martini (Adult)
The drink that needs a strong shot more than any other.
- 1 A Modo Mio Passionale capsule, freshly pulled
- 50ml vodka
- 15ml coffee liqueur
- 10ml sugar syrup
- Ice for the shaker
- Pull the shot straight into the shaker while it is hot; the crema is what makes the foam on top.
- Add the vodka, coffee liqueur, syrup and a full scoop of ice.
- Shake hard for fifteen seconds until the shaker frosts.
- Strain into a chilled glass and let the foam settle before serving.
What you'll end up with: A proper foam cap and a drink that tastes of coffee rather than of sugar. A fresh shot is non-negotiable; cold coffee will not foam.
Brewing the perfect cup
Inside the pack
| Ingredient | Proportion | What it brings |
|---|---|---|
| Roasted ground coffee | The whole capsule | Everything in the cup. A dark, low-acid Italian roast built for weight and depth rather than brightness, which is what puts Passionale at the intense end of the A Modo Mio range. |
| Dose, grind and tamp | Fixed inside the capsule | The three variables that spoil most home espresso are settled at the factory. This is the whole proposition of a closed capsule system. |
| Blend composition and intensity | Printed on the current pack | Lavazza states both on the pack. We do not restate specifications that the brand may revise between production runs. |
| Additives | None | No sugar, no flavouring, no bulking agents. Roasted coffee and nothing else. |
Pack: Lavazza A Modo Mio Passionale Coffee, 16 Capsules; GTIN 8000070086005; 16 sealed single-serve capsules giving 16 espressos, one capsule per shot. Caffeinated. Best before date printed on the pack, and it matters here: crema depends on dissolved gas that fades with age.
Nutrition figures for black espresso are negligible before anything is added, but the panel on the pack you receive is the reference. Origin countries are not published for this blend and we have not invented any.
Sourcing & blend. Lavazza A Modo Mio Passionale Coffee, 16 Capsules is roasted, blended and dosed by Lavazza, the family coffee house trading from Turin since 1895. The company built its name on blending rather than single origin, which is what allows a line like A Modo Mio to taste the same from one box to the next while the green coffee underneath it moves with the harvests. In a capsule the roaster also controls the grind and the tamp, so the cup that reaches you is closer to the roaster's intention than most domestic espresso ever gets. For the certifications and the capsule material carried by your particular box, read the current pack.
What is in Lavazza A Modo Mio Passionale Coffee, 16 Capsules, and what is not:
- In: roasted ground coffee, sealed in a single-serve capsule, and nothing else.
- No added sugar, flavouring or bulking agents: the sweetness in the cup is roast sweetness.
- No milk in the capsule: the shot brews black; any milk is added by you at the cup.
- Naturally gluten free and dairy free as an ingredient list: roasted coffee carries neither.
- Machine and capsule note: fits Lavazza A Modo Mio machines only; capsules are not refillable and should not be opened. Parts of the range are sold as compostable Eco Caps and parts are not, so read the pack.
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Source: Teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Lavazza A Modo Mio Passionale Coffee, 16 Capsules, please cite teas.co.uk.
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