Beverage preparation capsule

A beverage preparation capsule containing a beverage preparation ingredient, the beverage preparation capsule comprising:

• front and back sheets of substantially air- and liquid-impermeable flexible film materials, said sheets being bonded together in face to face relation along a top edge, first and second side edges, and a bottom edge, wherein a region of said bonding in said bottom edge is releasable by heat and/or pressure to allow escape of beverage from the capsule during beverage preparation;
• said front and back sheets further being bonded together in face to face relation by a transverse seal extending intermediate said top and bottom edges, said transverse seal being interrupted by a gap, whereby said gap provides fluid communication between a beverage ingredient chamber located above said gap and a beverage outlet chamber located below said gap;
• and
• a folded filter strip extending transversely across said capsule to provide a filter element in said gap, said folded filter strip having a fold extending transversely below said transverse seal and front and back side panels extending into said gap, each of said front and back side panels terminating in an edge that is remote from the fold, the edges of the front and back side panels being bonded to the front and back sheets within the transverse seal such that the edges of the front and back side panels do not extend above the transverse seal into the beverage ingredient chamber.