Method for making a ground coffee discoid pad

Method for making a ground coffee discoid pad for brewing an express coffee, comprising the steps of:

• placing a lower web of water-and-air permeable material in a molding plate concavity to form a pocket in said web,
• positioning a measured heap of ground coffee in said pocket,
• squashing said heap to transform it into a coffee pad,
• applying a pressure to transform said coffee pad into a coherent, well compacted element,
• covering said element with an upper web of water-and-air permeable material, and
• attaching said lower and upper webs to one another along the perimeter of said coffee element,
• wherein in said step of transforming said coffee pad into a coherent, well compacted element, the applied pressure is driven up to a maximum pressure in the range of from 22 to 65 atmospheres such that oily substances on and in the coffee granules uniformly fill up all the interstices between said granules in the entire coherent coffee element, thereby providing a space closed by a continuous oily surface substantially coincident with the peripheral surface of the coherent coffee element, with the oily particles on said continuous surface acting to oxidize on contact with the air passed through the permeable material covering said element, but working as a barrier against the oxidation proceeding towards the interior of the coherent element.