Capsule Filling Machines and Empty Capsules by Size

The capsule machine here doesn't plug in, heat up or brew anything. Sold elsewhere as an Encapsulator, it's really a two-part plastic tray: you seat empty shells in it, tip in your powder, tamp it down and press the halves together. It lives in our smartshop alongside the rest of our home prep kit, and it's built for powdered supplements and botanical powders you'd rather not taste. Kratom powder and other bitter herbal powders are the usual reason people come looking for capsule machines in the first place.

Size 0, 00 and 1, and What Actually Fits Inside

We get asked for size 000 and size 2 a lot, so here it is straight: we don't stock either. The Capsule Machine works with size 0, size 00 and size 1 shells, and those three sizes are the whole range. Rough capacities:

• Size 00, about 740 mg, the largest shell we do
• Size 0, about 500 mg
• Size 1, about 400 mg

Watch out for the milligram figures, though. They're a guide, not a promise. A light, fluffy powder fills the shell by volume long before it hits 740 mg, while something dense and finely milled can sneak past it. If you're not sure, buy size 00 and tamp less.

Gelatine or Veggie: Two Shells, Same Numbers

Gelatine Shells Snap Together Cleanly

Our Gelatine Capsules are the classic ones: animal-derived, slightly glossy, and firm enough that the two halves give a small click when they seat. They're the easiest shells to learn on because they don't flex much while you're pressing.

Vegetarian Shells for Plant-Based Routines

Vegetarian Capsules come in the same size 0, 00 and 1, and hold the same amounts, so nothing about your filling routine changes. Pick these if animal products are off the table.

Powder In, 24 Capsules Out in About Two Minutes

The routine is short once you've done it once:

• Pull the shells apart and drop the bodies into the base tray, caps into the top plate.
• Spoon your powder over the tray and sweep it across so every body fills evenly.
• Tamp with the included tool, top up any that sank, then tamp again.
• Set the top plate over the base and press down to join all 24 at once.
• Lift the plate and the finished capsules eject in one go.

Shells swell in damp air, and a swollen shell won't seat. That's what the moisture-absorbing drying bag in the box is for: leave your spare capsules in it and they shrink back to size. Keep it sealed and you'll never fight a sticky batch.

No Machine, No Shells: Starch Pouches From Japan

Easy Dose Oblate Pouches by Zamnesia are ultra-thin tasteless wafers of 100% non-GMO potato starch, so light you can barely feel one between your fingers. They come in packs of 50 or 100 with a foldable funnel sheet: fold the stand, open the funnel, drop a pouch in, fill it and fold the top over to seal. Made in Japan, and there's no tray to wash afterwards.

Which one, then? If you're handling one portion of a bitter powder now and then, the pouches win on speed. If you're prepping a batch of the same powder to keep in a jar, the Capsule Machine plus a bag of size 00 shells is what we'd have on the shelf.