One of the greatest challenges in life is to create a coffee at home which is as good as the best coffee you can buy in your favourite coffee shop. It's a complex equation involving obtaining the right equipment, refining the technique and obtaining the freshest and best quality coffee. There's a definite affinity between computers, high-performance people and coffee - we're not sure what the common elements are but high clock speeds seems to be part of the equation and there are few technology environments where caffeine is not the staple diet. Which sort of accounts for why coffee is one of the largest cost-centres for this humble magazine - all press briefings are over coffee, we have our meetings over coffee, and we drink coffee in our spare time, sometimes so often that the entire staff can levitate by 4pm in the afternoon on a busy day. So the news that Nespresso has unveiled a new compact coffee system was significant for us. Now while Nespresso is clearly related to Nescafe, the concept behind it is at the other end of the connoisseur scale, as we have previously explained. Indeed, Nespresso is so focused on nurturing the brand’s upmarket pedigree, it has opened dozens of coffee boutiques in the world’s cultural centres selling just Nespresso-produced coffee.
Firstly, the new machine is called the Nespresso Essenza. The original concept for Nespresso Essenza was created in collaboration with the celebrated international designer, Antoine Cahen, from Ateliers du Nord in Lausanne, Switzerland. The Essenza system offers the convenience and advanced performance inherent in all Nespresso machines with the added advantage of a practical, petite size. It is designed for use with Nespresso’s premium capsule-packaged coffees and aims to appeal to the growing group of consumers who want to experience espresso bar quality coffee in the home, at a very affordable price.
In addition to the new advanced extraction system developed by Nespresso that allows for its smaller size, Essenza incorporates a new lever system, enabling easy introduction of each capsule while ensuring perfect functioning of the machine. With one simple touch of the lever, users can manually control the quantity of coffee in each cup to satisfy their specific preferences by producing either a perfect espresso or “long cup” coffee (110 ml). As with all Nespresso systems, the Essenza is also equipped with a 19 bar high-pressure pump and thermobloc guaranteeing optimal extraction and thus, the full measure of aromas, body, taste and smooth crema that distinguish superb espressos and coffees.
As we’ve said previously, Nespresso’s strength is that it conveniently delivers consistent results, but this consistency is just one aspect of the wholistic coffee system. Nespresso offers a choice of 12 premium quality roast and ground coffees packaged in hermetically sealed capsules to ensure freshness - nine varieties of espresso and three “long cup” (110 ml) coffee blends. Two additional premium coffees, blended from exceptional and rare harvests, are also offered each year as the ‘Special Club’ and ‘Limited Edition’ varieties.
When a consumer buys a Nespresso machine, they automatically become members of the Nespresso Club, which offers personalised service 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This includes access to Nespresso Coffee Specialists for advice on coffee blends and origins, guidance on maintaining their Nespresso machines, 24/7 ordering of Nespresso coffee capsules and exclusive offers for Nespresso accessories and special Grand Cru coffee blends.
All Nespresso machine owners automatically become members of the Nespresso Club. Members can seek advice about the coffee varieties and machines as well as order capsules twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week by phone, fax or Internet for guaranteed delivery within three working days. The new Essenza system is now available internationally and if you’d like to sample the product, there’s probably one of the Nespresso boutiques nearby given there are more than 30 spread across the world – Sydney, Vienna, Brussels, Prague, Copenhagen, Paris, Lyon, Strasbourg, Lille, Budapest, Dusseldorf, Tel Aviv, Moscow, Milan, Amsterdam, Lisbon, Barcelona, Valancia, Zurich, Stockholm, Geneva, Lugano, London and New York, with more coming. You can find the nearest address here.