In their homes, the distinctive hum, whirr and clunk of a machine in action has taken its place alongside the churn of a dishwasher. Buying a machine grants you membership of the Nespresso Club, literally, and also membership of the Nespresso club, metaphorically – a global fellowship of people who care enough about their morning brew to spend 40 or 50p on 5 grams of it, but not enough to spend more than 30 seconds preparing it. Its success has provided its public face, the actor George Clooney, with the means to maintain a private satellite over Sudan.įor a certain kind of business traveller, the sight of a little Nespresso pod in a drawer by the minibar has become as familiar as a Gideon Bible. In 2013, the most recent year it released figures, Nespresso’s revenues totalled $10.8bn. The firm employs more than 13,000 people and the Nespresso magazine, which the company has referred to as a “bi-annual pleasure guide”, has a circulation of more than 2m. Hundreds of rivals and imitators have emerged, some making capsules for Nespresso machines, others pushing competitor systems. More than 400 Nespressos are drunk every second. Today, some 14bn Nespresso capsules are sold every year, both online and from 810 brightly lit boutiques in 84 countries. “OK, it’s not Einstein, but what he achieved within kitchen appliances will stay with us for a long time.” “Favre is one of those people who pop up in history and do great things,” Marco Restelli, Nespresso’s head of product and development, told me at Nespresso’s offices in Lausanne. The following year, 1976, Nestlé filed its first patent for a single-serve coffee system. As the capsule became pressurised with water, the foil would be forced against a spiked plate, bursting it inwards, and out through the spout would run an espresso. Hot water would be pumped through this needle at high pressure. After the pod was inserted, a needle-like spout would pierce one end. (Although roast coffee can stay fresh for weeks, ground coffee loses its freshness after about half an hour.) The capsule design would also ensure greater aeration, mimicking the repeat oxidisations at the Sant’Eustachio. Customers would own a machine, into which they would place a sealed pod filled with ground coffee. Favre’s aim was to build a world in which espresso was available at home. The idea of a portioned coffee system had been around since the 50s, but no one had seriously pursued it. Favre returned to Switzerland and, along with a small team, set about designing a machine that could replicate this procedure. In the history of at-home premium coffee, this is perhaps the closest anyone has ever come to a eureka moment. This meant they forced more water and air into the ground beans, which meant greater oxidisation, which drew out more flavour from the beans and produced more of a crema – the layer of foam formed on top of a good espresso. But at Sant’Eustachio Il Caffè, the baristas pumped repeatedly. What was it about this place, Favre wondered, that made it so special? Inside, the barista explained that other operators pumped the piston just once before releasing the coffee. Plenty of other cafes nearby used the same machines. Wandering through the centre of Rome, Favre noticed a long queue snaking from a coffee bar near the Pantheon. To be tempting at a higher price, Favre’s new machine had to offer high-quality coffee with the speed and ease of instant. Or there was soluble instant coffee, which was quick and easy but had an unsubtle flavour. There was roast and ground, which was tasty but laborious, whether prepared in a cafetière, stove-top or filter machine. At the time, two kinds of coffee were drunk at home. Successful products can look inevitable in hindsight, but the gap in the market wasn’t obvious.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |