Nespresso

Nespresso is the brand name of Nestlé Nespresso S.A., an operating unit of the Nestlé Group. Nespresso products are based on a proprietary system of single-serving "capsules" containing ground coffee, and specialized machines to brew espresso from the contents of the capsules. The company is based in Paudex, Switzerland.

History since 1976

The first patent application for the process of extracting coffee from capsules containing ground coffee was filed in 1976. Starting from 1986 the system was first introduced by Batelle Institute, retaken by Éric Favre to the business Switzerland market, but without the expected success.

In 1988, thanks to Jean-Paul Gaillard, the process became a market success. Jean-Paul Gaillard is known as a business man, the inventor of «Le Club» community. In 1990, the firm signed a contract with Turmix, which started to sell Nespresso's machine in Switzerland. Thereafter, other contracts were signed with Krups, Magimix, Alessi, Philips.

Machines and capsules

A pair of Nespresso Magimix M100 machines

The Nespresso Company commercialises both the machines and the capsules; the capsules can only be bought in Nespresso stores, called "Nespresso boutiques", via mail-order or the company website, while the machines are under restrictive licence. Nespresso designs a wide range of machines, many of which are manufactured by well-known kitchen equipment producers, such as Krups, Magimix, Siemens and Delonghi, but which all seem to conform to a restricted set of standardised designs. In 2000, Nespresso began distributing its own machines independent of Krups, Turmix, Koenig, Magimix and Siemens.

The bottom of a used nespresso capsule, showing the ruptures in the foil from which the brewed coffee flows

Coffee blends

Although Nespresso machines are available in many retail stores, the Nespresso capsules are only available from Nespresso, via mail, phone, or Internet, or in Nespresso Boutiques. This means that the capsules have prices that are fixed at a relatively high cost (currently around 55 cents U.S. per use/capsule, much higher than loose coffee or some other brands). By buying the system, one is committed to only using the Nespresso capsules, as there is no way to use anything else in the machine.

Assorted Nespresso pods: each color indicates a variety of coffee.

"Grands Crus" blends offer 16 different types of coffee and also are ground to different grades of fineness, to bring out the intended aromatic notes and flavour.

Varieties of coffee contained in the Nespresso capsules come from different regions of the world. The mixture, called "Grands crus" in the brand communication , are made based on robusta and arabica. Some cafes in the range are 100% Arabica: Arpeggio, Livanto, Volluto, Cosi and Vivalto. Other lines are mixed with less than 5% of robusta.

Each capsule makes one cup of coffee. The capsules contain an average 5.5 grams of coffee; while the quantity is generally accepted as correct for the preparation of espresso, the machines used by professional and personal coffee makers, and other systems of pods, such as ESE, use 7 grams. An espresso is ideally served at 40 ml (1 imp fl oz; 1 US fl oz), a half espresso at 25 ml (1 imp fl oz; 1 US fl oz) and a Lungo at 110 ml (4 imp fl oz; 4 US fl oz).

Technology

The base of a Nespresso machine capsule holder. As well as the raised squares which rupture the capsule, you can also make out the holes between the squares through which the espresso exits the holder.

Nespresso's capsules (as seen on the right) are in a hermetically plastic-wraped capsule. When the capsule is inserted into the machine, the top of the capsule is pierced (some machines make a single large hole, and others make a number of smaller ones). When the machine is activated, the machine pumps in hot water under high pressure. This causes the base of the capsule to bow out, as it is made of thinner foil than the rest of the capsule. The base of the capsule holder (on which the capsule sits) has a number of raised squares, which causes the foil to rupture at these points, and the brewed coffee then exits the capsule, and flows into the cup. (There is a pressure release valve inside the brewing chamber, which prevents an explosion occurring if the small holes in the base of the holder become blocked.) Depending on the particular machine being used, the spent capsule may then be ejected into a holding chamber within the machine. This ejection process is automated on certain higher-end machines.

Marketing

Nespresso's brand ambassador is George Clooney, and the brand's slogan is What else?

Criticism

While coffee is increasingly sold through fair trade markets, Nespresso does not propose buying coffee from this sector.

The concept of Nespresso does not allow the customer to purchase coffee from any source other than Nestlé.

Criticisms have been raised regarding the ecological implications of Nespresso. In terms of ecological impact, each cup of Nespresso coffee produces aluminum waste, the main material of the capsule. There is 1g of aluminum in one capsule (including the cover) compared to 13g for one light-weight drinks can. Recycling aluminum represents energy savings of up to 95% in comparison with the production of primary aluminum. However, Nestlé has not implemented recycling programs outside of Switzerland, France, Germany or the United Kingdom. This leads to a large per-cup waste generation, and some user groups have criticized this. Some consumers empty out used capsules and put the aluminum capsules in their recycling waste. As of 2009, Nespresso boutiques in New York City accept used capsules for a pilot recycling program.

Business model

The concept (machine, capsule, service) is protected by 70 patents and allowed Nespresso create a closed economic model closed to competition . Not only is Nespresso coffee capsules for use with the same marks, patents ensuring exclusivity, but most customers are forced to buy from Nestlé through the website established by the mark or one of Nespresso Boutiques .

This closed system is contrary to everything that is done for other types of coffee (in the world coffee filter, all brands are compatible), and allows Nespresso to set prices. But the cost per cup is about three times higher than of filtered coffee.

However, patents will begin to fall into the public domain in 2012 which should allow potential competitors to offer them also compatible capsules. In order to enlarge customer choice, a young swiss start-up (Nexpod.ch) is already offering single use capsules, compatible with Nespresso coffee machines, which can be filled with the coffee (or tea) of choice.

Ecological Impact

The ecological footprint of a Nespresso coffee is more important than all other preparation (decoction, infusion, filtration, percolation) because of their packaging in capsules. While some capsules are recycled, they are rarely in practice. Nestle announces current rate of 50% in Switzerland and Germany but only 2% in France . The rate of recycled aluminium in the capsules is unknown but less than 30% . The company has launched a program called "écolaboration" to try to remedy the problem . It should be noted that used Nespresso aluminum capsules can be returned to any Nespresso sales point for recycling. As is often the case, consumer compliance is vital to any recycling effort.

Unlike the capsules, Nespresso Pro cannot be recycled because it is made of a mixture of plastic and aluminum. The layers of material being joined to eachother, it can only be burned. This leads the World Wide Fund for Nature and other environmental agencies to state that "the most reasonable solution is still the purchase of bulk coffee."

See also

• Lavazza BLUE
• Flavia
• Handpresso
• Espresso
• Senseo
• Tassimo
• Caffitaly (Caffita)
• Saeco

External links

• Nespresso website
• Nespresso professional website
• SingleServeCoffee's review on the Nespresso system
• Nespresso capsule system information in the UK
• Nespresso capsules review website
• Caffitaly capsule system espresso machines
• single use capsules, to be used with your Nespresso machine