Nespress Yourself

If you are completely crazy about coffee, it’s time to kick out that Kenko and start having breakfast like a barista with Nespresso. If it’s good enough for George Clooney, it’s going to be good enough for you. The Nespresso Magimix coffee machine is elegant yet understated and is a certainty to get you out of bed in the morning. That boost which is so desperately needed in the morning to get you out the door no longer has to be in the form of an instant coffee, rushed together in a Mr Bean-like fashion. As of now, it can take on a whole new dimension involving capsules, buttons and a magical black container with the sole purpose of making your milk wonderfully frothy.

For one thing, you have the option of around 16 different coffee flavours, with suitably exotic names ranging from ‘fortissio lungo’ to ‘arpeggio’, giving you that shot of culture you’ve so dearly missed. (The ‘capriccio esspresso’ is a personal favourite on a Monday morning). In other words, to be drinking instant coffee when the option of owning one of these exists is like dining in a French restaurant and ordering a pint of Carlsberg with your oysters – you tend not to. Of course, I may be accused of naivety in thinking every Manchester student has the readies to invest in such a coffee machine but if, like me, you’re drinking them every day, £100 seems a fair price to pay for what you’re getting (especially divided among your housemates). In addition to this this, my referring to it merely as a coffee machine is somewhat misguiding as it is so much more than just this. A more appropriate description may be that it is a shining beacon of hope that promises a start to the day that is simply not possible if you’re stuck in the dark ages of coffee making. The result is not simply that a symphony of flavours is being conducted in your mouth, but of course, the actual ownership of such a nifty device means you command a great deal more respect among fellow coffee enthusiasts.

So far, my appeal has been to those students clambering out of bed, throwing on some clothes and mixing up a quick (instant) café au lait in the kitchen before hopping on a magic bus to Uni. I am, however, aware of that breed of people who join the lecturers and businessmen in the tedious queues of Starbucks and Nero to get their morning fix. This religious visit to the franchise is based on the belief that they can successfully fill that morning void so often dominated by lethargy, giving you that caffeine hit you desperately crave. These corporations are popular and it is mainly due to their sorting out customers with high-grade produce and with a street value of only around £2.50 a pop. However, the maintenance of this routine, week in week out for a matter of months will have spending the same as you would have on the Magimix machine and have had to go out of your way every day to do so. With the Magimix, you can enjoy the fruits of a quality coffee without the hassles of travelling and queuing.

After all this recommendation and appraisal, I feel it necessary to briefly mention my own personal experience with the machine. It was on returning from the Christmas holiday that my Birkenstock-wearing housemate Dom introduced the machine to our kitchen, armed with a shed-load of capsules. After a brief tutorial on how to treat it with love and care, the machine became one of the family and is now the most popular member. The mutual feeling towards the Magimix is one of pure adoration as it immediately transforms the users outlook on coffee from a mere mug of brown liquid to a chalice of flavours topped gracefully with a layer of perfectly modified milk to ensure beauty, elegance, and taste.

My advice to you here is simple: sack off the instant, boycott the Starbucks, and start enjoying coffee in style with me and Mr. Clooney. (Now I’m off to make a coffee).