Nespresso at ION Orchard

Personally, I have never been an avid coffee drinker, and apart from the Starbucks and Coffee Bean craze in the mid to late 90s, I have rarely ventured into coffee territory.

Pauline, however, is almost coffee dependent, and needs a shot everyday to get her engine going. And every once in a while, she would brew a nice cup of Illy coffee, which is temptingly aromatic and I would steal a sip or two.

Recently, my mum acquired a Nespresso machine and she herself has been rather hooked on this expresso maker of sorts.

And when the opportunity came to attend a special bloggers' session on Nespresso held at ION a couple of weeks ago, I simply could not refuse.

Coffee Specialist, Kai

I first encountered Nespresso here in the basement of Ngee Ann City, and used to remember that George Clooney being featured in their ads. It felt classy and premium, and thought it was probably quite an expensive coffee gimmick.

Then when ION opened, I used to frequent a gelato shop there and just across, I could see a much bigger standalone Nespresso outlet filled with an assortment of their patented machines and colorful capsules.

Coffee Capsules

It was the capsules that always captivated me visually about Nespresso, and I never did know how it all worked, until I attended the special session.

It seems that that making an expresso at home could not be easier or simpler. Just take one of the capsules and pop it into one of their many Nespresso machines and all you need to do is just press a button and the expresso is instantly made.

Nespresso Machine

The machine, as you can see from the picture above, has a container for you to fill up with water to make the coffee with. On the top, is an opening for you to insert the coffee capsules, and once you close the lid, the capsule will be pierced for the coffee powder to be extracted.

Hot water is then pumped in at high pressure to make the expresso shot, and in a matter of seconds, your coffee glass will be instantly filled with enough for either an expresso short, or a lungo, for a less concentrated but larger shot of coffee.

Nespresso Coffee

The capsules themselves come in a selection of 16 different flavors, that range from the acidic and fruity variety to the mid-range balance of fruity and body, and the very intense full bodied expresso ranger.

As I am no coffee expert, I shall not endeavor to explain what each flavor tastes like, but for me personally, I especially enjoyed the Rosabaya from Colombia flavor most.

As a guide, there are basically 3 distinctive categories for Nespresso coffee:

a. Pure Origin

b. Espresso Range

c. Lungo Range 

As for myself, I find myself getting hooked on Nespresso so much so that Pauline has just bought one machine home over the weekend and we have been enjoying quite a fair bit of expresso over the last couple of days.

One thing to note when you drink expresso, is to enjoy the crema, which is the froth that is on the top of the coffee first to have a taste of the coffee aroma.

I was told by Kai, the coffee specialist to slurp the coffee to enjoy the full explosion of coffee aroma in your palate, and though somewhat inelegant, it is the best way to savor good coffee.

Speaking of which, Nespresso has coffee specialists at their outlets to cater to your every enquiry and I must say that Kai was not only knowledgeable, he was also very friendly and charming in taking care of the customers at the outlet.

All in all, this experience has opened up my eyes and taste buds on coffee, and like wine, good coffee should be savored purely on its own. Which means, drinking Nespresso straight up is the best way, all black and no sugar or milk.

It sure beats Starbucks and Coffee Bean anytime!

Nespresso
ION Orchard