Nespresso is the new normal
Nico Bolzico, founder of agricultural company LM10 and happy husband of Solenn Heussaff, has a short, cute film about how easy Nespresso is: sitting on his couch, he launches a Nespresso capsule across the living room as his dog, cat and turtle watch closely until it lands in his red Pixie machine, which obediently starts brewing.
“Vamos!” Nico cries out, then starts part two, which is frothing up some milk in his Aeroccino. It’s his morning cappuccino routine “You should always serve cappuccino in the morning,” he says — but as we found in a live Zoom event, everybody has his or her own home barista routine.
Being in lockdown seems to have inspired many Filipinos to get creative at home. We saw how Bolzico, Sunnies Studios co-founder Bea Soriano Dee and restaurateur and caterer Happy Ongpauco Tiu like playing home café in the “Nespresso Be Your Own Barista” event, and it all looked delicious.
After some welcoming remarks from Novateur Coffee Concepts, Inc. managing director Patrick Pesengco (“We’re truly grateful to our guests for sharing their Nespresso coffee moments at home”), radio personality and host Chico Garcia led us through a coffee home-styling sesh with Nico, Bea and Happy.
Nico has even named his red machine — “Rebecca” — and says it’s the only piece of furniture his wife Solenn has allowed him to smuggle into the living room, “because it looks cool.” Must be that Swiss-Italian design. He’s been happy that the lockdown has let him enjoy time with their newborn daughter Thylane (born last Jan. 1). “I think if I could choose a year where I would want a pandemic to happen, it would be this one, when my baby was born,” he says. “It’s allowed me to spend time. I would have missed so much about her if I wouldn’t be here all this time.” Of course, Nico has his Nespresso space, and his workspace at home, but his routine involves sitting on a balcony filled with plants —a mini-garden that “feels like the farms from home” where he can relax, meditate, and enjoy his cappuccino. (Preferred capsule: Ispirazione Venezia.)
Bea has also found that lockdown has been a bounty of free time: “Now that I’m fully working from home and my travel time’s all freed up, I get to really enjoy the morning, ease into my day.” She says she always “reads books” every day to maintain her peaceful vibe, and her go-to drinks are milk-based, which starts with her Lattisima Touch (her husband Eric Dee Jr. prefers espresso).
Not surprisingly, she’s been aligned with Nespresso for years, introducing it at her Cup Point Cafés inside many of the 14 Sunnies Studios locations. “Eric and I share a similar love of design and making it affordable and accessible to everyone, so I think there’s a lot of synergy between the brands.” Yes, those machines can make any location look sleek and modern.
Happy, meanwhile, finds her schedule is even busier these days. “I’m still working, getting kids ready for school — we’re doing homeschooling — so it’s crazy,” she says. “In the morning, I need my coffee right away just to wake me up.” Nespresso fits right into that packed schedule. She even recommends a rolling coffee cart, like the one she has for her Pixie machine: “I have cups ready and when I’m in the den, I bring it along with me when I’m in the living room. So days when I’m having meetings, the smell and the aroma de-stresses me.”
She prefers an Americano, but also likes mixing her flavors — a single shot of espresso with, say, vanilla eclaire or caramel crème brulee. “Then you put hot water and that’s it, two flavors in one.”
Chico was “super happy” when Nespresso introduced their Freddo capsules, so now he can recreate the iced freddo that he and his wife loved in the cafes of Greece — right at home with Nespresso, a shaker, milk and ice.
Right now, Nespresso makes it easier to become your own barista with its “3-Day Ultimate Weekend” from Aug. 28-30. Customers can enjoy 0% installment up to six months via credit card and get a complimentary Aeroccino 3 frothing machine with a purchase of 30 Nespresso coffee sleeves (10 capsules each). With 29 different capsules, you’ll have lots of room for creating your own personal flavors at home. Finally, for the promo those who purchase a Nespresso machine along with coffee sleeves also get a chance to bring home premium gifts.
Another reason Nespresso has been a constant comfort during this lockdown: online delivery. You can order sleeves of capsules at their website, and they’ll even pick up your used capsules for recycling on delivery.
Before Nespresso was launched 30 years ago, “people didn’t really think that it was possible to have café-style coffee at home without any technical training or without those big, complex, sophisticated and expensive espresso machines,” says Novateur marketing head Melissa Roque Valdez. “So one can really find what suits your space, preference and mood. And one can also be very creative with it, personalize it, make it exactly the way you want; it’s very easy and very fun.”
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Visit nespresso.ph for more products, supplies and tips to become your own home barista. #NespressoMoment #Nespressoph #Beyourownbarista
