MANILA, Philippines - For some reason, call it the Christmas spirit, I’m paying twice over to rack up enough stickers for a Starbucks planner I don’t even plan to use. Twice, because of the peso cost, and then there’s the hidden calorie cost. Girl, you know those venti toffee nut lattes go straight to your thighs. Fortunately, my dad, who is a fellow Starbucks-aholic, decided to forgo spending P40k a year (per person) and wasting all that paper and plastic to brew his own coffee (still from Starbucks) at home. The Jura espresso machine we now have is the most-used appliance in the household and the first thing I greet when I wake up in the morning.
I still remember the first cup I brewed using the Jura. The slick, silvery machine walked me through the process, telling me to “Press Rotary,” “Clean Tray,” or “Fill Tank” as necessary. I chose the “Strong” option, and it ground the beans away and filtered it into a perfect little cup, with pooled creaminess on top. The frother attached to the machine lets you steam milk into light-as-air foam, if you fancy a cappuccino or macchiato. I prefer having my espresso iced and drowned in soy milk. The morning smelled wonderful, and the day already started to look better, and I didn’t have to wait in long lines or hear my name butchered (because of that, one of my good friends started to give her name as Batman).
Originally a home appliance company founded in Switzerland in 1931, it was only in 1994 when Jura started to specialize in fully automatic espresso machines with the first of its innovative and popular Impressa line. Since then, Jura has sold more than two million machines, and have won international design prizes for their characteristically clean lines and finished surfaces.
“The Impressa J9 One Touch in particular is the first Impressa J line product that not only prepares classics like ristretto, espresso or cafe creme at the touch of a button but also cappuccino without moving the cup,” says Michael Harris Conlin, president of Conlins Coffee World, the exclusive distributor of Jura machines in the Philippines.
“Because of their versatility, Jura machines are designed to give coffee lovers complete freedom of choice, fresh from the bean down to your cup,” says vice president Lloyd Eric Conlin. “The open system for the fully automatic machines allows us to get the maximum taste from any coffee blend. Your own preferences decide.”
Roger Federer, the Swiss tennis super machine, is appropriately Jura’s brand ambassador. He is partial to a cappuccino in the morning and an espresso in the afternoon. Like the Jura, he gives many good serves (that pun came from Roger himself).
Despite my own easy access to a great cuppa, you can still occasionally find me lurking at the local coffee shop. Just because I like hearing the baristas call out, “Batman! Tall iced chai for Batman!”