Nespresso Prodigio launch event, London

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You are being watched…

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Nespresso Martini

A.I. is a little scary. I am addicted to US TV drama Person of Interest and while loving my iPhone and iPad I never got an iWatch and discarded my Fit Bit as soon as I reached my desired weight, bored of tracking every little morsel of food I ate and any steps I took.

But it’s coming. And fast. Our lives are being integrated by tech more and more and Nespresso, a brand always on the innovation wave on all aspects, have released their first remotely operated machine, Prodigio. I was invited to the launch event in London’s Perseverance Works, an artists / digital / work space on Kingsland road, former warehouses with pretty courtyard and steep spiral stair cases.

Event workshops

As always with Nespresso, the event was beautifully put together and very cool. Coffee canapes were washed down with stunning cocktails by none other than the Cocktail Guy (from my favourite London restaurant Duck & Waffle) and his team. A Kazaar Negroni (amazingly coffee steeped gin), Nespresso Martinis and a non alcoholic strange but gorgeous volluto drink. We were then split into three groups and rotated to attend three thought provoking work shops centered around design, coffee culture and artificial intelligence. It was as usual a pleasure to hear from Jonathon Sims, Coffee Expertise Manager UK, who introduced the most recent crus and how to experience them in Riedl coffee glasses and Elric Petit, BIG-GAME  who designed the beautifully crafted porcelain cup Pure Collection. We then moved downstairs where Matt Webb, Leading Technologist, told us about the rise of wearable technology and integrated technology in our every day life. I found his speech fascinating and extremely interesting and I think I could have debated for a while.

‘Your phone can now make a perfect coffee’

He showed the new Prodigio machine which makes the coffee at the touch of your smart phone button, can be programmed for a specific time, alerts you when you’re low on capsules or complains when the water is too hard. Clever, and a modern, elegant design but I am not sold. Personally, making a coffee (Nespresso or otherwise) is actually a small pleasure, a moment of pause, a break and something I really enjoy. I would not want to delegate that to my phone, and it would probably take me longer to figure out how to do it than actually getting up and making it myself.

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It’s making coffee. On its own

Finally, we moved back upstairs to hear from Karsten Ranitzsch, Nespresso Head of Coffee, who told us more about their choice of coffees for their recent crus from Mexico and Rwanda; he’s a great speaker, funny and knowledgeable and I learnt something new yet again about how coffee plants grow and are perfectly integrated with other crops (sustainable is great).

Another fantastic event from Nespresso, with thought provoking discussions, memorable food and drinks and a great crowd.

Nespresso Prodigio is available now (RRP £159 – £199).

 

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Cocktails by the Cocktail Guy
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Prodigio demo
nespresso antique
Very first Nespresso machine, 1986

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I was a guest of Nespresso on this occasion and was not asked to write this post; opinions are my own.
I no longer endorse Nespresso products due to the environmental impact the capsules have on the environment; I am now more informed and no longer buy aluminium pods, preferring compostable compatible pods by independent coffee roasters. I am however grateful to Nespresso for inviting me to their events in the past and introducing me to the brand.

5 comments Nespresso Prodigio launch event, London

wow re-living a nice and entertaining evening. Great pics Fede. Rx

pastabites says:
Alison says:

I love person of interest as well but it is a bit scary how much the internet of things is coming to life. Looks like a really interesting event and how much has the machine changed since the first one!

pastabites says:

it has changed so much! strange to think something from 1986 is an antique now. And yes AI is quite intimidating..

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