La première application brevetée de café fraîchement moulu en capsules pour faire du café remonte à 1976. C'est en 1986 que le système développé par l'ingénieur Éric Favre[1] fut introduit sur le marché suisse romand, mais sans rencontrer un grand succès. Ce n'est qu'en 1991, sous l'impulsion de Jean-Paul Gaillard[2], que le système devient un véritable succès commercial.
L'entreprise "Nestlé Nespresso S.A." dont le siège est situé à Paudex, en Suisse, génère un chiffre d'affaire estimé à 380 millions d'euros pour l'année 2005. Durant la même année, près de 2 milliards de capsules ont été vendues.
Selon une étude réalisée par Evalueserve (en 2005), la marque Nespresso représente près de 11% des parts de marché dans le domaine de la vente de café en dosettes.
Les différentes machines à café Nespresso sont vendues dans de
nombreux magasins alors que les capsules sont vendues uniquement dans
les "Boutiques Nespresso", par internet[3], par téléphone et par fax.
Technology
The bottom of a used Nespresso capsule, showing the ruptures in the foil from which the brewed coffee flows.
The Nespresso capsules (as seen on the right) are made of pressed aluminium foil,
with a biodegradable liner to avoid all contact between the aluminium
and the coffee grounds. Different blends contain different types of
coffee, and also are ground to different grades of fineness, to bring
out the intended flavour.
The capsule top and sides are made of thick aluminium foil, and the
base is covered with a thinner layer of foil. When the capsule is
inserted into the machine, the top of the capsule is pierced (some
machines make a single large hole, and others make a number of smaller
ones). When the machine is activated, the machine pumps hot water under
pressure (19 bar, or approximately 275 PSI) into the top of the capsule.
The base of a Nespresso machine capsule holder. As well as the raised
squares which rupture the capsule, you can also make out the holes
between the squares through which the espresso exits the holder.
This causes the base of the capsule to bow out, as it is made of
thinner foil than the rest of the capsule. The base of the capsule
holder (on which the capsule sits) has a number of raised squares,
which causes the foil to rupture at these points, and the brewed coffee
then exits the capsule, and flows into the cup.
Depending on the particular machine being used, the spent capsule
may then be ejected into a holding chamber within the machine. This
ejection process is automated on certain higher end machines.
There is a pressure release valve sited inside the brewing chamber,
which prevents an explosion occurring if the small holes in the base of
the holder become blocked. I
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