Krups XN 2005

Krups XN 2005 Nespresso Essenza

Preparing a real espresso involves a special extraction procedure. In this procedure water is forced at high pressure through a fine blend of ground coffee and as a result, the flavours and aromas are quickly extracted. This procedure is difficult unless the correct machine is used and this is where the Krups machine is one of the best, as it takes the difficulty out of making an espresso.

This is one of many machines that use the Nespresso Pods, this are small pods which fit into the machine, they are full of coffee and are at the heart of the process.

The Machine

When I open the box the first thing I noticed was the weight, it is a very sturdy and well-built machine measuring 300*170*270mm. The machine has a 1.3 litre water container, which is neatly hidden away at the back; the front of the machine has 2 buttons, ie. 1 on/off button, and 2 a button to force the water through the pods. At the top there is a lever which you life up and insert the pods. There is a platform to set small espresso cups underneath a spout, this platform acts as a drip tray. There are a range of colours available in this range and there is bound to be one colour to suit every kitchen.

The Pods

This particular machine uses Nespresso Pods, and filled with coffee carefully selected to make sure that the green coffee is grown, harvested and sorted using traditional manual techniques before brought to Europe. Once in Europe the coffee is checked again before being blended, roasted ground and packaged.

Nespresso offer 12 blends of coffee pods and come in 3 different categories. 1 - Pure espresso (7 different flavours) 2 - Decaf Espresso (2 different flavours), and 3 - Lungo, (3 different flavours) which is more of your traditional coffee and I personally would not call if espresso. I think Nespresso have been very smart in this blend as this would appeal to non espresso drinkers, but they still feel part of the coffee drinking crowd.

The Pure espresso pods range in strength from 10 being the strongest to strength 4. Each of the pods have a definition giving information on the produce. Quote from strength 10 - Ristretto

"...ristretto is a subtle blend of Arabicas from East Africa and the Americans (Colombia and Central America). The blend possesses a delicate touch of acidity and a delicious aftertaste..."

However, a hint of Brazilian Arabica and African Robusta imbues Ristretto with is characteristic strength...
The Decaf pods have strengths 2 and 3 and the Lungo have strengths 4, 5 and 6. The reasons for this having a fairly high strength is that they are designed to have more water added to make the not as strong.

The pods are expensive and come a pack of 10, each pod costs approx 23 - 25 pence each. Price depends on the quantity, the more you but the cheaper. Unfortunately the pods can only be bought through Nespresso and in this way they hold the price, a bit more competition is needed.

12 Pods and a holder are included for you to try. This was useful as I was able to sample each flavour and make an informed choice as to the ones I liked and then order them.

The pods are aluminum (about the same strength as the aluminum containers the Chinese food is served in) and if you live in Switzerland there is a re-cycling station in some towns.

The Operation

This is one of the easiest operated machines I have come across in the home.
1 - Put the water in the container and set it on the machine,
2 - Switch it on, the button will flash and the stop to indicate it is ready to start, this takes about 15 seconds,
3 - Lift the lever and inset the pod, close the lever, this pierces the pod,
4 - Switch on the machine and the hot water is forced through the pod extracting the flavours from the pod. The slow release of the water through the pods gives the coffer a lovely top and one you would expect from any good quality machine.
5 - When the coffee making is finished I just run a little of the water through the clean the nozzle and allow this to drip into the drip tray.

The Cleaning

Cleaning could not be easier, as mentioned above the nozzle is easily cleaned, the drip tray is easily removed and replaced and a rinse under the tap. When the pod has been used it falls into a container behind the drip tray and as the used coffer remains in the pod there is no mess. Krups recommend that you descale the machine every 6 months and they provide a pod for doing this.

Conclusion

This is a fantastic machine for anyone who likes espresso coffee, the unfortunate thing is the cost of the pods and the fact the Nespresso have the monopoly on selling them. There is also an Nespresso club which you can join and they have all sorts of goodies for you to buy at ridiculous prices.

The machine cost me £99 and there was £40 cash back. I received the £40 cash within 10 days of buying the machine. This £40 was used to but the first lot of pods. In order to receive this cash back you needed to send in the original receipt along with the bar code from the box.

All the best Mark