Nespresso Pixie Launch Party with Ted Allen and Pixie Lott

As media events go, I have to say that the Nespresso Pixie Launch Party was definitely one of the more fun ones I've been to so far this year. How can it not, when as soon as I walked through the door, I filled out a form with my name and mailing address so that my very own Nespresso Pixie would be shipped to me.  Considering that it retails at $249.00, that's pretty sweet.  With 6 colors to choose from and two different finishes, I went for Citron, which you can see below.

Scattered around the room, you could see the other colors that were available like the Titane and the Aluminum. Referring to this espresso machine as a Pixie is definitely appropriate. To see the other color options, click here.  They were small, which means that they won't take a lot of room in your kitchen. As someone who has various kitchen appliances on my counter, this compact size was definitely a bonus.

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After we rounded the corner, I got a demonstration on how the Nespresso Pixie works, but first, take a look at the coffee capsules that go in the machine.  The colors represent different types of espresso, from intense to more medium in intensity to decaffeinated.  There are 16 flavors to choose from, but they are also differentiated by whether or not the capsule is suitable for an Espresso Cup which is 1.35 oz or a Lungo Cup which is 3.75 oz.  You can check out the flavors by clicking here.

A few things to note is that first, they do offer limited specialty blends beyond the initial 16 that are available. Second, when you place your online order, you have to order a minimum of 50 capsules, which come 10 in a sleeve. With a cost of between 55 cents  and 62 cents depending on which coffees you get, that's around $30, but doesn't include shipping and handling. Third, for those of you who are concerned with recycling all those capsules, Nespresso is working on a program in the US just for those purposes. To find out more, click here.

As for the demonstration, we were told that first you had to pre-set the machine for either an Espresso Cup or a Lungo Cup.  Once you did that, you pull the handle up, pop the capsule in, place your cup on the tray and then pull the handle down. Amazingly, the brewing time was only 25 seconds. Now that's fast.

As for those capsules, they fall into a holding area, which can hold up to 10 capsules before you have to dump them out. A couple of other features that the Nespresso Pixie has is that when the water is too low, a red warning light goes on and after 9 minutes of inactivity, the Pixie will automatically shut itself down.

After the demonstration, we were able to enjoy a couple of Espresso Cocktails. There was a choice between an Espresso Martini and an Espresso Mojito. There were also passed appetizers, which were quite tasty, so we were definitely taken care of drink wise and food wise.

While enjoying our food and drinks, Food Network Star, Ted Allen came up to talk about his positive experiences with the Nespresso Pixie and also to introduce British Pop Star, Pixie Lott, who did an acoustic performance.

I don't keep up much with the music scene, so I never heard of her, but I can see the perfect tie in between her and the Nespresso Pixie. Apparently, she's quite famous in England and hopes to transfer that fame to US shores really soon. After listening to her, I could see why England likes her.  She has a beautiful voice. Our gift bags also included an autographed CD.

After the performance, I took some more photos of Ted and Pixie, which you can see below. Once all the photo taking was done, a few of us surrounded Ted for some chit chat. He's definitely very gracious and charming and when he said that enjoys Korean and Spicy Thai food, he won our hearts even more. Right now, he's in the midst of finishing up his cookbook and is hoping to pass that along to his publisher really soon.

Overall, it was a really fun event and with the arrival of my very own Nespresso Pixie, I am looking forward to Expresso Glory Days ahead.

For Info:
Nespresso Pixie Website
Nespresso Website

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