Press Release

Earlier this year Nespresso launched two limited edition coffees, celebrating the birthplaces of this captivating drink.

Nespresso is taking coffee lovers on a journey of discovery to its origins with two new Limited Edition coffees, Arabica Ethiopia Harrar and Robusta Uganda, available in Original and Vertuo.

The new capsules take inspiration from the captivating myths on where coffee originated, featuring coffees from Ethiopia, which is the birthplace of Arabica coffee and Uganda, one of the alleged birth places of Robusta coffee.

In partnership with home renovation and design platform Houzz, coffee enthusiasts will be able to taste these limited edition blends and learn more about the origins at the Houzz pop-up shop located at 19 Greek Street, Soho from the 25th of January until the end of the month.

THE MYTH OF ARABICA
The curious goats

Transport yourself to the ancient highlands of Ethiopia, where the story of Kaldi, a young goat herder begins. He sat in the shade one afternoon and watched over his goats. In the heat of the day, Kaldi drifted off to sleep and left his goats to wander off into the wilderness.

The goats discovered and started to eat some red cherries from bushes. When Kaldi awoke to find his goats gone, he hastily went in search of them. He found them leaping and dancing around the mysterious bushes. He picked a cherry and tried it for himself. He too felt elevated and began to dance alongside his goats.

A passing monk was extremely suspicious of the situation and decided to burn these mysterious cherries. Soon after he threw them in the flames, delicious aromas started to rise. Enchanted, the monk brushed the beans out of the fire, crushed them up and combined them with water to make the captivating drink we now know as Arabica coffee.

THE MYTH OF ROBUSTA
The unity bond

To discover the alleged birthplace of Robusta, we are in the bygone land of Buganda, now known as Uganda. Here, the precious Robusta coffee beans were part of a sacred ritual that united families. A single coffee cherry would be split and two people would each eat one of the two beans from inside. From that moment onwards, the spirit of the bean would connect both families and descendants for eternity in a pact of friendship and loyalty.

Karsten Ranitzsch, Nespresso Head of Coffee said, “At Nespresso, we know the journey of coffee is just as important as the taste. With the new Limited Edition coffees, we wanted to take people on a mythical adventure to the original birthplaces of coffee. These fascinating discovery stories are fundamental to the coffee we have today and allow us to share the incredible tastes of Arabica Ethiopia Harrar and Robusta Uganda, two coffees that truly demonstrate the sensorial profiles from their regions.”

DISCOVER THE LIMITED EDITION COFFEES

There are two delicious coffees to try, available in Original and Vertuo formats. For Lungo lovers, the Arabica Ethiopia Harrar can be enjoyed both as an Espresso and as a Lungo:

Arabica Ethiopia Harrar – A delicious espresso with notes of ripe fruits, fresh flowers that boasts a remarkably velvety body. 100% Arabica from Harrar, the region where coffee was first commercialized on a large scale and exported globally.

Robusta Uganda (100% Robusta) is surprisingly sweet and undeniably intense, rich in cacao notes.

[Vertuo] Arabica Ethiopia Harrar is a flowery, medium roasted coffee, with notes of ripe fruits and soft malty cereal. 100% Arabica from Harrar, the region where coffee was first commercialized on a large scale and exported globally

[Vertuo] Robusta Uganda (100% Robusta) is gloriously intense and rich in cocoa notes.

To bring these inspiring and mythical coffee stories to life, Nespresso partnered with London based illustrator, Mariana Rodrigues who designed the coffee capsule sleeves.

Mariana Rodrigues explained: “I was so inspired by the new coffees from Nespresso, especially with their mythical origins. When creating the sleeves, I wanted to clearly depict the vibrancy of both these cultures and link back to their beautiful coffee stories and ingrained heritage.”

LIMITED EDITION ACCESSORIES

To compliment the coffees, Nespresso has collaborated with Swiss design studio, atelier oї which exclusively designed two stunning Limited Edition trays. These stainless steel trays were inspired by traditional African coffee ceremonies and the patterns are reminiscent of century-old artisanal steelwork techniques and the intricate art of guilloché. The trays are available in small (13cm) and medium (28cm) sizes.

For a limited period, you can indulge in a ‘Discover Coffee Birth Places’ gift box which comes with a steel tray plus a set of either two View Lungo or two View Espresso cups or Vertuo mug kit.

Arabica Ethiopia Harrar and Robusta Uganda will be available for a limited period from Nespresso boutiques worldwide, as well as through orders from the Nespresso Customer Care Centres and online at www.nespresso.com