illy has introduced a new single cup coffee/espresso maker that is a nice piece of art. It looks like a little red table and a dispenser popping up out of the back right corner.
In reality there is a power button and heat status lights along the top. The upper part of the ‘dispenser’ opens to accept the new illy coffee capsules. Below the coffee head the ‘table top’ lowers so a variety of cup sizes can be used. Water has a drawer of it’s own on the right side of the unit. Used coffee capsules eject into a back area holder to dispose of later.
As single cup makers go, the Y1 iperEspresso Machine is average for the more complex machines at $295 (US). It is possible to get this fine looking machine for only $125 (US). If you order online and agree to sign up for a coffee delivery service you get this more than 50% discount. A new ‘Lungo’ roast has been added to the Medium, Bold and Decaffeinated options. The delivery times for the service can be weekly up to monthly. You may want to read the rules, but it appears that you only have to take one round of capsule deliveries before your allowed to cancel so your not locked into a long term agreement for deliveries. That said, where else will you get the new style capsules (outlined below)?
“Now, for a limited time, the striking and compact Francis Francis Y1 iperEspresso machine is OFFERED FOR JUST $125 (value of $295) plus a $12.95 handling fee. Simply purchase a minimum of 2 cans of iperEspresso capsules with your machine, and we’ll continue to send you convenient deliveries of 2 or more cans of capsules on the delivery schedule you choose. There’s no commitment. You can change or cancel your coffee deliveries any time after your first shipment.”
The coffee packets that illy has been using (below) are called the ESE Pods. These have been manufactured by other coffee providers. We use these all the time in our hand pump espresso gadget. They come in a variety of strengths and since different brands there are different tastes and quality.
New for the iperEspresso machine is the “iperEspresso Capsules’. These are only being manufactured by illy in three types: Medium, Dark and Decaffeinated (Lungo just added as this was being typed). The special feature of these new capsules is that all of the brewing happens inside of it so the fluids never touch the machine. Hot water is pushed in, steeping happens, the fluid goes into a second area of the capsule then pushed out to your cup. The illy site has a nice little video of how this all works (the site doesn’t allow direct linking to the video, go here and look for the little video camera icon half way down the page on the left side). The capsule below is upside down from how it goes into the machine. The pricing on the illy site is showing a pair of 21 capsule containers are $32 (US).