Has anybody seen them in the stores? They are supposed to be on sale since December, but there may also be a court injunction preventing their sale?

And the ex-CEO of Nespresso is also launching an imitation capsule...

fduvall

I had also heard there were fake nespresso capsules coming. My kids were happy because they heard there would be hot chocolate capsules.

They must be in the section with ice and brown sugar...

They do/did exist. However it was on TV last night that Denner has had to stop selling them. This was due to a decision made in a St Gallen court on Monday.

The manufacturers of the capsules announced today that they're letting their workforce go.
(further info in German here)

The problem making fake Nespresso capsules is that the seal you need between the capsule and the capsule holder is actualy in the capsule, it's a shinny ring that runs around the silver surface where the coffee comes out.

In order for your Nespresso machine to work properly you need a seal, and the seal incorporated into the capsule is patented by Nestle. I think the actual patent on the capsule itself runs out this year; the incorporated seal is a new patent, so good for 20 years i believe.

Don't hold your breath for capsules from the competition, if you have a Nespresso machine, you're going to have to buy capsules from Nestle, they have found a very good solution to hold the competition at bay.

Denner tried and their capsules sold well, so well in fact they were difficult to find but there is a court injunction against them preventing any further distribution.

http://www.nexpod.ch/company

A couple of months ago they were on sale in France in the Geant/Casino stores. Not sure if they still are.

Looks like they were the ones to close..

Very ecological, but the beauty of Nespresso is the convenience, ease of use and how clean it all is. The Nexpod system doesn't seem to fullfill any of these qualities so probably best of buying a normal coffee machine which uses standard ground coffee.

Without a fully sealed capsule and a pressure of 14 bars which Nespresso machines work with, i can see a few cases of exploding capsules here and at 14 bars that's going to make hell of a mess with coffee grinds. Also if the coffee is too finely ground there will be a problem of forcing the water through the capsules, too coursly ground and the coffee will be rather weak.

As for making tea, tea is better using boiling hot water over a period of time; coffee properties are extracted better at between 90-95°C and over not so much time. Caffeine extraction is a combination of time and temperature. Expresso type coffee has quite often less caffeine that a normal coffee as the extraction time is far shorter !

No, the company that closed was called Alice Allison SA.

but I really really like this Nexpod idea... have you tried it Glendyn?

Check the link carefully.......

NexPod(r) - Alice Allison SA - Zona Signu - 6537 Grono - T. 091 827 43 80 - F. 091 827 43 81 - info@nexpod.com - Disclaimer - Web Design: ferrise.ch

And Jean Paul Gaillard, former CEO of Nespresso, has launched the Ethical Coffee Company (ECC) to also produce Nespresso knock-off pods. He was featured this week in SwissInfo, here: http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/business...l?cid=28403354

I hope someone can break into this business so we can save some money!

fduvall

There was an article this morning in 20 Minuten about the court injunction against the Denner capsules, though I couldn't find it online. I did, however, find this one about all the employees of that company being laid off.

http://www.20min.ch/finance/news/sto...eiter-21613393

We have a Senseo coffee machine. Very cheap to buy - and it also uses paper coffee sachets. These then go directly into one of our compost bins. As we live near French border, we buy pods in France, both Senseo and own brands from different stores. We bought one machine in UK and one in France. Why are they not available in Switzerland?? Protectionism from Nestlé??

Ooops...thanks.
Mind you, the articles (TA and 20 minuten) mention how the company is 2.5 months in operation and only makes these capsules for Denner. The Nexpod site has customer testimonials going back to May 2009.

I've kept my consumption of nespresso to at-work only. The Nexpod option is like jailbreaking your Nespresso machine - that little extra freedom is enticing...

With the amount of money Nespresso make, they guard very jealously the patents on the machine. Nobody can make a capsule with the seal as part of the cover and without the seal the machine will not work properly.

Neat solution by Nespresso...sorry guys, we're going to carry on paying Chf 0.50 for a coffee for something that costs about Chf 0.10 to make + Geroge Clooney costs !

We have many Swiss friends with very expensive coffee machines- and always enjoy our coffee here. Always very surprised to find how cheap a Senseo machine is, how cheap the pods.. and how good the coffee.

Looks like Denner will be stocking their Nespresso compatible capsules in about 3 weeks time having won part of a legal battle with Nestlé.

Source.

Can anybody explain me the Nespresso thing? I went to one of their flagship shops lately to buy some stuff for a friend living abroad and I simply don't get it: I do not drink coffee as much as most others in my office, but if I do so, I like to have quality. Quality means for me: freshly ground quality beans. Instant coffee was for me always for the people who need their cafein fix. Nespresso does not at all taste bad, probably the best instant coffee. But still not the thing I consider "luxury", but that's exactly what the shops suggest: From the packaging to the store design to the full product range of machines - the entire thing is marketed as a luxury product. The store is of course on the high street... but it remains bloody instant coffee.

I guess having a competitor like Denner selling knock-offs is actually more harming the marketing than the sales of the capsules...

searchy searchy catchy monkey