Nespresso Pixie: Drinking to Your Health with Coffee

I love tea, I really do, but at some point during the day my body inevitably screams for a cup of Joe. My coffee addiction started with ice cream when I was about 10 and soon progressed to iced coffee, which in Munich, where I spent my summers growing up, is 75% coffee ice cream and 25% actual coffee. My poor mother could not keep me away from the iced, cold goodness! Needless to say, from Kona to Pete’s to the Coffee Bean, I’ve become quite particular about my coffee.

I’m lucky enough to live a few minutes away from a Nespresso boutique/cafe and it’s where I’ll meet most of my girlfriends for our gab-fests. Their brew is beyond amazing and comes with such vivid descriptions and in such a wide variety that you’ll be convinced that their flavor profiles are as complex as wine. However, in all my years of going to this Nespresso boutique, I’ve never once tried one of their machines at home, but with the launch of their smallest one yet, the Pixie, I was finally able to do so. All of the brand’s machines brew espresso from special capsules containing ground coffee and their newbie is so small that it fits on my desk!

Given that the Pixie makes my coffee in about 25 seconds and uses 40% less energy than the average A-class machine, I’ve been using it nearly everyday and that’s actually a good thing. Green tea may get all the attention when it comes to hot beverages with health benefits, but the seeds of the coffee tree’s fruit actually contain many of the same compounds that yield the benefits seen in tea, chocolate and red wine!

Among the benefits that have been linked to coffee consumption are: lower risk for certain cancers, Parkinson’s disease, high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes, as well as weight loss, and these benefits have been linked to both decaf and regular coffee/espresso. For those that steer away from caffeine because they sometimes experience heart palpations or jitters, opt for a boldly flavored shot of espresso and incorporate it into a finished recipe.

For more on the Pixie click here. I can’t stress enough how easy, sleek, portable and convenient this newbie machine is! Just pop a capsule into the slot, press a button, and 25 seconds later, voila! A gourmet cup of hot brew Oh, did I mention George Clooney is a major Nespresso fan?