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How Nosprosso came to represent style in a cup for fans who can't wait to top up their capsule collection
The cafés of Paris have a romantic reputation, with a familiar routine. The grizzled guy behind the zinc counter takes your order. He wrenches the arm out of the steampunk espresso machine and dumps out the old grounds, adds fresh coffee, jams the arm back into the machine and presses a button. A stream of dark acidic liquid sputters into your tiny cup. And then the cup clatters into the saucer that's appeared before you, along with an upturned spoon.
Those are the cafés I like best. But they are not universally appreciated, which may explain why France is the most important market for Nespresso, counting for a quarter of its estimated US$4.3-billion global sales.
In the Champs Elysées and Saint Germain-and in Toronto-you'll find the polar opposite of the café I've just described. The French architect Francis Krempp provided the blueprint for these venues, which nod at art deco and include lots of expensive wood and...