summarize key points of its contents . please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article . please discuss this issue on the article s talk page . february 2016 assorted nespresso capsules each color indicates a variety of coffee a pair of nespresso magimix m100 machines nespresso machine containing professional grade nespresso pods incompatible with the regular capsules a nespresso capsule showing its size a vertuoline machine and capsules the base of a first generation nespresso machine capsule holder . as well as the raised squares which rupture the capsule the holes between the squares through which the espresso exits the holder are also visible the bottom of a used nespresso capsule showing the ruptures in the foil from which the brewed coffee flows . these ruptures are created when the capsule is introduced into the extended head of the machine . the head is then retracted immediately before use with small spikes on the capsule holder inside piercing the foil lids of the capsules nespresso is the brand name of nestl nespresso s.a. an operating unit of the nestl group based in lausanne switzerland . 1 nespresso machines brew espresso and coffee from coffee capsules or pods in bar machines 2 a type of pre apportioned single use container of ground coffee beans with added flavorings . the company sells its system of machines and capsules worldwide as well as the vertuoline system in north america . contents 1 history 2 machines 3 capsules 4 vertuoline system 5 process 6 market 7 cost 8 business model 9 ecological impact 10 see also 11 references 12 external links history edit in 1976 eric favre an employee of nestl invented patented and introduced the nespresso system 3 4 to the business market in switzerland initially without significant success . a decade later in part due to the efforts of jean paul gaillard who introduced the le club community 5 the product became more successful . in 1990 nestl signed a contract with turmix which started to sell nespresso machines in switzerland . thereafter other contracts were signed with krups magimix alessi philips siemens and de longhi . the first patent application for nespresso s process of brewing espresso from capsules containing ground coffee was filed in 1996 . citation needed machines edit nespresso sells a number of different machines . the machines carry the brand names of well known kitchen equipment manufacturers such as krups magimix miele siemens and delonghi but are mostly manufactured by eugster frismag a swiss company that is one of the world s largest coffee machine producers . while based in amriswil switzerland eugster frismag mostly manufactures in china under the krups turmix delonghi and magimix brands . krups and magimix stores often display models made in switzerland noted on the bottom of the machine but others machines come from china . delonghi manufactures the lattissima models . eugster frismag is strictly an original equipment manufacturer oem and does not sell under its own brand . 6 in 2000 nespresso began distributing machines bearing the nespresso brand . in august 2011 the australian company kogan announced the development of the ez press 7 a coffee machine compatible with nespresso pods . 8 capsules edit nespresso capsules are sold exclusively by nespresso and are significantly more expensive than an equivalent quantity of loose ground coffee . the cost per serving is up to three times higher than that of alternative brewing methods . 9 because of the hermetically sealed capsule however the coffee aroma does not degrade with time like coffee in a pack that has been opened . nespresso sells 23 different coffee grand cru arabica and robusta capsules . two limited edition grand crus are released every year as well as a new set of variations flavored espresso capsules . each capsule contains 5 6 grams of ground coffee and makes one cup of coffee . depending on the length of the pour the capsule can produce a 40 ml espresso shot or a 110 ml lungo long pour . the capsule body and perforated top are both made of aluminum and are mostly not recycled . to assuage concerns on potential aluminum health effects most of the capsule interior is lined with food grade lacquer . 10 for the business market a different system of nespresso pods exists . these pad shaped capsules are not interchangeable with the consumer capsules . 11 australian company podcafe released a one size fits all refillable capsule in 2012 that fits most nespresso compatible machines and also allows users to brew tea and hot chocolate . 12 the dutch company douwe egberts has launched a coffee capsule compatible with nespresso machines in europe and the us . 13 unlike the nespresso capsule the l or espresso capsule is made out of plastic and is pre perforated and to preserve freshness despite this comes individually packaged in an airtight bag . the italian company caff vergnano has also launched a capsule compatible with nespresso machines called spresso . 14 nestl nespresso has been accused of wrongfully discouraging the use of this competing capsule product in its machines . 15 the vergnano capsules unlike nespresso ones can be found in supermarkets and small shops . vertuoline system edit in february 2014 nespresso launched a new vertuoline system of machines and capsules in the united states and canada to appeal to the demand by north americans in these countries for larger cups of coffee . the system produces both 230 millilitre 8.1 imp fl oz ; 7.8 us fl oz cups of coffee and smaller 40 millilitre 1.4 imp fl oz ; 1.4 us fl oz espressos both with the crema that characterizes espresso coffees and the original line of nespresso coffees . nespresso simultaneously introduced eight coffee blends and four espresso blends in specially designed vertuoline capsules . the vertuoline capsules can not be used in the original line of nespresso machines now branded originalline in north america . nespresso sells both originalline and vertuoline machines and capsules in the united states and canada targeting different market segments with the two systems . 16 17 18 the vertuoline system uses two technologies not found in the originalline . first the system uses centrifusion a term created by nespresso being a portmanteau of centrifugal force and infusion whereby it spins the capsule around in the machine at up to 7 000 rpm to blend the ground coffee and hot water . second each capsule has a barcode embedded on the rim and the barcode laser scanning system reads 5 different parameters cup size coffee or espresso temperature rotational speed flow rate and time the water is in contact with the ground coffee . 19 some critics claim that the vertuoline technology particularly the use of bar codes is an attempt by nestl to create a new proprietary nespresso system which excludes compatible capsules from other companies . 20 the vertuoline system is intended to expand nespresso s product line to offer coffee closer to the american style of filtered coffee and thus expand nespresso s market share in north america . in the united states nespresso had only a 3 % share of the single serve coffee market in 2013 compared with 72 % for green mountain s keurig system while in canada nespresso had 4 to 5 % of the single serve market in 2013 compared to approximately 53 % for keurig and 40 % for tassimo . 16 17 in comparison nestl had 70 % of the single serve market in europe in 2013 . 21 at the time of the introduction of the vertuoline system in 2014 there were no plans to launch the system in markets outside canada and the united states . 22 process edit nespresso s hermetically sealed capsules are made of aluminum foil . 23 depending on the nespresso machine being used the flat top of the capsule is pierced when inserted into the machine and the compartment lever is lowered . some machines make a single large hole and others make a number of smaller holes . when the machine is activated it pumps hot water under high pressure into injector holes poked into the narrow end of the capsule upon insertion . this causes the flat bottom of the capsule to bow in as this is made of thinner foil than the rest of the capsule . the base of the capsule holder on which the capsule sits has a number of raised squares which cause the foil to rupture at these points . the brewed coffee exits the capsule through these rupture holes and flows through a funnel nozzle into the coffee cup . as in pressure cookers a safety pressure release valve inside the brewing chamber prevents an explosion from occurring if the normal coffee exhaust path becomes blocked . citation needed market edit packaged portions of espresso coffee like those from nespresso has become one of the fastest growing segments of the coffee market accounting for 20 to 40 percent of the value of ground coffee sales in the european coffee market which totals usd 17 billion . in august 2010 it was reported that nespresso sales have been growing at an average of 30 percent per year over the past 10 years and more than 20 billion capsules have been sold since 2000 at a current selling price equivalent to about usd 0.43 to usd 0.62 per capsule . 24 nespresso reported annual sales of chf 3 billion in 2011 growing by 20 % during the fiscal year . 25 cost edit in the us the price of capsules in 2014 ranged from us 0.65 to us 0.70 each . in europe prices are around 0.35 capsule in the netherlands in 2014 with free shipping for orders over 200 capsules . there is a minimum order quantity of 50 capsules and standard shipping for 50 capsules is us 6.95 raising the total cost per capsule to us 0.79 to us 0.84 . shipping is free for orders of 200 capsules or more . 26 in march 2011 the swiss discount supermarket denner won a court battle with nestl over the sale of nespresso compatible capsules . the plastic capsules are approximately half the retail price of the nespresso capsules . 27 business model edit the concept machine capsule service is subject to 1 700 patents 24 which protect nespresso s ownership of the concept until the patents expire . 28 29 this contrasts with some other prepackaged coffee preparation systems . this has led to comparisons of nespresso with printer manufacturers that tried to hinder the sale of generic ink cartridges to achieve a vendor lock in effect . 24 nespresso with a piece of dark chocolate nespresso s patents began to expire in 2012 30 gradually allowing competitors to offer capsules and machines compatible with the nespresso system . nestl is working on ways to prevent competitors from doing this . 24 jean paul gaillard a former ceo at nespresso has started a rival firm ethical coffee company sa ecc to make compatible biodegradable capsules for the nespresso machine . 31 other competitors include a swiss start up nexpod which offers nespresso compatible empty capsules which can be filled with the coffee or tea by the buyer capsulecup from hong kong that provide compatible capsules in bulk and a south african company based in cape town which sells nespresso compatible capsules under the brand name caf caps . cafe caps specializes in private label production . caff negrini is sold in over 800 shops in austria . in the uk dualit and cafepod have both launched generic products . in the united states hiline coffee company launched a website on the 4th of july selling nespresso compatible capsules with the theme independence from nespresso . 32 the berlin based start up gourmesso also offers nespresso compatible capsules launching a