SO Nespresso #30 Mexico City - English edition

Mexico City tortilla • volcano • mezcal • lucha libre committed chefs • morning flavours • social design delicious recipes • robusta • iced coffee city guide the favourite places of inspiring personalities Rodrigo Noriega, Designer

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editorial

¡Viva ciudad de * México!

*Long live Mexico City!

Dear Readers, Welcome to the fascinating metropolis of Mexico City. Perched at 2,250 metres above sea level, it’s one of the largest urban centres in the world, with 20 million people clustered at the foot of a still-active volcano! An immoderate megalopolis, a ceaseless source of inspiration for artists, designers, creators.

I was fortunate enough to live in this capital for three years, and I was touched by the generosity of its people. The chilly mornings there could be warmed away with a good cup of coffee. I was fascinated by the variety found in its cultural heritage. Pre-Hispanic civilisations built some of the most beautiful monuments in the world, such as the Monte Albán pyramids in the Oaxaca Valley or those built by the Mayans in Yucatán and Chiapas. The Spanish colonial era left shaded squares and carved stone dwellings, while modern Mexico has given birth to major artists. I tasted with delight this singular gastronomy of such depth and breadth, in which pre-Columbian and European influences intertwine. During my time there I also saw Mexico City morph at top speed, swiftly acquiring the appealing aura of a dynamic destination.

Change can be found, too, in this 30th issue, as your Nespresso customer magazine has an all-new look, with bolder visuals, more inspiring articles and an easier-to-read format, offering a new gateway to authentic adventures.

In our Coffeelands section, travel to the state of Veracruz to meet some of our coffee-growers, like Pastora Caballero, who produces a truly superb Robusta.

Bring your taste buds along for the ride by trying out a few delicious recipes that incorporate lively local aromas. Learn about two Limited Editions that will give your summer a refreshing coffee moment. And discover the Lattissima One machine, designed to gently guide you into your mornings. Sometimes a cup can make you travel from dream to reality.

Lastly, to inform and inspire you as you explore the Mexican lifestyle, Nespresso provides a City Guide, courtesy of the ambassadors presented in your magazine: a listing of their favourite sites to see and savour. Your chilango adventure begins right here.

May your reading and your coffee both offer you memorable moments, Jean-Marc Duvoisin Chief Executive Officer Nestlé Nespresso

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contents

SO NESPRESSO is published by the Nestlé Nespresso S.A Group.

Avenue de Rhodanie 40, 1007 Lausanne - Switzerland.

Publication Director Jean-Marc Duvoisin.

Executive Editor Lise Peneveyre.

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editorial

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The Land Where Breakfast Is King

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Mexico: Under the Volcano

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The World Is Round like a Tortilla

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Lucha libre: Ladies of the Ring

46 50 56

A Suitcase of Souvenirs

The Five Senses of Mexico City Designer, Chef, Actor: Sharing Their City’s Secrets

Mastering Mezcal Coffee Cuisine

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64 70 76 84 90

Design for Humankind

Concept/Production Les Digitalistes, 9 rue Emilio Castelar 75012 Paris, France Tel.: +33 (0)1 43 44 55 20 contact@lesdigitalistes.com lesdigitalistes.com Editor-in-Chief Boris Coridian.

Art Director Virginie Oudard.

Coordinator Sophie Bouniot.

Editorial Secretary Thierry Lepin.

Collaborators for this Issue Mickaël A. Bandassak, Audrey Cosson, Guillaume Flandre, Virginie Garnier, Nadia Hamam-Marty, Guillaume Jan, Caspar Miskin, Caroline Nedelec, Stéphane Remael, Vanessa Rybicki, Florie James and Cynthia Arvide Sousa.

Translation TagLine.

Photolitho Compos Juliot.

Printer Mohn media Mohndruck Gmbh.

Advertising MHD SA Chemin du Bugnon 1 / CP 32 1803 Chardonne - Switzerland.

Customer Relationship Manager: Dominique Breschan.

Tel.: +41 (0) 79 818 27 55 dominique.breschan@mhdsa.ch This magazine and City Guide are printed on paper that is certified:

Robusta: Women of Courage Frosty, Flavourful Iced Coffee Every Morning Has Its Coffee Moment Cooking Lesson: Salpicón de Pulpo, Kazaar-Chipotle Sauce

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© Copyright 2018 Nestlé Nespresso S.A. All rights reserved. Nespresso, the names of the various Nespresso coffee varieties and the Nespresso logos mentioned in SO NESPRESSO are trademarks of the Société des Produits Nestlé S.A. that may be registered in certain countries.

CTR Sofa by Piergiorgio Cazzaniga

Living the good life outside.

Love it, live it, share it. www.tribu.com

five senses

incandescent

Mexico City as seen from the Torre Latinoamericana, a 183-metre-tall skyscraper erected in 1956. Mexico’s capital, now with a population of 20 million, is a sprawling array of traditional buildings and modern architecture.

five senses The buoyant or mournful melodies of mariachis echo across the Plaza Garibaldi in the Centro Histórico. Garbed in flamboyant ceremonial costumes, they are an integral part of the city’s culture.

chorus

At Limosneros, a gourmet restaurant specialising in insects, diners select the intensity of the hot sauce to be used in their orders. Mexican cuisine, which dates back to pre-Hispanic times, retains its distinctive identity while remaining open to culinary influences from around the world.

spices

To strains of the danzรณn, slow and sensual music from Cuba, couples meet or form in the Plaza de la Ciudadela.

Come bask in the Latin-American ambiance!

embrace

five senses On the Plaza de la Constituciรณn, indigenous tribes offer passers-by the chance to commune with the spirits. In modern-day Mexico, five centuries after the arrival of the conquistadores, the Aztecs have managed to keep their culture alive.

contemplation

Bruno Bichir, actor.

Josefina Santacruz, chef.

Sources of inspiration Be it in food, art or design, these trailblazers all celebrate their city. Savour Mexico City with them!

By Boris Coridian and Guillaume Jan Photos MickaĂŤl A. Bandassak

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trailblazers

Fernanda Prado, pastry chef.

Libia Moreno and Enrique Arellano, founders of Utilitario Mexicano.

Rodrigo Noriega, designer.

You’ll find all their favourite places in the City Guide.

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trailblazers

Rodrigo Noriega reinvents objects and living spaces by design

A vase in one of the designer’s favourite materials, ceramic.

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’ve always been curious. When I was a kid, I wondered how the ordinary objects around me were made.” Tousled hair over one eye, leather jacket, unruffled voice: though only 27, Rodrigo Noriega exudes self-assurance and quiet strength. The designer hosts us at his studio in the Roma district, a rapidly changing corner of Mexico City that draws a young, creative and international crowd. He settled here in 2015 after studying at the Centro Enterprises design school to “understand the product-manufacturing process”. There, Rodrigo learned to work with structures, materials, ergonomics, proportions, colours: “There’s often only a few millimetres’ difference between the work of a carpenter and that of a designer. But those few millimetres make all the difference.”

Rodrigo Noriega is now considered one of Mexico’s most talented designers, and there’s a lot going on in his workshop: designs of ceramic creations, hotel interior-décor planning and an installation of a pop-up eatery which he is creating for the Morelia International Film Festival. And though he is swamped with orders, the Chilango admits

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that he began his career at an auspicious time: “Mexicans are becoming increasingly demanding. They’re also more open to original designs.”

Rodrigo mines the country’s cultural heritage in his work, drawing inspiration from both traditional craftsmanship and avant-garde artists to create resolutely Mexican atmospheres or objects that are just as determinedly contemporary. “This desire for designer creations that’s sweeping the capital can be clearly seen in the décor of public places, like restaurants,” said this fan of local cuisine: he’s always on the lookout for new dining options, randomly discovered along his jogging routes. He serves himself a second espresso from the Essenza Mini perched on a shelf in his studio. “I appreciate the way Nespresso machines are designed,” remarks this insatiably inquisitive artisan. “I drink at least two espressos every morning.” And when it comes to flavour, which capsule is his favourite?

“I like to be surprised by flavours. So whenever there’s a new Limited Edition, I buy it immediately,” he replies. _

“Mexicans are now more open to original designs”

You’ll find all their favourite places in the City Guide.

Rodrigo Noriega takes inspiration from popular culture and avant-garde artists.

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game changers

The mamey (“mamey sapote” in English), a Central American fruit.

Positive vibes in one of Mexico City’s many street markets.

Josefina Santacruz’s simple, tasty cuisine features the flavours of Asia and the Middle East 16

trailblazers

“I want a feeling of family

togetherness in my restaurants”

You’ll find all their favourite places in the City Guide.

Tasty meat-topped flat bread at Paprika.

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s she weaves through the alleyways cramped with fruit stalls and taco stands, Josefina Santacruz makes no secret of her enthusiasm: “Not only do Mexico City’s markets sell incredible foods, they exude this fabulous energy.” With a contagious smile, this chef, who runs two restaurants, Paprika and Sesāmē, is a refreshing breeze blowing across the chilango culinary landscape thanks to her focus on faraway flavours. For Josefina serves Asian and Middle Eastern dishes – free of clichés and gimmicks – in the land of the taco. “No more ‘fusion’ cuisine – to me, it’s more like ‘confusion’. I want to serve authentic cuisine, inspired by what you buy in the street!” she exclaims. Still, while the streets of Mexico City are steeped in the fragrance of grilled meat and tortillas, the capital is not particularly open to other foreign fare. After a variety of experiences abroad, Josefina returned to Mexico City, determined to awaken her compatriots’ taste buds.

“My watchwords are ‘simple, good and affordable’.

International restaurants here are either very expensive or very low-end,” she reports. The chef deftly juggles her daily responsibilities at the two locations, travelling from the Far East to North Africa along a culinary spice route. And on this journey of taste, coffee is never far off: “I can’t start the day without a cup, lightened with milk. At 11 in the morning, when I leave Sesāmē to go to Paprika, I always take a cup of Arpeggio along with me,” she says. Her recipes hail from other lands – Thai curry, falafel – but her mindset is entirely rooted in her homeland. “Chefs have to come down off their pedestals and understand that cooking is first and foremost about sharing a happy, enjoyable moment with those we love.

I see myself in the expression “sharing is caring” – that’s a very Mexican sentiment. At home, we enjoy those moments of family togetherness. And that’s what I want in my restaurants.” Come and get it! _

trailblazers

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Multitalented actor Bruno Bichir applauds a vibrant artistic scene that’s undergoing a renaissance

e’re more like a circus troupe than a family of actors!” exclaims Bruno Bichir, speaking of his clan with a glass of tequila in hand. In Mexico, the Bichirs have been in the spotlight since the 1970s: his parents, Alejandro Bichir and Maricruz Nájera, work in stage, film and television productions, and were soon followed by their three sons, Demián, Odiseo and Bruno. The latter meets with us in the bar adjacent to his theatre, the Foro Shakespeare.

Though he has long been a familiar face to Mexicans, international viewers discovered him in the successful series Narcos, in which he plays Fernando Duque. “Narcos is an exciting series, creatively speaking. A tremendous adventure!” exclaims the performer.

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“Acting is an integral part of Mexican culture,” he continues. “Our country has a fascinating, welldeveloped artistic scene, with personalities like Alejandro González Iñárritu, Gael García Bernal, Salma Hayek, Guillermo del Toro. There’s a saying that represents us well: ‘I’m Mexican – what’s your superpower?’ We get this vitality from our ancestors.”

Bruno also took part in Nespresso Talents in support of budding creative minds. The competition, introduced three years ago, recognises a short film made in vertical format. “For me, the most important thing is to explore emotions. My major influences are Shakespeare and Stanislavski, the Russian acting theorist. They remind me that you have to practice acting physically, and not just think about it. Today, the mission that I and the professionals of my generation have is to allow talents to emerge and unfold. Mexico City has the potential to become the world’s epicentre of culture and science. We’re hungry for innovation in every realm.” _

An actor’s many moods,

by Bruno Bichir.

“Mexico City has the potential

to become the world’s cultural epicentre” Tequila is essential fare at the bar adjacent to the theatre.

You’ll find all their favourite places in the City Guide.

A quote from Shakespeare on the façade of the theatre bearing his name.

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game changers

Enrique Arellano and Libia Moreno, turn everyday utensils into collector’s items

Peltre cups, emblems of Mexican crockery.

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nrique Arellano and Libia Moreno are Colombians. As a couple, though, based in Mexico City for eighteen years, they are some of the best ambassadors of Mexican lifestyle. Their store in the Juárez district, Utilitario Mexicano, showcases everyday objects, like coffee cups, mezcal glasses and tortilla presses. “These items are special because they’re indispensable. They have a basic design, but a strong identity,” explains Libia. It was almost by happenstance that the newlyweds discovered the down-to-earth beauty of local utensils fifteen years ago. At the time, Libia was in charge of tracking down handcrafted gems for a French design boutique. “I learned to love Mexican popular culture by walking around the stores in Centro,” she says.

“Markets have always been important to Mexico: their energy and popularity are similar to Moroccan souks.

You’ll find all their favourite places in the City Guide.

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A cascade of cacti in a children’s toy.

“These everyday objects

have a basic design, but a strong identity”

The Utilitario Mexicano store in the Juárez district.

Cotton rugs made by local artisans.

A clay jug with a ceramic glass.

I’ve amassed quite a collection of trinkets and everyday utensils over the years. In 2015, we had the chance to showcase and market these finds, articles that seemed almost trivial to the locals.” In a few months, their business began to grow, resulting in their opening the Juárez store. “It’s the right time to spotlight Mexican culture,” shares Enrique. “It’s fashionable right now.

Anything that comes from here is ‘sexy’!” So perhaps it’s no coincidence that two foreigners are the ones pointing out the beauty of these utensils to the world. “Mexicans sometimes lack self-confidence,” Enrique continues.

“They seem intimidated at the idea of proclaiming their pride.” Has this duo become more chilango than even the Mexicans themselves? “We’ve travelled a lot, but Mexico City is our home today. The city’s on the verge of releasing its incredible energy. It possesses a captivating kind of chaos that acts like a magnet. If you love this place, it’s always going to pull you back in.” _

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Fernanda Prado explores startling new tastes in ice cream

Crystallised rose petals to garnish an ice cream sundae.

Everything is homemade, even the waffle cones.

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hough Chilangos have healthy appetites, there’s still a world of taste they could more thoroughly explore: all things sweet. “These days, we eat very few desserts in Mexico. And when you do find them, they’re basic recipes using chocolate, vanilla or caramel,” explains Fernanda Prado. The pastry chef opened her shop, Gelatoscopio, in the Polanco district. “I make ice cream in unexpected flavours. For example, a sundae with peach and lavender, with a little bit of cotton candy, which Mexicans love. And I always add a pinch of salt to my recipes, just to make sure my customers are paying attention!” Pre-Hispanic civilisation only experienced sugar in the form of fruit or honey, but the Aztecs were eating ice cream long before the conquistadors arrived. “They were making nieves with snow gathered near the summit of the Popocatépetl volcano. The ice crystals were mixed with fresh fruit juice,” Fernanda explains.

She serves a coffee-tinged sundae that’s a delicious embodiment of her vision: café con leche ice cream, caramelised almonds, cake morsels

and amaretto espuma. “The coffee I use is Tanim de Chiapas Mexico, a Nespresso Limited Edition.

I stocked up on it! This coffee has a velvety texture with brioche aromas and hazelnut notes.” The sweet specialist is well aware of Mexicans’ preference for the milk-added version. “But I refrained from serving an ice cream version of café de olla [very sweet and cinnamon-flavoured – Ed.]. That would have been too obvious! For the same reasons I don’t make tequila or guacamole ice cream!” she chuckles.

To help culinary habits evolve, Fernanda also works as an instructor at a pastry school: “Espaisucre Mexico was designed to train my fellow citizens in restaurant desserts. The next revolution will be sweet in more ways than one!” _

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You’ll find all their favourite places in the City Guide.

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urban tempo

The land where breakfast is king When it comes to what Mexicans consider the most important meal of the day, you can have it sweet, savoury or spicy. Be it in a restaurant or on the street, desayuno is always a pleasure, and the frijoles, tortillas and tamales are always served with coffee.

By Guillaume Jan Photos MickaĂŤl A. Bandassak

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urban tempo

5:30 a.m. The sun has barely risen, but things are already heating up in the Fonda Margarita kitchens. Long, stainless-steel common tables, neon lighting, corrugated sheet-metal ceiling – the epicurean customers of this establishment, which opens only in the morning, aren’t here for the décor, but for the top-quality cooking. The menu lists dish combinations for each day of the week: we try a frijoles con huevo, a mixture of red beans and eggs delicately seasoned with herbs. This whets our appetite for everything else that’s cooking, from chicharrón (fried pig skin) to beef simmered in pasilla (a spicy homemade sauce) to cerdo en salsa verde (tender sliced pork in green sauce). As the saying goes, “Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper.”

6:30 a.m. The kitchens at Café El

Popular, a 24-hour downtown institution, are bustling at every hour of the day. At breakfast, the atmosphere is working-class and lively: in the dining room with exposed beams, men and women sit on wooden benches facing the large windows.

The uniformed mesera (server) brings them a café de chinos, very strong coffee with milk added to each customer’s taste. The multi-page menu offers desayuno options made with eggs, corn, meat, onions, vegetables, herbs and spices served with tortillas, the same ingredients in varying proportions crafted into molletes, chilaquiles, quesadillas, enchiladas.

“The workers won’t have another break until lunchtime, around 3 p.m.” one of the servers reminds us, “so they have to eat hearty.”

10:00 a.m.

7:30 a.m. On the sidewalk across the street, at Jugos Canada, employees pack the display shelves with pineapples, bananas, oranges, watermelons, lemons and other in-season fruits. Here, for a few pesos, you can enjoy fresh juice, either straight or mixed with water or milk. “It’s a chance to stock up on your day’s vitamins,” remarks Cecilia as she has us sample some delicious nopal juice (made from squeezed prickly-pear pads).

8:00 a.m.

The Centro Histórico sidewalks have been taken over by puestos, tiny stands that sometimes come equipped with a table and a comal, a traditional metal cooking plate used to prepare tortillas, onions, meat and vegetables. Employees from nearby offices hastily grab a bite and down a steaming cup of coffee before going to work. Coffee has become a popular beverage here, having been grown in Mexico since the late 19th century. It is consumed black, Americano style, or with milk.

The Chilangos (Mexico City residents) also love cinnamon-tinged café de olla, kept warm all morning in a pot and ladled into cups.

9:00 a.m.

On the same street, Isabel la Catolica, several vendors sell tamales: ground corn (masa) – often mixed with spiced meat or sometimes sweet ingredients like dried fruit – wrapped in corn or banana leaves and steamed. They are high-calorie treats, especially when enjoyed with an atole, a fermented beverage made from corn flour.

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All morning long, the café tables in every Mexico City neighbourhood are occupied by couples, retirees, students or tourists enjoying the special moment that is desayuno. They also come for professional meetings: in the Roma district, a journalist is waiting for her editor on the patio of the Cafebrería El Péndulo. “The desayuno is a special meal, a unique part of people’s day,” explains the young woman. “Here, it’s more social than in other countries, so it’s not uncommon for people to make breakfast appointments. There are a lot of options: fruit juice and cereal, eggs served every way you can imagine, red beans, meat broth to help shake off a hangover.” We try some mollárabes, small pancakes of beans with tomatoes, onions and herbs, a delicate, fragrant and slightly spicy dish. Everyone’s tastes can be satisfied at desayuno-time, from simple to subtle to searing.

12 noon. Though it’s past noon,

the central table at Lalo! is still populated with guests who have come in for a late breakfast. We drink an Americano coffee and sample traditional specialities – succulent grilled grasshoppers served with guacamole, as interpreted by the young up-and-coming culinary genius, Eduardo “Lalo” García. The décor is fresh, bright and colourful, like the many new establishments opening in this ever-astonishing capital, which seems to be waking up to the world after a long sleep. _

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1. The Fonda Margarita kitchens.

2. Orange juice at the Jugos Canada counter. 3. On the sidewalks of the Centro HistĂłrico, puestos serve breakfast on the go.

4. Chilaquiles and cafĂŠ con leche on the El Popular menu.

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the big picture

Mexico: Under the Volcano 28

the big picture

Mexico City, 65 km from the crater Popocatépetl as seen from the southern end of the capital.

A tour of the picturesque lands around the “smoking mountain”.

Popocatépetl looms over the megalopolis, with ominous eruptions making residents wary.

By Guillaume Jan Photos Stéphane Remael

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Paso de Cortès, 7 km away

An information centre has displays on the national park’s fauna and flora.

Paso de Cortès, 7 km away

The volcano has been off-limits since it became active again in 1994.

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San Baltazar Atlimeyaya, 19 km away Life is more peaceful on the eastern slope of Popocatépetl.

San Pedro Nexapa, 14 km away This city between Mexico City and Popocatépetl lives under the constant threat of eruptions.

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Tochimilco, 17 km away A farmer harvests onions south of Popocatépetl.

Volcanic activity fertilises the soil.

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above the crater. Driven by the westerly wind, the ashes enveloped Mexico City, choking the air already overwhelmed by car exhaust.

“People say Popocatépetl is the most dangerous volcano in the world,” says Ramón Espinasa Pereña, Deputy Director of Geological Risks at the National Center for Disaster Prevention (CENAPRED). Not so much because of its activity – though one should never trust a volcano, but because of the millions of people who live nearby. If a major eruption occurred, billows of fiery death, at temperatures from 900 to 2000°C, could cascade down the slopes. This is what happened two thousand years ago in Pompeii, when the city was destroyed after Vesuvius erupted. In the CENAPRED control room, where screens monitor the dome, the director points to a section of a planisphere, indicating the volcanic cordillera that

t is a giant of stone, fire and sulphur, a hulking beast 5,452 metres tall looming over one of the largest cities in the world. Just 70 kilometres southeast of Mexico City, Popocatépetl (“smoking mountain” in the Aztec language of Náhuatl) overlooks the blanket of smog covering this capital that is home to 20 million people.

In late November 2017, an eruption spewed forth a plume of ash 2,000 metres high. Eight days later, the Chilangos had forgotten the incident: “When there are big eruptions, you see it on the TV news,” says Cecilia, who works at a cafeteria in the Condesa neighbourhood, “but the rest of the time, we don’t really feel threatened.” The volcano has been considered active since 1994, the year of its “awakening”, when Mexico City’s southern quarters were evacuated. In 2005, a stream of smoke rose 3,000 metres

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crosses the country from east to west: “A great many Mexicans live at the foot of a volcano. Mexico City is built on an old crater, that’s why the region’s soils are so fertile.” For Popocatépetl is not only a threat: it is also a blessing. An hour’s drive away, the Paso de Cortès is a mountain pass at 3,600 metres’ altitude, set between Popocatépetl and the other volcano rising above capital, Iztaccíhuatl (5,220 metres).

An Aztec legend links these two mountains, telling the tale of Princess Iztaccíhuatl, in love with one of her father’s warriors, Popocatépetl. One day, the girl’s father, opposed to their union, told her falsely that her beloved had died in battle. Iztaccíhuatl died of grief on the spot. Upon his return, Popocatépetl found his love dead, took her body to a spot outside Tenochtitlan and knelt by her grave. The gods covered them both with snow changed them into

volcanoes. Isaï Gerardo Ortega, a forest ranger, has come to love these behemoths: “Much of the water that Mexico City relies on comes from Iztaccíhuatl.

And the wilderness surrounding these peaks is a biodiversity storehouse that the city needs to survive.” A bit further on, in the village of Xalitzintla, farmer Santiago Garcia reiterates the sacred bond between Mexicans and volcanoes: “Ashes bring minerals that make the soil more fertile, and also kills the pests that eat the crops.” His neighbour, a bright-eyed woman in her eighties, adds, “We respect the volcano because we’re afraid of it.

We keep our eye on it, but we know deep down that it’s actually watching us.” _

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icon

The world is round like a tortilla This circle of ground corn is everywhere, from taco stands to gourmet restaurants.

It is also a symbol threatened by industrialisation, so committed chefs are now defending tortilla savoir-faire.

By Boris Coridian Photos MickaĂŤl A. Bandassak

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icon

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he tortillera takes a small quantity of yellow dough – with a consistency not unlike children’s modelling clay – into his fingers with swift, precise movements.

The cornmeal – masa de maíz – ball is placed in the wooden tortilladora and, with a sharp snap, is compressed to create a pancake with the dimensions most often seen in Mexico City: 11 centimetres in diameter and 1.5 millimetres thick. The raw tortilla round is then placed carefully on a comal, a large metal griddle heated by glowing embers. A moment passes and, with a quick glance, the tortillera checks the underside for doneness, then flips the pancake over. The tortilla swells like a pufferfish before being removed from the griddle. “One old custom says that when your tortilla fills with air, you’re ready for marriage!” Santiago Muñoz laughs. In the kitchens of the Maizajo tortillería, the young man and his associate, Eric Daniel González, produce the best tortillas in Mexico City, as judged by the megalopolis’ greatest chefs.

Santiago and Eric Daniel, strapping fellows at 25 and 27 years of age, have

Nixtamalization helps turn the corn into a dough that can be shaped into tortillas.

corn under their skin. And that’s not even taking into account the ear of corn tattooed on Eric Daniel’s arm, or his corn-kernel-patterned sneakers.

Maizajo is the symbol of the tortillería renaissance, the revival of these artisanal outlets seeking to re-establish a presence in the urban landscape.

Ancestral recipe

Though the taco is everywhere to be seen, the tortilla, which serves as its edible container, is rarely made before customers’ very eyes and can sometimes be lacking in quality. The vast majority of tortillas consumed – 90 kilos per year per Mexican! – are industrially produced. “We founded Maizajo while we were chef and manager of the Fonda Mayora restaurant in Mexico City,” Eric Daniel explains.

“At first, we just wanted to offer our customers the best tortilla possible.

But since it was so challenging to get the supplies we needed, we started making them ourselves. Most of our

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fellow citizens don’t know what type of maize (corn) is used to make tortillas and know nothing about the nixtamalization process.” This term – which is taken from Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs that is still spoken today – is a portmanteau of nextli (ashes) and tamalli (cornmeal). The original recipe entails soaking the kernels and then cooking them in a natural alkaline solution – with ashes or lime – to chemically transform them for use as a soft dough. This masa de maíz is the base ingredient of tortillas, as well as tamales (ground corn and other ingredients wrapped in leaves and steamed), chalupas (a thick pancake topped or filled with meat and vegetables), sopes (fried corn cakes with savoury toppings), gorditas (stuffed turnovers) or tlacoyos (fried or toasted oval-shaped masa cakes with savoury fillings).

icon

The pre-Hispanic peoples achieved full mastery of nixtamalization, as proven by the first traces of this process found around 1,000 BC, in the Preclassic Mesoamerican period.

Maizajo, like the other tortillerías handcrafting tortillas, is carrying on this tradition that is thousands of years old. Still, Eric Daniel and Santiago went through a fair amount of “on-the-job learning” and recount their trial-and-error phase before achieving satisfactory results.

“There’s no-one around who teaches about the ratios, the dosage of lime volume in relation to the corn quantities. And there wasn’t anyone who could train us. We did test after test.

In the little towns where they still use this traditional method, they measure in ‘handfuls’”. The process, being very lengthy and hard to master, has discouraged many restaurants and taquerías (taco stands) from going “authentic”. Every phase of the process takes 24 hours: soaking, cooking, maceration, draining, rinsing and grinding the maize, before even making the masa and then the tortillas. Nowadays, families prefer to buy them readymade or use nixtamalized flour: a volume of water and a few minutes’ labour are enough to have ready-to-cook dough. Though there’s no question that it saves time, knowledge of the product and Mexicans’ direct connection to their staple food are likely to disappear.

Land of the taco

Committed women and men became aware of the issue and supported the movement to preserve this culture.

Deborah Holtz, founder of the Trilce publishing company, joined forces with Juan Carlos Mena to co-direct La Tacopedia: Enciclopedia del taco, published in 2013 (translated into English and published by Phaidon in 2015). “Mexico is the taco,” she explains. “But when we started this book, we didn’t yet know how very true that was. The taco is the embodiment of this country, more than any other symbol, be it the flag or football. Here, we don’t say ‘let’s go eat’; we say ‘let’s go eat a taco’.

The recipe is nearly ageless, from preparing the masa de maíz, a tortilla’s main ingredient, to cooking them on the comal Yellow, blue, black – maize comes in a variety of colours and flavours.

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An interpretation of the Yucatán’s salbutes at the Quintonil restaurant: a puffed tortilla with wild mushrooms.

Each locality has its own speciality.

When it comes to national identity, I don’t think there’s a comparable dish anywhere in the world. The idea of doing a book came to me while I was in a taquería, at 5 o’clock in the morning, after leaving a party. I was fascinated by the dexterity of the tortillera and the cook. This is an ancestral culinary tradition from a process that must be perfectly executed. People say we’re unorganised, but when it comes to tacos, everything operates with the precision of a Swiss watch.

“We can’t let this know-how be forgotten,” Deborah continues gravely.

“Mexicans eat tortillas every day, but do they really care about what they eat? This is all much more vulnerable than most people think. These days, when it comes to corn, our country is no longer self-sufficient. But the Aztecs showed common sense in their farming techniques. They perfected what’s called the milpa, a crop-growing system that puts three different plants in the same fields: corn, beans

and squash. Corn serves as a guardian and provides the necessary shade for the climbing beans; the broad leaves of the squash preserve the soil moisture and protect against wind and rain erosion; the spiny squash is a deterrent to herbivores. This agro-ecological balance meant the population remained in good health. It’s not the tortilla that has led to the rise in obesity in Mexico – it’s soda and sugar.”

New flavours

Today’s great chefs are making it their responsibility to promote the tortilla and mine its vast potential.

One of these activists is Enrique Olvera of the Pujol restaurant, along with a new generation of cooks (see following pages). “The tortilla has always been fundamental to us,” says the chef. “But the current shift toward gourmet foods and fine

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Huevos encamisados (eggs served between two tortillas), at Nicos.

dining has made us more aware of the sophistication of this product, a food that offers many more possibilities than we ever imagined. As with coffee, the flavours of maize vary with growing areas, varieties and farming techniques. Rather than talking about corn, we need to talk about corns!”

The tortilla is the emblem of a culinary heritage that Enrique Olvera strives to promote in many countries, when he’s not busy cooking at the Pujol restaurant. “Size, colour, thickness – tortillas are prepared differently depending on the state, city, village,” continues the chef. “It’s a world in itself. The image that always comes back to my mind is of the sun.

For me, the tortilla is as important as the sun.” _

Today’s haute cuisine is embracing the little pancake and mining its vast potential

A scallop tostada (crisp tortilla with topping) at Pujol.

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Mexico City’s chefs are taking action to promote the tortilla

Santiago Muñoz and Eric Daniel González, chefs and founders of Maizajo “We produce nearly 20 kilograms of tortillas a day, which is about 700 individual tortillas.

We buy corn from small producers and pay them a fair price. Maizajo is more than just a shop – we think of it as a corn research laboratory. There’s an urgent need to teach this tradition, pass on this know-how, especially to the younger generations!”

Sofia Garcia, chef in Mexico City “I serve cuisine that takes inspiration from traditional recipes. Corn is the essential ingredient and you can use it in a thousand ways.

Making your own tortillas could be considered a political statement.

To combat industrialisation, we have to get back to the old ways, the ancient know-how of nixtamalization.

I buy from a maize producer who grows his crops sustainably on land near the Popocatépetl volcano.”

Enrique Olvera, chef at Pujol

“It’s no surprise to see the tortilla gaining greater respect and presence in the big restaurants – it’s the natural evolution of things. As chefs, our responsibility is to bring tradition to life in the present day. I’d like us to be examples for our fellow citizens to follow.

Restaurants like Pujol, as well as tortilleras doing business in Mexico City, need to facilitate preservation of this culture.

The tortilla has many subtleties and is essential to countless extraordinary dishes.”

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Jorge Vallejo, chef at Quintonil “Mexican cuisine is based on simple, inexpensive ingredients.

My objective is to explore every option that corn makes possible and serve it in different forms, flavours, textures. That means creativity by sheer necessity, because the recipes are all so old that you might think that everything’s been done before. But every time I travel to a little village, I discover a new way to prepare it.

It has infinite potential!”

Mikel Alonso, chef at Biko “I’m Spanish, from the Basque Country.

I came to Mexico twenty years ago and discovered this vast land with an incredible variety of foods and techniques, the result of geographical diversity and varied climates. My cooking pays tribute to local cultures: without tomatoes, chili peppers, potatoes, we would be nothing! And corn represents the flavour, the identity.”

Gerardo Vázquez Lugo, chef at Nicos “The tortilla is more than a basic ingredient. It’s sacred, it’s our identity. Our blood and bones are made of corn! Every Mexican, from the poorest to the richest, eats it three times a day.

It’s the most democratic of all products. I’m sometimes called the ‘master of tortillas’, but it’s all the women who’ve been cooking tortillas for thousands of years that deserve that title!”

Oswaldo Oliva, chef at Alelí and Lorea

“The tortilla is central to Mexican culture. It symbolises this country in and of itself. It’s rather like sushi in Japan, which also varies greatly in quality, from the most industrial to the most artisanal and sustainable. The culture and crop that gave rise to the tortilla is threatened, even if you can find tacos on every street corner. Today, Mexico massively imports its corn from the United States [for $2.3 billion in 2016, according to the Ministry of Economy – Ed.] It’s absurd!”

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You’ll find Oswaldo Oliva’s favourite places and Maizajo in the City Guide.

superheroines

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superheroines

Lucha Libre: Ladies of the Ring Audiences are riveted by their full-contact fights.

Still, though wrestlers are icons for the masses, women athletes rarely dare to step into the ring. Meet Marcela, one of the intrepid few.

By Guillaume Jan Photos StĂŠphane Remael

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c'est la lutte

1 3

2 4

1 and 2. An atmosphere of high excitement at the Arena MĂŠxico for a clash between star luchadoras Marcela and Dalys. 3. Children watch a fight in the Doctores neighbourhood. 4. Marcela and her companion training at the El Guerrero gym.

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superheroines

S

he steps into the spotlight, raises her arms, beams at the crowd, descends the stairs through a roaring torrent of cheers, greets a few spectators, tosses back her red hair and bounds into the ring in her skintight suit bedecked with a flaming butterfly. This 46-year-old bundle of energy is Marcela, 1.55 m (just an inch over five feet), 62 kilos (136 pounds), long nicknamed “la Morena de fuego” (“the Fiery Brunette”). She is taking on Dalys la Caribeña, 42, an opponent she has faced many times and who stole Marcela’s world lucha libre championship title in 2016. Marcela and her team are técnicas, meaning those who are expected to fight fair, respecting the rules. In contrast, Dalys and her team are rudas, using uglier moves, capable of fighting dirty.

This is how most Mexican wrestling, or lucha libre, matches are set up.

In the stands, the audience ranges in age from 7 to 77, equal parts male and female. Beneath the Arena México’s metal roof in downtown Mexico City, boos, bellowing, applause and laughter express the palpable excitement as the clash choreography begins.

“Lucha libre is much more popular than football, even if it gets less publicity,” surmises Orlando Jiménez Ruiz, a documentary filmmaker with expert knowledge of this typical Mexican sport. “It’s part of our national identity.”

“Free fighting” first appeared in the second half of the 19th century, but the first official match was not arranged until 1933 at the Arena Modelo, later renamed the Arena México. A cousin to American-style show wrestling, lucha quickly established its own style, “more acrobatic,

more aerial, less a demonstration of strength,” explains Orlando. It is primarily a blend of sport and spectacle, a show for public consumption that takes place two or three nights a week and on Sunday afternoons.

It has several origins beyond GrecoRoman wrestling: the sacrificial rites of the Aztecs, the corrida brought by the Spanish settlers, 19th-century European vaudeville – for in this pitiless duel parody, everything seems exaggerated, grotesque, burlesque.

Just like in comic strips and cartoons, the opponents, dressed and masked like superheroes and superheroines, dive through the air, slam into the ropes, collide with grunting drama, brutally fall, play dead, then get up and return to the fray. You hear smacking skin and cries of pain, you see sweat and blood fly, you watch as fatigue beats the combatants to exhaustion. Still, though everything is overdone, nothing is artificial in lucha libre. This evening, in the ring, Marcela leaps onto Dalys, grabs her by the hair and throws her against the ropes. “The wrestlers, both women and men, give it their all, otherwise the public wouldn’t be loyal to them,” says Orlando. “In a ‘tense’ metropolis like Mexico City, where there’s a lot of violence, the people need this catharsis.”

Two days later, Marcela meets us at the El Guerrero gym, not far from the old town. With blue-polished nails, wearing a purple mini backpack, she arrives with her companion (a wrestler himself) for her daily workout.

“I’ve been doing lucha for over thirty years, I have to take good care of my body,” she says. “I exercise every day, do bodybuilding, stretching, and I work on technique and practice holds in the ring.” Her real name is María Gómez. This teacher’s daughter, raised by her mother, became a wrestling fan very early in life, but, back in the 1980s, women were not welcome in this “macho” sport,

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as she calls it. Her mother forbade her from taking part, so she trained in secret. In 1985, at the age of 14, María “Marcela” won her first public fight: “I got one heck of a thrashing when I got home,” she recalls.

“The two biggest battles of my life have been to fight chauvinism and to convince my mother that women could get into the ring.”

In Mexico, there are now about fifteen luchadoras enjoying fame. Marcela’s generation is the one that had to fight for a place in this sport: she believes that the battle for gender equality is far from over in Mexico, where women are frequently victims of violence and discrimination. She receives letters every week from admirers who look up to her as an example to follow: “We, the luchadoras, present a different kind of role model from the women on telenovelas, who are usually submissive. My early luchadora days were tough, but I hung in there, because I wanted to prove that women could be independent.” Marcela raised her two children, now 21 and 27, as a single mother after separating from their father. Her day-to-day life is that of a “housewife”, the woman who does her own shopping and cleaning.

The rest of the time, she sweats in the white-hot spotlight at Arena México and other venues. “That’s why I have a butterfly on my suit,” she shares, smiling. “When I’m in the ring, I come out of my cocoon – I feel as free as a butterfly.” _

roundtrip

Modern folklore Mexico’s history is also evident in its craftsmanship. Souvenirs to take home with you.

Ayres.

By Guillaume Jan Photos Mickaël A. Bandassak

Lava stone mortar and tzalam pestle This is the customary tool for crushing seeds and making sauces. “The objects we sell are entirely handmade by traditional craftspersons using natural, local materials,” explain Joana Valdez and Karim Molina, the two young designers who founded the Ayres brand in Mexico City.

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Nierika.

roundtrip

Beaded calavera Calaveras, representations of human skulls that are often colourful and decorative, are omnipresent in Mexican culture to symbolise ancestors. In the mountains of the Western Sierra Madre, the Huichol people cover these skulls with beads secured with beeswax to celebrate of the Day of the Dead.

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Xinú.

roundtrip

Scent of the Americas Mexico City’s Xinú perfume brand (from the word for “nose” in the Otomí language) was founded in 2016 and takes inspiration from the aromatic plants of the Americas. The blends showcase the region’s varied flora, and the elegant fragrances feature new scents, like aromas of agave, lime and pink peppercorn, all in sleek, repurposable packaging.

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Utilitario Mexicano.

roundtrip

Atole beverage kit This traditional Mexican breakfast beverage is made of cornmeal mixed with water using a molinillo (small wooden mill). It is usually flavoured with cocoa, vanilla or cinnamon and served in cups crafted from peltre (a lead and tin alloy that is omnipresent in the local crockery).

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local tastes

Mastering Mezcal In the Mexican state of Oaxaca, the last remaining craft producers are defending the traditional culture of mezcal, a spirit renowned for its subtle flavours. Eduardo Ă ngeles is one of these artisans: his family has distilled this alcoholic brew for four generations.

He shares his passion here.

By Guillaume Jan Photos MickaĂŤl A. Bandassak

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The agave juice is distilled two to three times in a terracotta still.

Once the hearts are cooked, they are cut up and then crushed with mortar and pestle.

Mezcal is made from agave, known as maguey in Mexico 52

local tastes Maestro mezcalero Eduardo Ángeles and his employees in his palenque.

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n Eduardo Ángeles’ palenque (primitive distillery), the mezcal vapours are enough to make your head spin. It is noon, and this man is preparing to compose a new batch of this agave spirit that can have an alcohol content of 55° (110 proof). With laser focus, as though solving a maths problem, the maestro mezcalero fills a jícara (a small, woody container typically made from the fruit of the calabash tree) with the precious spirit made from agave juice, inhales the scent wafting up from it, takes a small taste and shakes his head. It does not yet have the desired flavour. “It’s about balance,” says Eduardo.

“We assemble a mezcal the same way we cook a dish.”

We are in Santa Catarina Minas in Oaxaca, 500 kilometres southeast of Mexico City, with landscapes worthy of a western film set: arid mountains, cacti and dusty roads. Eduardo Ángeles, 43, is considered one of the greatest experts in making mezcal. “It’s a skill that requires a lot of practice,” he notes. “For example, to determine exactly when to stop fermentation and start the distillation process, you have to use all your senses, sniffing the scent of the liquid, tasting it to assess bitterness, observing and even listening to the bubbles on the barrel’s surface.”

Mezcal is made from agave, known as maguey in Mexico.

This succulent plant manages to grow in arid or semi-arid soils by storing water and takes from five and thirty years to reach maturity. After being harvested, the agave hearts are cooked in ovens that are actually dug into the earth, and are then crushed and mixed with water in vats or barrels.

They are then left to ferment for a week or more. “Then it’s time for distillation,” Eduardo continues. “I use clay stills, because I prefer their taste, but other mezcaleros choose

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local tastes

copper stills. From harvesting the magueys to bottling, it takes more than three weeks of non-stop work.”

Mezcal had long been viewed as commonplace “rotgut,” while tequila – also produced from agave via primarily industrial methods – was gaining popularity by virtue of aggressive marketing. But over the past fifteen years, mezcal has received greater attention in Mexico and around the world. According to the Mezcal Regulatory Council, consumption and export of the product have doubled in the past five years, and it can now be enjoyed in the world’s finest dining establishments. The spirit’s sophisticated texture and taste are also subtly enhanced in special cocktails served in bars from New York to London, Berlin to Shanghai. From his palenque in Santa Catarina Minas, with his feet firmly planted on his native soil, Eduardo has set himself the task of educating the world about the drink’s importance to his country’s culture: “Mezcal isn’t just an alcoholic beverage – it’s a part of every moment of our existence. We drink it at ceremonies; we rub it on our skin if we’re sick or have a fever.”

Like a handful of other mezcaleros who take care not to disrupt the region’s ecosystems, which could be threatened by an overproduction of mezcal, Eduardo Ángeles is determined to resist the siren song of industrialisation. He produces about 5,000 litres of mezcal a year under the trademark Lalocura, sometimes also labelled Sacapalabras. That’s not much compared to the giant distilleries that can churn out a hundred times that amount in the same period. “I could produce more and make more money, but the priority is preserving the soil, and not depleting our natural resources,” continues Eduardo. “That’s a tough task, because mezcal production has now become a competitive enterprise. Today, only 10% of producers are small independent artisans, like me. But our ancient technique is the only viable model for producing mezcal, given the land’s aridity and the intensifying drought caused by climate change.”

His obstinacy could be paying off, as the renewed interest in mezcal coincides with the enthusiasm of today’s consumers for authentic, artisanal and organic products.

Eduardo pours another batch of liquid into his jícara, then adds a bit more cola – the last, bitterest drops of the distillate. He takes a small sip, lets the aromas permeate his palate, and breaks into a wide grin. After several unsuccessful attempts, Eduardo has finally created the exact flavour he wanted his mezcal to have. _

Alcohol is harmful to your health. Please drink responsibly.

Soil preservation

The longer the mezcal pearls (bubbles) last, the more successful the distillation.

The agave plants in the fields require daily maintenance.

“Our ancient technique is the only viable way to produce mezcal” 55

Sensory Fiesta

All the lively flavours of Mexico dance a jarabe with your coffee in these sweet and savoury delights. ÂĄOlĂŠ!

By Audrey Cosson Photos Virginie Garnier

Caution: The featured recipes may contain different allergens. Should you have any allergy or intolerance, you are responsible for modifying the ingredients as necessary.

coffee cuisine Cups by Liv Interior; wooden plate by Muji.

Mexican Chorizo-Sweet Potato Tacos, Roma Espresso Serves 4.

Preparation time: 40 minutes.

Cooking time: 40-45 minutes.

For the beverage: 4 capsules of Roma (4 x 40 ml). For the soft taco shells: 15 handcrafted corn tortillas. For the Mexican chorizo: 500 g sausage meat · 100 g bacon (cut into small pieces) · 3 ancho peppers · 1 onion (peeled and chopped) · 1 garlic glove, peeled and chopped (germ removed optional) · 1 bay leaf · 2 sprigs thyme · 1 tbsp. crushed coriander • 1 tsp. cumin powder · 1 tsp. cinnamon powder · 60 ml cider vinegar · salt, fresh-ground pepper · 2 tbsp. olive oil · 250 ml water. For the sweet potato: 2 sweet potatoes (peeled and cubed) · 5 tbsp. olive oil · 1 tbsp. honey · 1 tsp. cinnamon powder · a pinch of salt, fresh-ground pepper. For the guacamole: 3 ripe avocados · ½ red onion (peeled and chopped) · 1 jalapeño pepper (chopped) · 1 tomato (cut into small cubes) · 1 garlic glove, peeled and chopped (germ removed optional) · 10 sprigs coriander leaves, chopped · ½ tsp. salt · juice of ½ lime. For the salsa: 1 black Crimean tomato · 25 g jalapeños pepper · ½ red onion · 1 garlic glove, peeled and chopped (germ removed optional) · 10 sprigs coriander leaves · ½ tsp. salt · 1 tsp. cider

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vinegar · 1 tbsp. water. To serve: thick sour cream · 5 sprigs chopped coriander leaves · a few lime quarters.

· Prepare the Mexican chorizo: in a saucepan, cook the peppers and water for 10 minutes over low heat. In a food processor, blend into a paste. Place in a bowl with the remaining ingredients and mix together · Heat the olive oil in a casserole, add the mixture and let brown, progressively chopping up the meat with a wooden spoon.

Simmer over low heat until meat is cooked · Prepare the sweet potato: preheat oven to 200° C (400° F, gas mark 6) · Place cubed sweet potato onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, add the remaining ingredients, mix and bake for 20 to 25 minutes · Prepare the guacamole: in a bowl, mix the avocado flesh and all the other ingredients by mashing with a fork · Prepare the salsa: mix all the ingredients in a blender with 1 tbsp. water and blend.

Let sit for 30 minutes. · Soft taco composition: Fill each warm tortilla with a little guacamole, then the Mexican chorizo and/or sweet potato. Add the salsa, sour cream, chopped coriander, serve with lime wedges · Enjoy with a Roma (40 ml).

coffee cuisine

Spicy Pineapple, Cajeta and Ristretto Serves 4.

Preparation time: 10 minutes.

Cooking time: 130 to 145 minutes.

For the beverage: 4 capsules of Ristretto (4 x 25 ml).

For the recipe: 1 can sweetened evaporated milk (400 g) · 1 small Victoria pineapple (skinned and sliced into rounds 1.5-2cm thick) · 4 tbsp. lime juice (keep the peels for garnish) · 4 tbsp. honey · a small dried pequin pepper (seeds removed) · 20 g butter.

· Open the can of condensed milk and place in a saucepan with water deep enough to cover the bottom 3/4 of the can. Simmer for 2 hours 15 minutes, adding hot water as needed to maintain the 3/4 level. Pour the milk-caramel sauce (or cajeta) into a bowl. · In another bowl, mix the lime juice, honey and chopped pepper. · In a frying pan, melt the butter and brown the pineapple slices on both side. Add the lime-pepper sauce and fry for 5 minutes, turning the slices. Remove from heat · Garnish the pineapple slices with lime peel, drizzle with the remaining sauce from the pan. Serve with the cajeta on the side · Enjoy with a Ristretto (25 ml).

Espresso cup, View collection (Nespresso).

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coffee cuisine

Bass Ceviche with Citrus and Coconut Milk, Iced Vivalto Lungo Decaffeinato Serves 4.

Preparation time: 15 minutes.

For the beverage: 4 capsules of Vivalto Lungo Decaffeinato (4 x 40 ml) · 4 x 90 g ice cubes · 4 x 90 ml of cold water. For the recipe: 200 g bass fillet (skinned and boned) · juice of 2 limes · 1 tsp. olive oil · 50 ml coconut milk · ½ garlic glove, peeled and chopped (germ removed optional) · ½ red onion (peeled and chopped) · ½ tsp. celery salt · fresh-ground pepper · ¼ pequin pepper (seeds removed) · 2 pink grapefruit · 4 tangerines.

· Cut the fish into thin slices.

Put the slices on four plates and cover with lime juice and olive oil, marinate for 10 minutes · In a bowl, mix the coconut milk with the garlic, onion, celery salt, pepper, pequin pepper, mix in a blender and pour over the fish · Peel, section and remove membrane from the citrus and place the sections on top of the fish.

Serve immediately · Enjoy with an iced coffee, prepared with a Vivalto Lungo Decaffeinato (40 ml).

Place three ice cubes in a glass, pour in the coffee, followed by the cold water.

Recipe glass, Pure collection (Nespresso).

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coffee cuisine

Passion-Fruit Flan, Coffee-Mezcal Caramel, Cosi Cappuccino Serves 4.

Preparation time: 20 minutes.

Cooking time: 65 to 75 minutes.

For the beverage: 4 capsules of Cosi (4 x 40 ml) · 4 x 50 to 70 ml cold milk to froth.

For the flans: 1 litre milk · 120 g granulated sugar · 3 eggs · 3 egg yolks · 1 tsp. natural vanilla extract · the pulp of 3 passion fruit.

For the caramel: 200 g granulated sugar · 50 ml water · 1 capsule of Cosi (1 x 40 ml) · 10 cl of mezcal.

Espresso cup, Touch collection (Nespresso).

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· Preheat oven to 180° C (350° F, gas mark 4) · Place the milk and sugar in a saucepan and simmer over low heat.

Stir regularly and simmer until reduced by half · Prepare the caramel: place the sugar and water in a saucepan.

Heat over medium heat without stirring until it darkens in colour. Remove from heat, add the mezcal and Cosi prepared espresso-style, stir together and pour into the bottom of 16 individual silicone moulds, tilting to cover interior surface · Prepare the flans: in a bowl, beat the eggs, egg yolks, fruit pulp and vanilla. Add the milk reduction and mix, strain with a colander. Pour into the moulds. Place moulds in a baking dish and fill the dish with boiling water to the rim of the moulds.

Cover with foil and bake for 20 to 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let the moulds cool in the baking dish · Unmould on a wire rack over a large dish or pie plate to collect the caramel. Serve the flans topped with this caramel · Serve with a Cosi (40 ml) prepared cappuccino-style.

coffee cuisine

Coffee Pastel de Tres Leches and Iced Caramelito Coffee

Serves 4.

Preparation time: 30 minutes.

Cooking time: 35 minutes.

For the beverage: 4 capsules of Caramelito (4 x 40 ml) · 4 x 90 g ice cubes · 4 x 90 ml cold milk froth.

For the sponge cake: 4 eggs (separate whites from yolks) · 100 g granulated sugar · ½ tbsp. natural vanilla extract · 30 ml milk · 140 g flour (reserve a small portion to flour mould) · ½ tbsp. baking powder · 1 mango, peeled and sliced · butter (to butter the mould).

For the coffee sauce: 200 g sweetened condensed milk · 70ml evaporated milk · 70 ml double cream · 1 large egg yolk · 1 capsule Caramelito (1 x 40ml).

For the topping: vanilla-flavoured whipped cream.

· Preheat oven to 180° C (350° F, gas mark 4) • Beat the egg yolks with the sugar, vanilla extract and milk. Add sifted flour and baking powder. Beat the egg whites until stiff and add them to the first mixture. Pour the dough into a buttered and floured round pan 18.5 cm in diameter and bake for 35 minutes • Pour all the sauce ingredients into a blender and blend; add the Caramelito prepared espresso-style, blend again • Remove cake from oven, let it cool in pan, remove from pan and cut it in half horizontally.

Soak the bottom half with sauce, arrange sliced mango on top.

Cover with the top half of the cake, soak with sauce.

Refrigerate • Frost the cake with the whipped cream.

Serve with remaining coffee sauce. · Enjoy with an iced coffee, prepared with a Caramelito (40 ml).

Place three ice cubes in a glass, pour the Caramelito on top, followed by the frothed milk.

Recipe Glass, View Collection (Nespresso); large plate by Sarah Schembri Ceramics; small plate by Laurette Broll.

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coffee cuisine

Buñuelos, Tomatillo Jam and Envivo Lungo

· Boil 220 ml of water in a saucepan, add salt, 1 star anise fruit and let simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat and filter the mixture · In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour and baking powder.

Create a depression in the centre of the dry mixture, place eggs and melted butter inside.

Stir, while gradually adding the star-anise infusion. Knead the dough into a ball, cover with cling film and allow to stand in a warm place for 1 hour · Prepare the tomatillo jam: place the brown sugar, 1 star anise fruit, cinnamon, drained tomatillos and 250 ml of water in a saucepan.

Bring to a boil and stir. Simmer over low heat for 45 minutes · Shape the dough into small balls, then flatten them into thin rounds on a floured worktop. Heat the oil to 180° C (350° F). Carefully place two rounds into the oil making sure they do not sink too deep.

Turn them over to brown them on the other side, then remove them with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel to absorb excess oil · Serve the still-warm buñuelos with the tomatillo jam · Enjoy with an Envivo Lungo (110 ml) with a splash of milk.

Small bowl by Sarah Schembri Ceramics.

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crédit photo

Serves 4.

Preparation time: 20 minutes.

Cooking time: 65 minutes.

For the beverage: 4 capsules of Envivo Lungo (4 x 110 ml) · 4 x 20 ml milk.

For the recipe: 2 star anise fruits · 1 pinch salt · 520 g flour (reserve a small portion flour to dust worktop) · 1 tsp. baking powder · 3 eggs · 120 g melted butter · 250 g brown sugar · 1 cinnamon stick · 250 g canned tomatillos · 470 ml water · cooking oil.

crĂŠdit photo

coffee cuisine

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lifestyle

lifestyle A beaded branch.

With support from designer Alan Favero, indigenous populations showcase their ancient techniques through modern creations.

Design for humankind It can be seen in traditional savoir-faire expressed through contemporary creations, fair-trade practices and sustainable objects. In Mexico City, the 2018 World Design Capital®, a new generation of artisans has found true creative freedom.

Here’s a workshop tour.

By Guillaume Jan Photos Stéphane Remael

lifestyle

B

etter design means better quality of life,” asserts Carla Sofía Elizundia, 30, a dynamic spokesperson for the design group behind Design Week in Mexico City – an October event that has been held annually since 2009. It’s thanks to the work of this same group – which catalyses interactions between the applied arts and other disciplines, as well as between different countries – that the city was chosen to be World Design Capital® for the year 2018, giving special emphasis to projects having positive social impact. “Mexico City is a megalopolis with two faces,” the young woman explains.

“It has very contemporary spaces

that are fully rooted in today’s world. But it also has dilapidated neighbourhoods, where social design has a huge role to play.”

By social design, she means ethical, solidarity-based, equitable production that is focussed on the needs of the inhabitants: “We’re seeing a new generation of designers emerge, those who are aware of craftsmanship’s crucial legacy,” continues Ms Elizundia.

“We firmly believe that this legacy is a strength.” Now freed from malinchismo – a tendency to prefer anything that comes from abroad, which has long inhibited the country’s cultural development –, today’s designers represent the new face of Mexican pride.

Alan Favero TALLER LU’UM Wooden furniture, weavings bearing Aztec designs, beaded tree branches: Taller Lu’um in the San Rafael district, not far from the city’s historic downtown, is truly an Aladdin’s cave. Alan Favero’s interior design studio, founded in 2011, contains a vast array of works combining contemporary culture with ancient techniques.

“I’ve always cared about the skilled handicrafts of indigenous peoples: I started a human-rights film festival in 2007 and, in 2009, I joined forces with a women’s group to form a civil association to promote their work.

It became clear to me that the creative potential these craftspeople have was truly priceless, irreplaceable; since then, I’ve continued to help them manufacture and distribute their creations on a larger scale. We want to promote Mexican production by differentiating our work from that of foreign countries, offering something other than the kind of cheap, soulless junk that is infesting the world.

With local materials and beautiful design, I’m sure we can give China a run for its money.”

lifestyle

“Traditional know-how should be a source of innovation” Marisol Centeno BI YUU In 2012, when Marisol Centeno, 32, founded Bi Yuu, she had set out to develop a quality rug brand that was both innovative and socially responsible.

Now she’s working with big names like Adidas and her rugs can be seen in some of the capital’s most popular places, like the Pujol Restaurant.

“Handicrafts are a very important part of Mexican culture, but those skills are now threatened by globalisation.

I opened Bi Yuu with the intention of showing that traditional know-how should be a source of innovation.

And I was convinced that we could make profitable articles while practicing corporate social responsibility and solidarity. There are graphics on our website showing our calculations of Bi Yuu’s social impact: jobs created, families benefited, young people’s renewed interest in crafts, etc. We want to encourage a new generation of artisans who are autonomous and in touch with the times.”

Max Almeida and Lucila Torres ESTUDIO ÄCO. They live in a small, high-ceilinged studio flat near the National Autonomous University of Mexico, where they studied industrial design. To save space, the couple made their own desks, tables and shelves to the exact dimensions they needed. In 2017, Lucila Torres, 31, and Max Almeida, 32, won the Inedito Award at Mexico City’s Design Week for their attractive, economical ceramic nest heaters. “Our intention with Estudio äCo. is to draw greater attention to collective, collaborative works to help bridge the gap between traditional craftsmanship and the contemporary world. We want to revive Mexican identity by producing articles that embody our history, are handsome and in keeping with the times, are functional, made from local materials, and affordable for everyone. That’s what we did with the ceramic nest heater. The money we’ll make selling it in Mexico City will give us what we need to go to Chiapas to teach the locals there how to make copies of the heater out of local clay.

This will help them reduce their wood consumption and carbon emissions.”

Renata Fenton ISLA URBANA At Isla Urbana, tucked away in the neighbourhood of Coyoacán, young designer Renata Fenton tells us about her project to collect rainwater to limit the impact of droughts.

“We suffer from lack of water in Mexico City, even though, paradoxically, it rains a lot. In the rainy season, there tends to be much more precipitation in southern parts of the city”.

Aware that rain could supply at least 50% of the population’s needs, Isla Urbana installs home rooftop systems to recover and filter natural rain runoff. “Since 2009, we’ve installed our systems on 7,000 buildings. My job as a designer is to build containers out of sturdy, solid, functional, good-quality, low-maintenance materials. And to have them remain inexpensive, if possible.”

Mexico City, the 2018 World Design Capital®, offers a variety of events and gatherings year round. The events calendar can be found at wdo.org.

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design social

Karime Tosca and Daniel Olvera NEKO Their studio in the Condesa district is blessed with bay windows overlooking a large swath of the city. Karime Tosca and Daniel Olvera, both 37, specialise in urban design. “When we founded Neko in 2005, we were already committed to sustainability issues. We were using local, non-polluting recyclable or recyclable materials, but the people of Mexico City didn’t really grasp these concepts yet, and we hardly mentioned them in our Neko brochures. Then the city government gave us a contract to do a signage project in Chapultepec Park, followed by other projects in public spaces. That was when we discovered that there was no cohesion in the street-furniture design, be it benches or bike parks. As we worked on these projects, we came to understand how important these public spaces are, especially in a megalopolis of 20 million people like Mexico City. Our responsibility as designers is to make people feel good in these public spaces by implementing ergonomic, attractive, ecological projects, ones that are colourful, too, since we Mexicans have colour in our genes!” _

“We need to make people feel good in public spaces”

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coffeelands

Robusta: Women of Courage In the Mexican State of Veracruz, far from the clamour of the capital, women are gaining ground as they run the farms or lend their expertise to the coffee-growing world. High in these emerald mountains, meet one of these women, Pastora, as she shares the secrets to growing her extraordinary Robusta.

By Boris Coridian Photos StĂŠphane Remael

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woman’s voice rises in song above the dense foliage, a tangle of coffee and orange trees. The lyrics recount the simple, everyday pleasures of life, the rugged beauty of the mountains of Veracruz and the flavour of Tepatlaxco coffee. Here, between 700 and 1,000 metres above sea level, luxuriant bushes of Arabica and Robusta coffee hug the gentle curves of the landscape. The climate, coupled with the expert care of local growers, makes these beans some of the best in Mexico. The person singing this little tune is Pastora, proud owner of the farm that bears her name and that of her six children: 7 Caballeros. With her cap pulled tightly down on her head to ward off the nurturing December rain, she glows with satisfaction as she shows us her Robusta cherries, just starting to redden. Come February, the fruits will be perfectly ripe. Once back in the shelter of her home, Pastora makes a full pot of coffee. Her green coffee – café oro, as they say here, a nod to the bean’s golden tints – is roasted traditionally on a wood fire. It is then ground by mortar and pestle, implements carved from a thick trunk, before being filtered. A bracing fragrance warms the air, just as the beverage warms our bodies, numbed by pervasive chill. Pastora is one of 38 female coffee-growers out of the 238 farmers in the community of Tepatlaxco.

Mexican society is beginning to make progress in the empowerment of women, and this coffee grower is standing her ground with the same assertive character of the Robusta she cultivates: powerful, subtle, deeply rooted in the local land.

Fulfilling the family destiny

“I’m thrilled to see women finally taking a stand – they’re persistent and determined and, when they want something, they get it!” exclaims Pastora, herself a model of that perseverance. She proudly recounts her own family’s history: “My mother came here from Italy when she was 15. Starting in the late 19th century, the Mexican government encouraged a wave of immigration. We were given some land and a cow. My whole family decided to specialise in growing coffee.”

The coffee tree was introduced from the West Indies in the late 18th century, but it would take nearly a century for the crop to be exported. Mexico is now the world’s tenth-largest coffee-producing country.

One of Pastora’s sons, Maximino, works with her.

“I employ as many as 25 people on my plantation at harvest time,” she says.

Today, among the people of Tepatlaxco, there is little left of Italy, the native land of many of its inhabitants.

“When I was a little girl, speaking the language was forbidden, so we only spoke Italian in secret. But my mother taught me how to cook polenta. This traditional cornmeal dish is like a bridge between the cultures of both countries. And though I’ve never been to Italy – maybe I’ll go there someday –, I know that’s where the best coffee is!” Pastora laughs as she finishes one of the ten cups she enjoys daily, served very long with plenty of sugar, quite different from Italian espressos. “When I got married, my husband would never let me teach him what I knew about growing coffee. He was really stubborn and didn’t want a woman working in this business,” she reminisces.

Life’s harsh twists and turns, however, changed the course of her destiny. “My husband died when I was 42, shortly after the death of one of our daughters,” she says with dignity. “If no-one took action, the land would be lost. But nobody lent a helping hand. I was a widow with five children. Those were hard times, very hard. But I fought that battle and I’m proud to have proven wrong those who told me I would never succeed, that I’d have to sell and leave my farm.”

Today, the head of the Caballero family owns ten

“Robusta is harder to pick than Arabica,” explains Pastora.

“To harvest the cherries, we have to curl our fingers around the branch and then pull our hand inward.”

Pastora is one of 38 women coffee growers among 238 farmers

“Coffee is with me all day long.

It’s my comfort from dawn to dusk.”

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coffeelands

Olga is a Nespresso agronosmist from Ixhuatlán del Café, where her parents are coffee farmers.

The Special Tepatlaxco Robusta Technique What makes this Robusta unique is the generous size of the beans, coupled with a particularly viscous mucilage (the flesh of the fruit that nourishes the beans). It is one of the only Robusta beans in the world that is cleaned twice. Here are the seven steps that take this Robusta from tree to capsule.

1. Harvest. The ripe cherries are hand-picked, then bagged for transport to the sorting and processing centre.

2. Sorting. The cherries are sorted to ensure top quality; only those that meet Nespresso’s standards are accepted. The producers’ farms are AAA- and RainforestAlliance-certified.

3. Depulping and first cleaning.

The cherries are opened mechanically to release the beans inside. An initial mechanical washing process cleans off the pulp and

mucilage that surrounds the beans.

4. Fermentation.

The beans are placed in vats to remove any remaining pulp and mucilage. The cool mountain temperatures means fermentation lasts 24 to 30 hours.

5. Second cleaning.

This second mechanical cleaning is essential to completely “demucilage” the beans. Without this step, they would be too “sticky” and the fermentation wouldn’t stop.

6. Drying. Once the second cleaning is complete, the beans are ready to be dried in mechanical dryers.

7. Bagging and transport.

The green coffee is hulled and then sorted by bean size, density and finally is hand sorted in order to remove the defective beans. Then packed and conveyed to Veracruz’s busy port, where it sets sail for Europe.

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“It’s so beautiful up there that it makes me want to fly!” exclaims Pastora.

“I studied medicine, then biology,” says Olga, “but today, I’m taking care of the environment.”

coffeelands

hectares of Robusta, in an area where most farms average only two hectares. Every day, during the crop’s high season, she harvests up to two tonnes of cherries on her property.

Facing the daily challenge

Today, Pastora is hosting an agronomist, Olga. This Mexican woman, 31, is a field consultant taking part in the Nespresso AAA Sustainable Quality™ Program. She supports and trains coffee growers to improve crop quality, farm productivity and environmental sustainability. A work that is now bearing fruit and giving Tepatlaxco’s Robusta beans greater value through the collaborative efforts of the producers – both women and men – and Nespresso.

The voices of the women of Veracruz are at last being heard. Pastora’s commitment, motivation and determination make her a role model for her community. Yet Olga agrees that it is hard being a woman in this coffee-growing land: “People looked down on women becoming coffee farmers. It’s very hard, physical work. Not to mention the fact that women producers also have to take care of household chores, the family, all while managing the farming business. Still, mindsets are changing and

the men are finally recognising the work women do – but it’s still a rare thing to see any of these gentlemen helping with the housework!” Olga and Pastora chuckle together. “As an agronomist, I’ve found that being a woman is a challenge,” says Olga. “There aren’t many of us in this business.

And we work mainly with male producers. We give them advice, but men sometimes have a hard time accepting my recommendations. They question my legitimacy, my authority. You always have to prove your worth, your strength, your determination. Women bring a certain sensitivity and finesse to managing a business. And they’re happy to do the hands-on work, to run their farms. And that’s essential to producing truly good coffee.” Olga says, smiling. She adds one last comment: “We want consumers who enjoy a cup of Nespresso made with Mexican coffee from Tepatlaxco to be aware of the work of the entire community that goes into that drink. A capsule is the result of the labour of the farmers, the farm workers, the agronomists – all the women and men who have taken part in producing it.” Nodding, Pastora adds, “Mexican coffee is like gold. It has a unique flavour, because it’s grown with love.” _

“As a woman, you always have to prove your worth and your strength”

Once roasted, the coffee is tested.

This Robusta is famous for its delicate mouth feel and body.

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inspirations

What’s new for summer?

Summer sun, sunny colours – it’s the season that stimulates the senses.

Inventive accessories and refreshing flavours make this time of year effervescently creative. Treat yourself!

Invisible protection

Photos Caspar Miskin Set design Caroline Nedelec By Nadia Hamam-Marty

The new Shiseido suncare line surfs the athleisure wave to reach sports and leisure enthusiasts.

WetForce technology means the UV-ray protection is strengthened by contact with water or perspiration and gives off a pleasant scent.

A first.

Instant relaxation

Houe, the Danish design house, pairs bamboo with plastic to give its Click lounge chair unparalleled comfort. This sleek sunning seat from designer Henrik Pedersen has gently minimalist lines to whisk you to a tranquil paradise the moment you lean back.

Perfect for use indoors and out!

› shiseido.com

› houe.com

Snazzy snapshots

Analog photography becomes a creative, experimental art form thanks to vintage camera brand Lomography. The Lomo’Instant Panama instant camera, wrapped in a summery, tropical design, can give your pictures funky character with features like multiple exposures and coloured flash filters. Magical. › lomography.fr

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Shake me up!

Urbanears Plattan 2 headphones.

When you’ve got your View kit for iced recipes in the house, you’re guaranteed a flawless Nespresso beverage anytime.

The calibrated tray produces perfect, 30-gram ice cubes and the two View glasses with their custom silicone covers are the perfect shakers for making a Caffé Shakerato (see instructions page 82). They’ll make a great iced coffee, too: just put three large ice cubes (90 g) in the bottom of the glass, extract your favourite coffee (in 40 ml), pour the coffee over the ice and add 90 ml of water or cold frothed milk. Enjoy!

Your own minibar at home!

Barista may not be available in your country.

Recipe Glass, View Collection (Nespresso); ceramic shell vase by Los Objetos Decorativos.

crédit photo

The new Nespresso Barista is cool, chic and sure to become the mascot of pleasure-seekers everywhere.

It can heat, mix or whip with the slightest touch, for coffee-shop-quality recipes: cappuccino, flat white, latte art, whipped cream, hot chocolate. When paired with your coffee machine, your Barista can make a wide variety of beverages, including iced coffees. Select your drink on Barista’s touch interface, sit back and let it go to work. The innovative technology means you can connect it to the Nespresso application for even more recipes and handy tutorials.

What’s more, Barista’s easy to use and clean, because you can pop certain parts right in the dishwasher.

Beverage-making bliss!

inspirations

A clear case

The Popsicle Cabin Trolley

by Mandarina Duck has an innovative, transparent, hard shell that reveals the colour of the module within.

These soft-side accessories come in different shapes and sizes, maximising and organising your suitcase space in minutes.

Deep-sea diver

Meet iBubble, the first autonomous underwater drone that records your diving adventures in silence, to avoid frightening away the surrounding wildlife. Its patented underwater location technology lets you guide it using a connected bracelet at a depth of up to 60 metres. › ibubble.camera

› mandarinaduck.com

Comfortable contrast

Kann is innovating with style!

The furniture brand is abandoning Fifties influences to embrace canework on a metal frame in natural tints and pure colours. The unexpected Rackwe lounge chair in steel, beech and rattan is the perfect cocooning creation.

All rights reserved; Kann Design.

Off-road shopping

› kanndesign.com

It’s both a handbag and backpack: the Notabag lets you shop hands-free, on foot or by bike. Some models have reflective straps to make sure you’re easy to see.

The multipurpose design folds away easily into a pocket.

Smart! › notabag.com

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inspirations

Novel necklace

Ever heard of silicone-fed lace? This magical, flowing, mysterious material from designer Tzuri Gueta unfurls in blossoms, vines and corals. The textile engineer, a graduate of Tel Aviv’s Shenkar College, patented the product and, since then, his creativity has revolutionised the worlds of fashion, jewellery and design.

Getting framed

At last, the first sunglasses that don’t slip.

The ingenious design of the flexible frames means they wrap (“slap”) around anything, from your wrist to your bike’s handlebars. With polarised anti-UV lenses and silicone-coated sprung-steel temples, this New Zealand invention is all good.

› tzurigueta.com

Cactusmania

In 1972, Italian designers Drocco and Mello designed a cactus-shaped coat rack for the Gufram brand that became a smash hit.

The latest-generation Guflac gloss paint lets today’s designers enjoy the iconic shape in bold new colours: glossy red, glittering white, even a psychedelic version. Colourful inspiration on a massive scale.

Airborne!

The Aerospace inflatable furniture collection, first created in 1968 by visionary designer Quasar Khanh (1934-2016), is trendier than ever.

Come summertime, armchairs and sofas pop up in backyards everywhere. The Velvet gallery in Paris has the originals. Beautiful, bouncy and robust.

› gufram.it

› velvet-galerie.com

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All rights reserved; Tzuri Gueta; Gufram; Benjamin Chelly for Albin Michel, Quasar Khanh, visionary designer.

› slapsee.com

On the Road

It thrives in desert heat, it energises springtime outings. It can be city-dweller or mountaineer, ready to cross land or lake or sea. What is it? The Nomad Bottle. Have you dreamed of sipping your favourite iced recipe wherever you may be? Coffee, ice cubes, milk – it holds it all! This simple, streamlined model comes with its own straw and has an ample 350-millilitre capacity.

So you can keep your cool under any circumstances.

What will your Ispirazione be?

Want to taste the classics of Southern Italy? Make a refreshing iced coffee using either of the summer’s two Limited Editions, directly inspired by the peninsula’s essential beverages.

Ispirazione Salentina: this woody, creamy coffee is a blend of African and South American beans that reveals all the Robusta’s intensity, tinged with hazelnut aromas, when it comes into contact with ice.

Caffè alla Salentina recipe: · Place two ice cubes (60 g) in a Lungo cup, pour in 30 ml almond drink, then 5 ml cane syrup · Add a Ristretto (25 ml) · Enjoy.

Lungo Cup and Recipe Glass, View Collection (Nespresso); basket by Hugo Matha; Izipizi sunglasses.

Ispirazione Shakerato: this powerful, persistent blend of Ethiopian and Guatemalan coffees develops brighter cocoa and spicy aromas when used in iced recipes.

Caffè Shakerato recipe: · Place 3 g sugar (a Nespresso sugar stick) in a Recipe glass or shaker · Add an espresso (40 ml), then three ice cubes (90 g). Tighten the silicone lid on the Recipe glass (or close the shaker) · Shake, enjoy.

Caution: The featured recipes may contain different allergens. Should you have any allergy or intolerance, you are responsible for modifying the ingredients as necessary.

inspirations

Invisible protection

Each summer, the Acqua di Parma Blu Mediterraneo collection showcases a unique Mediterranean ingredient.

In 2018, the chinotto is in the spotlight, a citrus fruit from the Italian Riviera.

Enduring mandarin orange, expressive jasmine and geranium, invigorating cardamom and rosemary – a true Italian celebration.

Sound waves

The Ultimate Ears Boom 2 portable Bluetooth speaker produces stunning 360-degree sound borne on powerful bass. This super-sturdy invention is also waterproof: the Boom 2 can be immersed a metre deep in water for 30 minutes, no problem.

Soon to be your pool-party partner!

› acquadiparma.com

› ultimateears.com

Sturdy simplicity

Canadian designer Martha Sturdy is known for her spectacular creations in functional art and design. Her latest collection is a tour de force: a geometric table and stools made entirely of bright resin with varying levels of saturation in primary colours. The translucent blue of the Madison Dining Table will add a summery splash to your patio.

Futuristic footwear

› marthasturdy.com

All rights reserved; courtesy of Martha Sturdy; Nike.

Nike’s chemists tested 400 different combinations of chemistry for three years before developing the Nike React technology used in the Epic React Flyknit running shoe.

The result: an exceptionally lightweight shoe with flexibility and cushioning from a midsole crafted of a single piece of this cutting-edge foam. › nike.com

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awaken

In tune with your emotions

As the dawn breaks, your senses awaken. Every morning has its own coffee moment, and special touches help ensure your day gets off to a beautiful start.

Photos Guillaume Flandre Set design Audrey Cosson

By Nadia Hamam-Marty

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What colour is your morning?

Choose from Nespresso’s lungo coffees – Envivo Lungo, Fortissio Lungo or Linizio Lungo. Do you prefer your coffee short? Try one of the mild espressos – Volluto, Livanto or Cosi. It’s all a matter of taste. Do you like to start the day with a long beverage, with or without milk? The mug (photo) is ideal for an Americano and the View collection Recipe Glass will cradle your morning wake-up brew as your fingers curl around the warm, silky surface of the glass.

Gentle awakening

Envivo Lungo and Linizio Lungo cups, Pixie collection. Jewellery by lesminibijoux.com. Photo shoot held at Le Pigalle, 9 rue Frochot, 75009 Paris.

Lungo cups from the Pixie collection are sleek and sophisticated, in warm colours that harmonise with your first coffees. This popular doublewalled model in stainless steel is utterly at home on your breakfast table.

Breakfast chic 87

The Lattissima One Machine was especially designed for those who appreciate quality coffee, velvety milk recipes and modern styling. Starting your morning couldn’t be simpler: just the touch of a button prepares the perfect cappuccino or latte macchiato. A moment of pure pleasure that’s even more delicious in a View Recipe Glass (photo).

Travel the milky way!

Rado HyperChrome Captain Cook watch (stainless steel and high-tech ceramic, automatic movement).

All aboard‌

One last coffee for the road? The Touch Travel Mug can hold up to three Lungos (345 ml) and has stainless-steel double walls to keep your beverage hot or cold.

Want to rev up your day in a new way? Enjoy your coffee on the go!

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cooking lesson

Salpicón de pulpo, Kazaar-chipotle sauce Follow this simple recipe to make a Mexican cuisine classic, here with a subtle coffee twist.

Contains molluscs. Malo soup plate. Reiss casserole from La Trésorerie.

By Audrey Cosson Photos Virginie Garnier

Serves 4. Preparation time: 15 minutes.

Ingredients for the salpicón de pulpo: One octopus weighing 1.2 kg (eyes and beak removed) · coarse salt · peppercorns · 2 bay leaves · 1 red onion · 1 tomato · 1 bunch coriander · 1 garlic clove (peeled and degermed) · 3 tbsp. olive oil · juice of 2 limes · fresh-ground pepper.

For Kazaar-chipotle sauce: 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (canned) · juice of 2 lemons · 1½ tomatoes · 1 onion (peeled) · 1 garlic clove (peeled and degermed) · 1 drizzle olive oil · 1 capsule of Kazaar (1 x 25 ml).

· Fill a large casserole with water, add bay leaves, coarse salt and peppercorns, bring to a boil.

Add the octopus and cook for 20 to 30 minutes · Peel and chop half the red onion, thinly slice the rest

for the garnish. Cube the tomato, chop the garlic, remove coriander leaves from stems, set aside several attractive leaves for the garnish, chop remaining leaves · Make the sauce: place all the ingredients (except coffee) in a blender, blend to obtain a smooth sauce.

Pour into a bowl · Prepare a 25 ml Kazaar and pour into the sauce, blend again · Drain the octopus, let cool, cut into small sections · In bowls or soup plates, evenly distribute the red onion slices, diced tomato, chopped garlic and chopped coriander, add the octopus, drizzle with olive oil and lime juice. Garnish with the select coriander leaves. Lastly, add the sauce, top with a touch of fresh-ground pepper and serve immediately.

Caution: The featured recipes may contain different allergens. Should you have any allergy or intolerance, you are responsible for modifying the ingredients as necessary.

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