# Nespresso Pixie: Brew an Espresso and See Inside

Fill, heat, load and brew a single\-serve capsule espresso machine, and follow the water through its pump, thermoblock and capsule

By Numa

Topic: Machines

[Open the interactive Jig](https://ask.jig.com/j/7Cd92G4MIkhl)

## Guide

### 1. Nespresso Pixie

A compact Nespresso capsule machine that brews an espresso from a sealed Original capsule in under a minute\. Fill it, switch it on, load a capsule and brew\. Drag empty space to turn the view\.

The gauges beside it show the capsule pressure and the thermoblock heat\. Heating and brewing run about twice as fast as real life\.

### 2. Fill the water tank

The clear tank at the back holds 0\.7 litres\. Click it to lift it off and fill it, then click it again to set it back on its seat, where a valve in its base opens\.

### 3. Switch on and heat up

Press either button on top to switch on\. The thermoblock heats while both buttons blink; when they stay lit it is ready\. Nespresso gives about 25 seconds\.

There is no boiler: water is heated on its way through an aluminium block, so only a few millilitres are ever hot\.

### 4. Load a capsule

Lift the lever to open the bay and click a capsule to drop it in\. Push the lever down: the cage closes round the capsule and three blades pierce its domed end\.

An Original capsule, here a Volluto, holds about 5 g of ground coffee sealed in aluminium\.

### 5. Place the cup

Click the cup to set it under the outlet\. For a small cup, click the cup support first: it folds down so the coffee falls a shorter way\.

### 6. Brew an espresso

Press the Espresso button\. The pump wets the coffee, then pushes until the foil lid tears on the pyramid plate, and stops at 40 ml\.

The Pixie’s pump is rated 19 bar\. Inside the capsule it is lower: about 9 to 12 bar here, an estimate, as Nespresso does not publish it\.

### 7. Follow the water

Water flows from the tank through a flowmeter that counts each millilitre, into the pump and the thermoblock\. The Lungo button pours 110 ml\.

The pump buzzes: an electromagnet drives its piston 50 times a second\.

### 8. Eject the capsule

Lift the lever: the used capsule drops into the container below, which holds about ten\. Click the drip tray to slide it out with the container and empty it\.