One of the little-read clauses in the Maastricht Treaty concerns the consumption of hot beverages by Europeans from January 1st, 2001, everyone over seven years will have to drink at least four really tiny cups of espresso coffee each day. Although the Government has obtained a derogation until June 2002, the Republic is still completely unprepared for this new rule.
Fanciful? Yes. Untrue? Yes. But forward-looking Irish people seeking to emulate the coffee-drinking habits of the most European of Europeans can now do so with style. The gorgeous, pink, allaluminium Irmel Maggiolina Espress stands barely 20 cm high and makes two tiny cups of espresso. But no description in this column could match the genius of the product's own instruction leaflet:
"Behind the object hides an accurate study that starting from the aesthetical point of view gets to the functionality, always taking structural and technological problems into account, in order to put formal conception of the design-object out to service of its final use."
Quite!
The Irmel Maggiolina Espress costs £24.95 and is available from Minima on St Stephen's Green and other good stores.
