Nespresso is serving pickled coffee cola at a Covent Garden pop-up

If your usual flat white isn’t quite cutting it anymore, this might be one way to mix things up, although fair warning, it’s not exactly subtle.

Nespresso is launching a new immersive pop-up in London's Covent Garden Piazza, and it’s centred around pushing coffee into slightly unhinged territory. There's experimental flavours, interactive spaces and something called a pickled coffee cola.

The event, titled “The Recipe Remix”, lands on the 14th of April and runs for six days through to the 19th of April, opening daily from 11am to 6pm (with a midday launch on the first day). It’s free to visit, and you don’t need to book, just turn up and see how far you’re willing to go.

At the centre of it is Nespresso’s new Vertuo World campaign, fronted by Dua Lipa, which leans into the idea of coffee as something to experiment with rather than just defaulting to the same order every day.

The pop-up brings that concept into the real world, with different “Vertuo Worlds” you can walk through, each built around bold flavour combinations and slightly unexpected pairings.

The drinks are the main draw, and the menu is very much designed to split opinion. Here’s what’s on offer:

• Pickled Coffee Cola – exactly what it sounds like, blending coffee with sharp, pickled notes and cola flavours
• The ‘Love It or Hate It’ Latte – a deliberately divisive take on your usual latte
• Vertuo-inspired signature recipes – a rotating selection of experimental coffee creations built around Nespresso’s Vertuo system
•  Pineapple & Tajin Coffarita – a fiery and tropical coffee inspired by the vibrant heat of South America

If you’re less about the chaos and more about the free stuff, there’s a slightly safer incentive, too. Visitors can try a complimentary coffee recipe, and there’ll be chances to win Nespresso prizes as they make their way around the space.

It’s very much a short-term pop-up rather than something you can put off, so if you’re curious, you’ve got a limited window to check it out. Whether you walk away converted to experimental coffee or just slightly confused is probably part of the point.

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