My Coffee Set Up

I'm frustrated with this picture. I think to get a really good one of my coffee set-up will require far more setting up! Shiny aluminium is hard to photograph, especially as I would have to tidy the whole kitchen to get it perfect! Damn reflections!

My coffee journey started around 11 years ago when I tasted my first 'third wave' espresso. It came from Wellington Coffee in George Street, Edinburgh. It was sweet, yet had a balanced zing of acidity and a buttery mouth feel! It was the Red Brick Blend from Square Mile. It was so different to the bitter Italian espresso that I'd drank before.

My first proper machine was a La Pavoni Stradavari which I still have. I love the machine and the process I need to use to get a great coffee out of it. I love it because despite being so basic, you need to learn perfect process to get the most out of it. But controlling temperature is a pain and that means consistency is hard to achieve. It is possible, but sometimes I just want a good espresso with minimum faff. 

Just before lockdown last year, I was fed up drinking rubbish coffee at work. It was costing a fortune too. So I bought a little Gaggia Classic on Facebook Marketplace for £100. But it never got to the office. Whilst I could never achieve the quality of shot that my La Pavoni can produce, I could be more consistent with the Gaggia. The convenience won over and it became my home machine. 

But something I loved doing pre-lockdown was going to a good cafe to chill and have a great coffee. I can't do that just now and my Gaggia wasn't coming close to what I could get in say Lowdown or La Machina. I was craving my perfect set-up.

I already have a really amazing grinder (probably more important than the machine) a Eureka Mignon Specialita. Last week, I bit the bullet and got this lovely Profitec Pro 600 dual-boiler machine. It's probably the best machine I could get without price getting very silly (rather than silly). It came last Monday.

Everything just works! It reminds me of using lab equipment. I.e. if you go through the right process, it will produce amazing results consistently. This means measuring my coffee (Red Brick is still a fav), grinding it to ensure a circa 2:1 brew ratio in around 28-seconds & then adjusting one variable at a time to get the balance right. I'm doing well after a week, apart from with my milk frothing and latte art! I'm producing Jackson Pollok abstraction in brown & white!