I have found the most useful site for information about blades is Knife Forums which has a bewildering amount of discussion on topics covering every imaginable aspect of owning, using and maintaining knives.

In simple terms this means they are hollow with an air gap between the coffee and outside wall of the cup. They are made by a number of manufacturers and as I still haven’t find nice porcelain ones to my liking, and they were only $15 AUD, I decided to give them a go.

They have proven to be very effective and have insulation properties as described with the outside of the cup never getting more than pleasantly warm while the contents stay hot much longer than in a normal coffee mug.

The cups come with some very shiny stainless steel saucers. The saucers are thin and pick up fingerprints as soon as you touch them. They look nice under the cup but are not overly exciting otherwise.

I bought ½ a kilo each of Sumatran and Columbian as these are my general staples and it gave me a chance to compare the beans with those from Coffee for Connoiseurs.

Overall the beans are somewhat inferior being irregular in size and slightly uneven in the roasting. Some of the roasting artefacts is no doubt a result of the variation in bean size.

I’ve found I can’t get quite the same kind of grind from them resulting in too rapid extraction with shot times for doubles being no more than 20 seconds.

The Sumatran had a slightly bitter edge no doubt due to the scorched beans in the mix. With a bit of adjustment I am now producing coffee which is in line with what I get at some of the best coffee shops in Canberra.

So far these beans fall behind Alan’s in terms of superior flavour which is much better than any coffee shop I’ve visited. The cost was comparable without the shipping I pay Alan to get his beans here from Melbourne.

I plan to buy beans from Cosmorex again once I get a handle on their roasting cycles as it will be great to get beans that have been roasted that day.

I had a long chat with the owner regarding a reconditioned Faema E61 two group machine. At $7700 AUD I won’t be rushing to buy it as I’m not convinced about buying an old manual machine for more than a top of the line semi automatic such as a La Marzocco regardless of the sentimental aspects of the Faema.

It was very nice looking and it did prompt me to have a look at the 40th anniversary Faema Legend on the Faema web site. I guess I’d be more inclined to plonk my money down on a new replica machine with new boiler smarts rather than an old machine with a number of genuine replacement parts that are not quite the same as the original parts.

As it is I am still perfectly content with my Giotto and have no plans for further upgrades at this point!

I think every coffee snob today started by drinking instant coffee. For those who make the transition from instant to freshly brewed espresso, there where probably many modest steps.

The new Uno:Uno coffee maker uses small coffee pods that fit into the top of this mostly plastic machine. It is very small, about as wide as two espresso cups.

The stream of fluid coming out of the twin nozzles (I won’t call it a porta filter) at a rated 2.2 bars, is reminiscent of moderate strength tea with no sign of crema of any kind.

I don’t mind what other people drink because I think with coffee appreciation you can show the art to people and some will be converted, some will still prefer to drink instant and coke.

This machine lies at the instant end of the market. My cries of protest when this advertisement appears draw a supportive murmur from my wife – ah well.

There is nothing nicer than seeing big gobs of crema surging out of the spouts on my machine with the the lovely beans I get from Coffee for Connoisseurs.

I’ve been having a bit of a browse of coffee bean roasters as the next logical step in the pursuit of perfection is to get even fresher beans.

The Alpenroast seems to be the best of the bunch but there is much discussion on the internet about the deficiencies of home roasters and it may be quite a while before I take this plunge.

I’ve already had an offer of some green beans from a mate of mine with contacts in Brazil but the quarantine aspects are probably going to be a killer.

Why roast your own? Because green beans have a shelf life counted in years compared to weeks for roasted beans.

There is nothing nicer than seeing big gobs of crema surging out of the spouts on my machine with the the lovely beans I get from Coffee for Connoisseurs.

I’ve been having a bit of a browse of coffee bean roasters as the next logical step in the pursuit of perfection is to get even fresher beans.

The Alpenroast seems to be the best of the bunch but there is much discussion on the internet about the deficiencies of home roasters and it may be quite a while before I take this plunge.

I’ve already had an offer of some green beans from a mate of mine with contacts in Brazil but the quarantine aspects are probably going to be a killer.

Why roast your own? Because green beans have a shelf life counted in years compared to weeks for roasted beans.

Andrew from the Coffee Warehouse came down from Sydney with Charles, the ECM distributor in Australia, to demo the machine and sell a couple to Dominic and I. Leonie from work also came along and we set up in a kitchen at an office Laz had organised. The guys setup the machine and while we watched on they tweaked the grinder to suit the freshly roasted beans they had brought and made some excellent coffee!

Dominic and I bought a ECM Giotto espresso machine and a Mazzer Mini Electronic grinder for $3100 per pair. A lot of dough, but the desire for coffee nirvana is a potent one. Emma grimaces at the price but delights in the coffee. I reckon we will recover the cost of the machine compared to the cost of buying mediocre coffee in a cafe in around eighteen months, with the machine lasting many years longer than that and producing much better coffee.

I can now make cups one after the other with basically no need to temperature surf or wait for the boiler to fill or empty, depending on whether I’m making coffee or frothing milk. The grinder is powerful and quiet.

After years of procrastination, I finally purchased an Italian made Rancilio Silvia in October 2002 for $765 AUD shipped to my door from Coffee for Connoisseurs in Melbourne. The decision was not made lightly but as the handle of my stainless steel stovetop espresso pot had recently broken off after many years of good service, I took it as a sign that a decision had to be made.

The Silvia is supplied with a cheap plastic 55mm tamper. Unfortunately the portafilter basket is 58mm in diameter so it is a poor fit, and makes it hard to properly tamp the coffee. I replaced mine with a 58mm stainless steel convex Pro Tamper [09/03:model now superceded by a two part tamp of the same name] from Espresso Parts.

There are lots of other web sites to find more information on this machine, but in simple terms it is a good quality single boiler machine that is head and shoulders over the pissy machines available in your local department store. It does require a fair bit of manual handling so you may prefer to look at more automated machines if ease of use is an important factor for you.