Pictured: the array of espresso paraphernalia occupying a corner of my suitcase, as I'm packing this weekend. It's a lot of stuff to cart around, if our aim is simply to avoid the local barista and save maybe 10 Euros a day. It's more than that, however (although, hey, at 45 days the cost of that everyday bit of pleasant hot beverage would add up). But no, it's more a continuity of home, that we are carting along with us. A thing I do, is crafting consistently good espresso for morning and early afternoon Americanos. And this curious assemblage will take the place of the 20-year-old Isomac machine in our kitchen, while we are gone from home.
The big supine gadget that will resemble a NASA lunar lander, when opened out... that's the actual espresso machine. The square flat object with a 51mm dia. cup thing sitting on it, is a super accurate scale (tenth of a gram). Tamper and dosing funnel and small scoop, plus a glass measure with milliliter marks, yes of course. And a rechargeable grinder stands proud, upper left side—it takes about two minutes to grind 15 grams of coffee beans into espresso size powder, via its steady whirring motor. Because I don't want to start hating the whole daily business because of endless hand cranking for just one cuppa, my trusty manual grinder will rest on our kitchen counter near the stove-top, while we're gone.
And this, the fun part of it all... treasured memories will hatch, after our return, of places we used this slightly bothersome setup. Venice. Ravenna. Levanto. Aix-en-Provence. What were we looking forward to, what had just surprised us that midday?
Mix those vivid images with deep and rich coffee flavor, and you've really got something.
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