Spring. Lever.

• Reiss Gunson
• 2013 May

Luxury items

until now we've just run plain packaging

printed packaging was not essential to get the product to market

now we have the luxury of adding a little refinement - printed packaging

• Reiss Gunson
• 2013 May

Machines shipping today

Glassner

Jacobsmuhlen

Coccia

______________________________________________

Sanders (USA) - ready to ship, but awaiting wooden handle set

Brook - ready to ship, but awaiting wooden handle set

• Reiss Gunson
• 2013 May

LONDINIUM II - what about that?

Late next week we will be travelling up to Birmingham to collect the first L2 and deliver it to the first customer.  We look forward to providing some images and clips of the installed machine.  As it is going into a new facility in Hertfordshire you can expect to see a bit of a profile on the machine here and details of where it is located if you want to go and see it

We do not currently intend to hold a LONDINIUM II at the factory as a demonstration machine, but instead we will hold a LONDINIUM III, which is the next project as soon as we close off all these near completed projects that are still open

In time we may hold a LONDINIUM II dual fuel machine at the factory as the gas burner system is simply a cut above what I have seen on other gas fired espresso machines in that it is much better equipped to deliver a consistent performance when the weather is windy.  The burners on many gas fired espresso machines simply blow out if there is any wind to speak of.  Not so the LONDINIUM II with its baffled burner system

• Reiss Gunson
• 2013 May

Button tampers & Wenge wooden handle sets for LONDINIUM I: where are they?

Close, very close.  We expect to receive them on Wednesday 29 May (next week).  I know many of your have placed an order for the tampers and are understandably keen to receive them.  We have made the brass base.  We have made the wenge handle.  The brass inserts to thread the stud into the wooden handle arrive tomorrow and we will send them to the wood turner to be fitted into the handle, then back to us for assembly and packing.  With the long weekend we unfortunately lose Monday.  I apologise for the length of time it has taken to get these two products on the shelf.  Now that we have the process set up it will easy going forward

The moment we receive these in all open orders with tampers in them will be treated with priority over all other open orders - we are as keen as you are to despatch orders that have been open for too long

• Reiss Gunson
• 2013 May

WINNER: Story Deli - Best Pizza in the World 2013 (http://www.chowzter.com/winners-2013)

A delicious, thin, crispy crust piled with fresh ingredients like pancetta, caramelised onions, cheese, and lettuce make these completely organic pizzas incredibly tasty. Cubes of mozzarella di bufala and freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano are scattered over the pesto-brushed Margherita after it is baked

Story Deli are a long standing customer of LONDINIUM espresso.  Readers of this blog will know our views on organic, fair-trade, and other certified coffees, so while it isn't my bag I have a lot of respect for Story Deli as they are the only people I know that are completely sincere about their commitment and belief in organics.  Every single ingredient at Story Deli is organic

As organic certified yeast is not available they spent almost 2 years developing a pizza base that 'worked' without yeast.  Story Deli pizzas have a 'just gathered from the wild' appearance which perfectly conveys Story Deli's ethos as to how food should be.  The taste is incomparably good and confirms that the fresh & wild appearance is completely authentic and in no way contrived

I can guarantee that you will never have had a pizza that tastes like a Story Deli pizza.  How can I be so sure?  Simple.  Lee Hollingway isn't a follower.  He is a very independent guy who follows his heart, works incredibly hard, and refuses to take ‘no’ for an answer.  When people say it can't be done Lee will keep working away for another year or two to prove them wrong.  The term 'artisan' is much over used in gourmet food circles today, but if you need to discover what an real artisan is you need to meet Lee

I really admire these kind of people because they're just far too rare these days in our cut and paste world of corporate conformity.  Lee's work is genuinely original.  I promise that you will find a pizza on the menu that will appeal to your palate and that you will not have tasted anything quite like it before in terms of the clean, fresh, defined tastes

If you look around you'll spy the LONDINIUM I ready to deliver your hand crafted organic espresso

Story Deli

123 Bethnal Green Rd

City of London

E2 7DG, ENGLAND 

Phone: 07918 197 352 

• Reiss Gunson
• 2013 May

HGOne grinder tips

HG One is easily the best grinder in the world for home use (i.e. low volume/sporadic use) as there is zero grind retention, absolute minimal heating of the grinds, a beautiful grind, and fast for a manual grinder thanks to the large diameter burrs

I have one at home and one at the factory and I couldn't recommend them highly enough

It would also have its uses as a decaf grinder or single origin grinder in a cafe where the sporadic use of the grinder makes zero grind retention important and it adds greatly to the sense of really having an espresso made for you

Having owned the HG Ones for a while now we can make the following suggestions;

1.  once you commence grinding it is important not to stop - each time you stop and recommence you will adversely affect the grind

2.  turn the handle at a steady rate of one turn a second.  speeding up and slowing down does nothing for the quality of the grind.  the rate of one turn per second is a rate also ensures that you do not get part way through then pause for a breather, which is the risk if you turn furiously at the beginning

3.  its not news, but as the manufacturer says, it is important to give the grinds a stir - i find 7 stirs all in the same direction with a mini whisk works well.  there will be many different methods that will yield good results; this is but one that we have obtained consistent results with

• Reiss Gunson
• 2013 May

Interested in insulating the boiler on your LONDINIUM I?

Dear Reiss,
thank you very much, the L1 arrived in time, and in perfect order. I am very glad, it's really a well designed, very well crafted and user-friendly machine.
Just for curiosity's sake: please find attached an image of my L1 with an insulated boiler (Armaflex HT), perhaps the first one around.
Please pass on my regards and thanks  to everybody involved in the project.
Best regards
Jan

All you need is some closed cell foam that will withstand boiler temperatures (120C internally at the top), some cables ties, and a craft knife

• Reiss Gunson
• 2013 May

Just added a DHL Express shipping rate for LONDINIUM I to Japan

its GBP146.38

• Reiss Gunson
• 2013 May

Conti Classica PM

I tried a HasBean espresso on one of these at the Caffe Culture exhibition in Earl's Court this week

It was perfectly extracted, with excellent definition (i.e. the taste of the espresso was complex, which I think is an essential element for an espresso)

Mechanically I found the Conti very interesting as the lever mechanism is completely different to any other lever machine that is still in production - I'd never seen anything quite like it before

So if you are considering your options in lever machines you should go and try a Conti

If I'd been thinking I would have thought to grab an image of the espresso

• Reiss Gunson
• 2013 May