Long time customers of Londinium will know that we have no interest in selling what we lovingly refer to as consumer grade junk.

Equipment that breaks down shortly after purchase corrupts our brand, and takes up your time and ours to post, repair, etc.  That is one of the reasons why we still only sell the Swissgold filters & the Olympia machines.  The stuff that didnt survive the beatings didnt get restocked, its as simple as that.

As a result we are a lot more cautious before we rush to stock new equipment.  A problem we have been working on for over a year is how can you make proper espresso at home without spending thousands?  You will have seen in previous blog entries some of the equipment we have tried out on our quest to solve this problem.  Well, having invested a not insignificant sum buying sample machines from around the globe to test we are proud to present you with a winner; the Bacchi of Trieste, Italy.

If you're anything like us I bet you've often wished that your moka pot could make real espresso.  Well, that's what the Bacchi does.  There is a lot the Bacchi doesn't do, but it does make 2 very good double shots of espresso with a minimum of fuss.  It doesn't steam milk, it isnt particularly sexy, and it isnt suitable if you need to roll out a lot of espresso, but it does what it is designed to do exceptionally well.

It works on gas & electric hobs and is ideal for camping.  Yes we tested the mypressi (ingenious as no heat source required, but in reality it does as you need to preheat the body in hot water unlike you have a thing for sour espresso) & the otto (a thing of great beauty), but if you are simply interested in very high quality espresso, the Bacchi wins hands down.

We only decided to sell the Bacchi after we convinced ourselves that it was relatively 'goof-proof'.  Products that require you to hold your mouth a certain way at the right moment to get an acceptable result are of no interest to us, as we know most of your have busy lives to get on with.

The Bacchi only demands espresso ground coffee, and yes we can't believe we are writing this but we have even tested it with pre-ground Illy coffee and we have still produced something that will pass as espresso for the tight wads out there who still wont fork out for a grinder.  However we will post some video in due coarse that will amply illustrate the difference when you feed the Bacchi some freshly ground Londinium espresso coffee.

So you've got your Bacchi, you've got some ground coffee. What next?  Unscrew the Bacchi & add probably 25ml of water (just enough to cover the base, no more - this water never gets it your coffee it is turned to steam to power the sprung loaded piston), then sit the 'piston' component on top, then fill the chamber in the top of the piston with water (this is the water that will go through the ground coffee), then fill the basket with coffee and sweep perfectly level with a straight edge (DO NOT TAMP, TAP, OR COMPACT IN ANY WAY), then assemble the unit.

Important:  Ensure you screw the unit together very firmly.  We do not in our initial test and actually sent the machine back to the factory in Italy as the machine was not reaching operating pressure and we could see steam escaping from one of the seals.  There should only be about 1mm maximum of clearance between the metal top of the Bacchi and the bottom of the black nylon screw if you have it tight enough.

 Then you place the Bacchi on the heat.  The only element of trial and error in the entire Bacchi experience is adjusting the heat so that it whistles at around the 6 minute mark.  If the heat is too high it will whistle before 6 minutes but the water in the top chamber will be too cold and your coffee will be under-extracted.  If the heat is too low it will take much longer than minutes, by which time the water in the top chmaber will be too hot and as a result the coffee will be over-extracted and burnt.

Our first shipment arrives at the end of next week.  Order your bacchi before they arrive in stock and get £10 off by entering the promotional code 'Bacchi' when you place your order on our website.

Without wishing to resort to hyperbole unnecessarily we are astounded at the quality of the espresso the Bacchi produces and it is for this reason alone that we have decided to sell the Bacchi.  There are no electrics to fail, it is well made, and is beautiful in its simplicty and robustness.  If you are not entirely happy with your Bacchi you are welcome to return it within 7 days for a full and prompt refund, no grumbling.

If you have questions please send us an email.

Learn more about Bacchi on facebook http://www.facebook.com/espressobacchi