The latest consignment of Bacchis have arrived and they appear to have slightly modified bases. Whilst the new bases still have the same external measurements (i.e. still the same overall height, diameter, etc), and are still made from cast aluminium, they have made a new casting that results in a 'thicker' base.
The original base is shown on the left in the image above and you can see that as a result of the casting being thinner in the base it has only been machined around 5mm or so of the circumference. The new design on the right has a thicker base, which results in the entire top face of the base now being machined.
As a result the new base weighs around 240g, compared with 200g for the old one, and increase of 20%. We hope that this additional material will improve the Bacchi's resistance to being over-heated, typically when they are forgotten about and left on the heat for an extended period of time.
Yes, its summer in London; cloudless blue skies and high twenties. Our disdain of adding anything to espresso is what makes us Londinium Espresso, but for us affogato is the exception that proves the rule. There is beauty in its simplicity; roll a scoop of fresh creamy vanilla ice-cream and place it in a cup. Prepare yourself a fresh shot of espresso and pour it over the ice-cream. Done! Ready to enjoy; great if guests drop by and you need a quick dessert that fits easily into the mood of a hot summer's night. Get out there and enjoy the summer while its here.
The pricing of the Olympia Cremina and Maximatic remain unchanged at CHF3392 and CHF3671 respectively. The problem is the Sterling just keeps getting weaker against the Swiss Franc. If you want to see just how dramatic this weakening has been since 2003 you can go to Oanda.com and draw a CHF/GBP chart for 2003-2011.
If you need a best in class water softening and filtration solution that is easy to install and maintain, Londinium Espresso are now selling one; http://londiniumespresso.com/products/everpure-claris-water-filter-and-softener
We are the first to acknowledge that proper water softening (using hydrogen ion replacement, not the cheap but now illegal sodium ion replacement) is a significant running cost.
The problem is that if you have a water supply high in calcium carbonate the cost of not adequately protecting your investment in your espresso machine is far greater.
Not only will your machine fail; the limescale will actually clog the inlet to the boiler to the extent that it will no longer fill fast enough to replace the water you are drawing off, but the process of descaling a machine is very very hard on all aspects of the machine. Heavily scaled machines often have the limescale chipped out of them with a cold chisel, before being placed in a bath of sulphuric acid for a week or more to eat away the calcium carbonate deposits. This process is very hard on all the joins, welds, seems, threads, seals, and fittings, despite as many of these being removed as possible prior to embarking on the process.
Unsurprisingly once a machine has been subject to this process a couple of times nothing quite works in the manner in which it left the factory.
If you bite the bullet and put a strong water filtration and softening system in place you will extend the life of your espresso machine by decades. Furthermore it will hold tolerance and be much easier to set and adjust and the espresso that you produce from your machine will be significantly better.
Limescale in an area like London will kill the finest and most elaborate espresso machine that money can buy in less than 12 months. In fact the more complex and sophisticated your machine the more sensitive it is to limescale deposits. It doesnt just accumulate in the boiler, but it clogs valves and gauges. Every single component in contact with the hot water is at risk
Try Londinium Espresso for your cafe or corporate needs. We are dedicated espresso roasters and are currently adding very competitive shipping rates for the whole of the European Union. You might be surprised to learn that great espresso is now roasted in the UK. What next? Try Londinium Espresso. We'll refund you every penny if you are not completely satisfied. Our third party payment platform means you can buy with confidence as we never see your payment details. Purchase with debit card, credit card, or Paypal.
When you're young you're bound to make a few mistakes along the way, and so it has been with Londinium Espresso's cups. One thing we got right the first time is choosing Ancap. Ancap are the cup manufacturers that other less expensive cup makers copy. Indeed, even a number of Italian cup brands are no longer made in Italy, but China. Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery I guess.
So, our second generation espresso cups are still the work of Ancap, still proudly made in Italy, with every decal applied by hand. 
Our first mistake was adding a logo, 'art you drink'. Whilst we still think it is an accurate description of what we stand for it comes across as pretentious and a bit off-putting. Artistically the cup also begins to look a bit cluttered, and the fonts tend to conflict with each other. Sometimes less is more.
Our second mistake was incorporating the '.com' into our logo, a move which was intended to make it clear that we are an online business only, but it didn't stop people ringing up asking where our cafe was, and as time moved on it just looked increasingly like a branding relic from the dot com era. So while the '.com' was dropped from our logo in other areas of the business some time ago, we have had to wait until now to update our cups. Some mistakes you have to live with for a while!
So we have removed the 'art you drink' slogan to produce an completely clean internal surface to the cup, as shown below;
Finally, we weren't happy with the classic tulip shape of the first generation cup. From a purely aesthetic perspective it looks a bit dated. The waisted lower section of the cup meant a much greater volume of espresso had to be held near the top of the cup, and this was achieved by giving the cup a greater diameter at the top than we would like, thereby increasing the surface area on which the crema has to sit, making it thinner, and also allowing the espresso to cool faster than we would like.
We tried all manner of radical designs, including a very narrow, tall espresso cup design, which we loved visually but discovered that the espresso didn't mix properly as it entered the cup, and instead sat in 'layers' in the cup making it unpleasant to drink as you moved through the various layers with their distinctive tastes from various points in the extraction process. Im sure there will be someone somewhere who thinks this layering is a desirable characteristic, but in our opinion it isn't.
The other important thing we learnt on a trip to Italy is the need for the internal profile of the cup to be what the Italians refer to as 'egg-shaped', or elliptical. The cup should not have a flat bottom inside, otherwise it breaks up the crema as it falls from the portafilter spouts into the cup. Our first generation cups were fairly good in this respect, with only a slight internal flat spot, but the second generation of cups are better again, offering a continuous internal curve with essentially no internal flat spot.
The effect of shifting to a cup design with greater internal volume lower down in the cup can be seen in the image below; the cup does not need to be as tall. Additionally the cup is more stable as the centre of mass is now significantly lower in the cup. The reduced surface area also helps to keep the espresso at the correct temperature for longer.
The image below shows the extend to which the outside diameter of the cup has been reduced, relative to the first generation design.
Below we proudly present our second generation Londinium Espresso cup by Ancap. They don't just look better, they ensure better mixing of the espresso as it enters the cup, whilst not breaking up the crema. They also keep the espresso together to ensure it tastes better too, preserving that dense mouthfeel in the cup for longer.
We will let you know as soon as our second generation espresso cups arrive from Italy.
you will find the correct setting for your grinder will vary quite a bit as we start sending you different roasts
the most efficient way to respond to this challenge is to vary the dose, rather than the grind, as changing the grind has an inherent lag and involves a lot more inconvenience and wasted coffee
if you need to grind finer and are already at maximum dose this obviously won't work; another argument for staying in the middle of the dosing range for your machine, rather than running at the extremes (upper or lower)
The Olympia Express factory will be closed from 24th July until 6th August 2011
If you require your machine or spare parts prior to this holiday period, the last day for placing an order is the 5th of July
From: Stephen Harper <stephen.harper@^^^^^^^^^^^.com>
To: Londinium Espresso <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
Reiss,
I got an Interlink dispatch email this morning and the Technivorm arrived within the 1 hour slot that they stated. It's a fantastic machine and the Coffee making is now nearly effortless. There is a noticeable increase in the depth of flavour that this machine can rinse out of the Coffee, beating even my inverted filter attempts from the Aeropress.
Just a couple of things; the box looked like it had recieved the standard courier treatment, though the machine is thankfully ok. Also, there is no plastic scoop as mentioned in the instructions. I don't think i'll really need it however. I'm brewing 60g per Litre, at least with the two pots I have made so far, and the Coffee has tasted great. There was a sachet of cleaning fluid in the reservoir that had been opened too.
I am very pleased with the machine and the service, so thank you very much
Best Regards
Stephen
