The A-class is not a car I enjoy at all, but for a city box it does carry a decent payload.  This is the 1 group Bosco spring lever espresso machine getting shuffled from courier to our factory.  The box measures 60x60x80cm, and the other half of the back seat didn't need to be moved.  Sorry if that's boring, but I was impressed.  The box arrived in good condition, not wet, torn, punctured, or crushed, and when we opened the box it had been well packed to ensure it couldn't move at all.  As a result it has arrived in the same condition I last saw it in Napoli.  Now we've also got to decide where to put it.

Apologies again for not getting these parts and prices up weeks ago, its just been too far down the list of things to do, so tonight I've sat down and beaten it out; oh the joy of copying and pasting a word document into excel, and then converting the text in numeric format in order to convert from EUR to GBP.  Oh well, its done now.  Rather than refer to the parts by their Italian description (as they were sent to me), or refer to in their English equivalent, I've opted to refer to simply to the numbered references on the parts diagram provided.  Hopefully this makes it easier for those of you who don't speak Italian or English.  I do apologise about the resolution of the parts diagram which seems to become more difficult to read as the numbers become larger.  If you haven't found them already the Bacchi parts page is here

If you're reading this and you work for a freight company it sure looks as though the London-Brazil route could do with more competition, more capacity, or perhaps both; it's expensive!

as always, if you need more please get in touch.

As for the enquiries from Malaysia, please accept our apologies for not already having these rates loaded for you.

If you need more, perhaps for heavy items, please ask.

Apologies for not having these in already.  If you need even more detailed rates please let us know. 

We support, service, and provide parts for every Olympia machine.  There are also a number of upgrade parts available.  In particular the new stainless steel top plate for the Cremina which allows cups to be warmed is very useful.  There is also a more elegant drip tray, a new boiler cap with a vacuum breaker valve and a new pressure gauge.  We have little pots of Olympia grease to help you maintain your Olympia.  We also have the service tool for fitting new seals to the pistons without damaging the seals.

With a minimal amount of care and servicing these machines are built to provide you with world class coffee for the rest of your life, and then pass to your children.  Modern companies spend a lot of time telling us about how environmentally aware they are, yet churn out products designed on the premise of planned obsolescence.  The sticker price is less, but are they really 'cheaper'?  We're proud to support companies that pursue sustainable profits with products that last a lifetime.

We think that the old adage of the bad carpenter always blaming his tools is alive and well in the world of espresso.  Learn to get the best from what you have.  The key elements are checking the pressure-stat on your espresso machine is set at the correct temperature and securing some carefully roasted and fresh coffee beans.

Then, the tip;

From our sales patterns we can see that a lot of you by 1 bag of this and 1 bag of that.  This is holding you back.

We can not emphasise enough the importance of running the same coffee for say, at least a month, and really developing an intuitive feel for the coffee.  After a couple of weeks you shouldn't be weighing anything or using any kind of instrumentation.  You should find yourself developing an intuitive feel for the coffee.  A feel for the right amount, a feel for the correct grind for the climatic conditions of the day, and so on.  This point was really driven home to me with a visit to Bosco lever espresso machines in Napoli on Wednesday this week.  They didn't have a set of scales in the building, but they intuitively knew the right amount of coffee to load into the portafilter, they knew the correct amount of tamp pressure, and so on.  Why? How? Well they just run the same coffee week in, week out.

I'm not suggesting that you shouldn't develop your palette and try different coffees, but spend a month with each one to really develop your intuition and feeling with the coffee.  You will be the beneficiary as the quality of your espresso will soar if you spend more time with one roast rather than doing 250g of this, then 250g of that.  250g is nothing.

To help you our pricing structure rewards you if you buy multiple bags of the same coffee as we know the customers that buy in this manner are the most discerning espresso drinkers.

Try our suggestion, you might be surprised at how good you get if you just 'stick with the knitting' for a while rather than bouncing from roast to roast and never really getting the best out of anything, concluding that your equipment must be at fault.

This question crops up again and again, and many people will swear that you must have a conical grinder.
You can read our view on the matter below.

Return-Path: <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
Received: Fri, 18 Feb 2011 01:16:47 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Re: Shipping rate query for Mazzer Robur Electronic
From: LE_G <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2011 09:16:35 +0000
To: Barry Goh <@hotmail.com>


Barry

Is there a taste difference between conical and flat burrs when both grinder=
s are cold? Yes, but that isn't the reason mazzer developed and sell the Rob=
ur.

Mazzer sell the Robur because it heats up more slowly when grinding large vo=
lumes of coffee.  Why does it heat up more slowly? Because of the conical bu=
rrs? No! because it is turning at 425rpm instead of 1450rpm on 50Hz electric=
al supply.  So as an engineer you have reduced the rate at which the grinder=
 overheats because the burrs are now turning much slower.  Now the problem i=
s the grinder grinds coffee too slowly! What to do? Increase the circumferen=
ce of the burrs so the distance travelled by the burrs in a given time perio=
d is the same as it was before you slowed the motor down.  Now the grinder w=
on't turn as the motor doesn't have enough torque to turn the larger diamete=
r burrs as the resistance presented by the coffee beans between the burrs is=
 greater as you can now fit more of them around the increased circumference a=
nd by definition the load is further from the spindle as the radius is now l=
arger and therefore the beans sitting between the burrs exert more torque ov=
er the motor. So you add a significantly larger motor as this is cheaper and=
 smaller and than adding a reduction gearbox. Now the grinder turns, grinds l=
ots of coffee, and doesn't heat the coffee too quickly when you've a lot of c=
offee to grind, but there is still a problem!  Now that you have reduced the=
 spindle speed the grinder doesn't draw the beans into the burrs as nicely s=
o the grinder doesn't feed as evenly as it should, especially with a small m=
ass of beans in the grinder. So you change from flat burrs to conical burrs s=
o the burrs draw the coffee nice and consistently into the grinder.  I'm not=
 an  engineer, but that I think you will find is how we end up with flat and=
 conical burr grinders.

I'm 100% sure the manufacturers didn't go, oh the taste of the coffee is a b=
it average with flat burrs, let's make a conical grinder.  The problem given=
 to the engineers was these grinders running at 1425rpm are heating the coff=
ee far too much when you grind a LOT of coffee.  As a result of solving that=
 problem they changed from conical to flat burrs.  By happy coincidence it t=
urned out that the conical burrs were better at preserving the delicate note=
s present in some coffees.  I still suspect this may be due to the slower 42=
5rpm spindle speed rather than the shape of flat versus conical burrs, but I=
 lack the knowledge to present a cogent engineering argument so that will ha=
ve to remain as an opinion.

So to conclude, I think anyone who buys a Robur for home use has more money t=
han sense.  I have a Mazzer Mini at home.  What can I criticise?  The taste?=
 No! If I wanted to be super critical I'd say it takes too long to fill the p=
ortafilter, and that is the only reason I could think of for moving to a lar=
ger grinder.  But would I? No, of course not, complete madness in terms of s=
ize, cost, and just general extravagance, and believe me I'm not averse to a=
 little extravagance now and again but even I'd draw the line at a mazzer mi=
ni for home use.

It is true that the grinder is the most important consideration.  For home u=
se that means the Mazzer Mini E.  It might be different if you say worked fr=
om home and often had business meetings where you needed to make coffee for 5=
-10 people in a hurry, or a family where you entertained large numbers of pe=
ople regularly, but there is nothing in your email to suggest that this is t=
he case.

I will add more shipping costs for Malaysia.  No problem with your last ques=
tion either.

Also, do you mind if I paste this email up on my blog as this is a common qu=
estion.  I'll remove your contact information, don't worry.

Kind regards

Reiss.

P. +44 20 7193 3901
M. +44 7801 224 520
LondiniumEspresso.com

On 18 Feb 2011, at 04:29, Barry Goh <@hotmail.com> wrote:

> Hello Reiss,
> =20
> Thanks for the info.
> =20
> Do you think that the Robur Electronic is a good idea for an individual to=
 use if he will only fix at most 2 cups of coffee a day? Or is it overkill? I=
 have read comments on a forum whereby former owners of the Robur E have sai=
d that while it is a great grinder, it produces too much wastage of coffee a=
nd too much coffee gets stuck in its chute etc.=20
> =20
> You see, I am considering a conical grinder because I have read that they s=
upply the best grind for espresso as compared to flat burr grinders, and sin=
ce they say that buying the best grinder is even more important than buying t=
he best espresso machine, I figured that this is probably where I can get th=
e most improvement if I upgrade. Am I right in this idea or is that too simp=
listic?
> =20
> I would also like to know how much would it cost to have you send to me in=
 Malaysia a pack of 250g of your roasted coffee? If it is cost effective, th=
en maybe I can order some every month from your shop.
> =20
> Lastly, if I were to order a pack of your coffee along with the grinder, w=
ould the shipping cost for the coffee be obviated?
> =20
> Thanks,
> =20
> Barry Goh

First image: (l-r) Roberta, Attilio, Giorgio

Second image: Unusually in this age of outsourcing, Bosco fabricate their boiler from scratch with a heavy sheet of copper

Third image: Attilio at work brazing nuts onto the copper water pipes for the boiler

Fourth image: Boiler end plate in heavy bronze to take the outward pressure exerted on it by the boiler