Still not up to the task of grinding for espresso, but lets give credit where it is due; this 'Mark II' version of the long serving Antigua model that preceded it is a big improvement.  Over the years we owned 3 Antigua grinders at various times and had a good run from all of them, although the quality did vary.

Bodum have clearly responded to market pressure; the Antigua had become too expensive for what it was, at GBP85 retail in the UK.  They obviously sent their design guys back to the drawing board with a tough brief; that it must cost a lot less and it must also improve.

Well the Bistro retails for just GBP55 in the UK, so they ticked that box.  But there's more; they have also made substantial improvements.  A lot of development has gone into the new 'anti-static' collection bin, and this is a welcome addition as the one on the Antigua is chronic.

Secondly, something that annoyed me with the Antigua was the timer only control, so if you wanted to stop the grinder before the timer had wound down you either had to turn it off at the wall or wind the timer back forcibly.

The Bistro is available in a significant range of colours, which will be important for the product's target market.

Importantly this grinder is significantly quieter than the model it replaces.  The Antigua often sounded like a cement mixer, although it varied depending on how well your unit had been assembled.  My wife commented that the Bistro sounds like a sewing machine, and while I wouldn't consider this to be a complement for a motor car I think it is for the Bistro, particularly if you are familiar with the sound of the Antigua.

Initially i thought this was due to a complete redesign of the mechanicals, but in reflection I suspect it owes much to the sound deadening properties of the new housing that Bodum have developed.  I suspect they may also have placed the motor on sound deadening mounts rather than a more direct connection to the housing.  Finally I think the soft synthetic material used on the top of the collection box makes such a good seal that it also reduces the amount of noise emitted.  An on/off switch with LED indicator light is also a nice touch, not present on the previous model.

In our opinion the new Bodum Bistro is the best entry level grinder currently on offer in the UK.  If you don't need to make espresso buy it at Bodum's online shop; it is ridiculous value for money.  Pair it with a Swissgold filter & a bag of Londinium beans and you're enjoying the best coffee in the UK

 Don't take our word for it, here's what Lance Goffinet says from the States;

"My Cremina pulls shots that look and taste the most like the shots from a Idrocompresso, and very similar to the LaMarzocco Linea and GS3. I have had the opportunity to spend some time on these machines at Doma roasting using my favorite Espresso Blend, Doma's Vitos, that I often use at home. This allowed me a fair comparison since I was using the same beans in all the machines."

Not much left to say really

While we readily acknowledge that the initial outlay for a Cremina is expensive, we stand by our claim that it represents tremendous value for money

Unlike almost everything for sale these days you can adjust and repair it.  How quaint.

What would our grandparents think of our throw away world where we fail to see the irony in thinking that driving a hybrid will somehow offset our destructive consumer behaviour?

http://iphone.ebay.com/Pages/ViewItem.aspx?aid=220664803528&emvcc=0 

We are in no way connected with these auctions or the items offered for sale

We are simply bringing it to your attention as so many of you are after a second hand Olympia, which certainly makes sense as they are built to a higher standard than any other domestic machine that we are aware of

 We are proud to announce the introduction of the Mazzer mini electronic (type 'A') to our product range.  We are only stocking them in silver, 240V, with the UK plug.  If you are moving up from an entry level grinder the first thing you will notice is how quiet it is, then how fast it gets the job done, then finally (and most importantly) your coffee will taste significantly better.  

This shift in quality will be like night and day if you have been trying to prepare espresso coffee with an entry level grinder.

You will find them here

 Arrived yesterday, Wednesday 28 July.

Its quite simple; we don't do it.  Yes, we know we're crazy, we know all the books say your customers will be thrilled to hear from you at least once a month with some special offer that is matched to their order history.  We say, "bollocks".

Unsurprisingly we buy online quite a lot; have done since the dark ages of e-commerce pre-2000 when we tortured ourselves with a slow (& expensive!) 2 x 64Kb channel ISDN connection.

Anyway, the point of this story is that we have a favourite online shop (mankind if you must know) that we thought were perfect in every way.  That is until one day they thought they could 'improve' by sending 'targeted' emails.  It sent me into a blind rage, I'd have to confess.  The one place I respected for not pestering me via that most insidious form of modern communication (yes, we all know its free) had succumb to emailing me.  That's why despite what Seth Godin and all the other cone heads tell us we will never subject you to a group email telling you how wonderful we are and what great ideas we've got for your pet hamster's upcoming birthday.  Never!

We have every confidence that you are more than capable of remembering the name Londinium, and that even if you don't order from us for months, even years, that you haven't forgotten who we are.  You might not wish to purchase from us because you didnt enjoy our coffee, or you've gone scuba diving in tahiti to escape the winter, or any other of a million reasons; we're just quite confident that you don't need to be reminded that we exist.  There's more than enough regulation, hectoring, do this, do that, in our modern world without us adding to the chaos.

Go forth & enjoy your espresso with an empty mail box!

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

This shipment's a cracker.  Get it while it's still around.  The slightly grassy acidic streak in the last shipment is not present in this one.