I want to share just a simple thought with you today and it is this: if you are a fellow lover of the potent shot of coffee, the short black or ristretto or double shot, etc, have you ever stopped to ponder just how enchanting this simple beverage is?

It occurred to me on Thursday as I crafted another espresso during a busy work day that I am, for all intents and purposes, making the same drink three to four times a day and have done so since I discovered espresso in 1992. And yet, strangely, I never tire of it.

I think there are many factors involved that cast differences upon each and every cup, things like, slight variations in beans, different degrees of freshness, water quality, mood, and the condition of one's palate at the start of every cup. By this latter point I mean that even having two identical shots, one after the other, will render a different experience for each because your palate is affected in different ways.

It has taken a long search but a tip off has led to the discovery of a lifetime for a coffee lover - the Handpresso. 
If you are reading this on the Baristador Coffee website, you are someone who knows how hard it is to find decent espresso in Australia when you are away from your home or a chosen few cafes that care about the bean, and that's what I like about the Handpresso, it puts the power back into your hand to craft an espresso when you are in a coffee wilderness.
This gadget looks like a modified bike pump. You use the pump to store the 16 bar pump pressure for your espresso shot. Given the limitations of the manually-powered device, it produces a remarkably satisfactory shot that is streets ahead of the various concoctions that get served up in the name of espresso.
Here is my video on how to use the Handpresso, featuring Baristador Fairtrade Espresso Blend, of course:

Now it is back to sip one more hand-pressed espresso before bed time (will use the B30 Benchmark Blend this time - I do like to travel with variety!
PS I shot this with my very cheap Jazz USB video camera so don't expect Hollywood quality shots, only good coffee shots!
Yours in the spirit of espresso


Steve Davis / Founder / Espresso Evangelist
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Another year is upon us and Baristador Coffee now has a 100 percent certified Fairtrade Espresso Blend called FT1.
It has been an unusual journey, to say the least. Firstly, because I was not looking to create a Fairtrade blend, and secondly because I fell in love with this blend instantly, and I mean 'head over heels'. My partner-in-crime, my mystery roasting expert, shares an equally world-weary palate and yet we were both struck by this little concoction. I even snapped a shot of sample number seven so I could remember this moment forever.

I am often asked to explain what is meant by the term "spirit of espresso". Let me explain.
To me, when I drink coffee, I am seeking a small potent sip of the most delicious nectar the earth can provide.
While there are many ways to prepare coffee, I throw my lot with the baristas in Italy. These people know coffee, they love coffee, they live for coffee, they understand that to drink coffee is to live life well.

"What beans do you use in Baristador?" goes the common question that people rightfully ask. However, I cannot answer fully because that would be like a chef giving away their secret recipes. So, maybe a little history and a few hints will suffice.

History

Seeds were planted for the Baristador Blend back in 1992 in Trieste, Italy. In that year I saw two Italian men, impeccably dressed, step up to a coffee bar in Trieste's main railway station at the harbour, down two small coffees from small cups in two sips, and then continue on their way. That was the first time I witnessed the ritual of espresso. I was entranced. I wanted to be those men. I still can't explain it to this day.

My next step was to try an espresso - a shot of espresso - and that was it. From that until now, only espresso blends have passed my lips, always consumed black with no milk and no sugar. Just pure coffee, pure espresso.

I am glad Italy is my coffee passion's homeland because as I have since discovered in return visits, no other country on Earth can produce espresso coffee with such consistant quality, purity and flavour as the Italians!

Beszerk

By the late 1990s, home in Adelaide, Australia, I was depressed by the shoddy coffee making in most cafes and the nasty blends being sold by supermarkets and most gourmet stores.