My Home Espresso Timeline

I didn't start blogging until I was a year into the hobby, so I figured I'd put together one long post with a timeline of my major equipment purchases.

April 2006 - Grinder

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MACAP M4 Stepless with Doser
After spending many weeks researching espresso equipment, I finally decided to pull the trigger on my first home espresso setup. I did it in phases starting with the grinder (yeah, I got it- "grinder first"), followed the the machine about two months later.



June 2006 - First espresso machine

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Quick Mill Andreja Premium
I called Chris' Coffee in Albany, NY with intention to buy an Anita. Ended up with a great deal on the AP. Accessorized with a Reg Barber tamper, bottomless portafilter, and rubber tamping mat. I got the wood cart at Lowes and set it all up in my breakfast room just off the kitchen.



Nov 2006 - Home Coffee Roaster

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iRoast2
I decided to give home roasting a shot mainly for decaf espresso. I noticed that the professionally roasted decaf blends I was buying had a very short window for making really good espresso. I figured I could by large quantities of green (since it will store for long periods), and only roast in small batches.



The first batch was totally fried...



Feb 2007 - Espresso Machine Upgrade

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Vetrano by Quick Mill
I'm really glad that high-end home espresso equipment tends to hold it's value well. I had been very happy with my Andreja Premium, it served me well. But I realized that a fully plumbed in machine would be so convenient... so, I put the AP up for sale and began researching which machine to go with next.

I was leaning toward the La Spaziale S1 V2, attracted by the electronic temp control and dual boiler. But in the end I was so pleased with the quality of my previous QM machine, plus my barista skills were already dialed in for the e61-style HX. Another consideration was the fact that I already owned several 58mm accoutrements.

So a few days after calling Mary at Chris' Coffee, the Vetrano arrived!

About Me

Name: Brian Gammon
Location: Richmond, VA
Occupation: Software Developer, Pro-Barista Wannabe

I can be found in the forums on CoffeeGeek and Home-Barista as Thwack

My Coffee Story

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Back in 1997 I bought a copy of Corby Kummer's book The Joy of Coffee. This was well before I had even tried an espresso. I bought the book in an effort to improve my drip coffee making. I credit the book for turning me on to some good basic coffee preparation advice: grind before brewing with a burr grinder, flavored coffees suck, avoid hot plates on coffee makers, getting the dosage and water temp right, etc.

So I went out and bought a $50 Braun burr grinder and used it for many years. I knew I was doing the right thing, grinding for each pot of coffee, but I was always annoyed with the noise and static that this grinder created. Eventually the grinder was put in the cabinet I pretty much used pre-ground coffee at home.

I was also a fairly regular Starbucks customer. Not for their milk drinks, just the drip coffee. In the early years they used to promote that they dumped every batch of drip after 19 minutes. They also emphasized the origins of the coffees, and offered no flavored coffees... all things that were appealing to me and in line with what I knew from Kummer's book.

My prior espresso experiences were always from restaurants, not coffee shops. My wife and I got into having espresso after dinners out. We always noticed how hit or miss ordering espresso was... even within the same restaurants. One night after coming home from a dinner that ended with horrible espresso, I decided to hit the internet to see what it would take to do it myself. I didn't know what a slippery slope I was on...


Current Espresso Equipment

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Espresso:
Vetrano by Quick Mill

Grinder:
MACAP M4 Stepless Doser Grinder

Roaster:
iRoast2 by Hearthware

Previous Equipment Owned

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Andreja Premium by Quick Mill