The New Espresso Machine Begets

I am a mere mortal tea drinker. The obsessive-compulsive machinations Julian goes through to make his drug of choice are beyond my comprehension. So when the espresso machine he bought when we moved to Seattle (after the movers trashed his old one) was on its last pump, this set off a cascade of purchases.

First: A new espresso machine. He researched numerous options on the internet. The machine he had his eye on was not sold in Seattle. It was, however, sold at Clive Coffee in Portland. “Wanna go on a road trip?” he asked. “I can make it worth your while. Lunch at Pok Pok and a visit to Powell’s Books.” So we drove down I-5 to Portland the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The sales reps at Clive Coffee are as geeky as Julian is. He sampled one or two shots from different machines, although the coffee varieties used were too acidic for his taste. He got his new machine (with a couple of accessories, including a scale to measure out the exact quantity of ground coffee) and we went off to my parts of the trip.

Second: A new coffee grinder. His early experiments with the new machine convinced him that his old grinder was not up to the task. While I was back east, he bought a new grinder from a store hereabouts. He also got a new water purification pitcher that uses ion-exchange to substitute magnesium for calcium. We don’t have very hard water, so I’m not sure this confers any advantage. (As a matter of fact, his regular descaling of the old machine may have hastened its demise because our water is so soft.)

Third: A shelf to hold his expanding collection of coffee accessories. He drove down to Ikea and found a shelf that matched the trim on my bookcases. That’s freed up some space on the bar.

Fourth: A replacement scale. The one he got at Clive was malfunctioning, so he ordered a replacement. It finally came earlier this week. I suppose he’ll let me use it for small quantities of spices and the like if I’m really nice.