A Revolutionary way to make connoisseur coffee at home. From the design centre of Europe comes the innovation of the era. A multi award winning product that makes espresso as easy as one...two...three.
More Power Less Juice-you and the earth will love this gear
words: Tom Wilmes photography: Adam Voorhes
Take energy savings into your own hands with the Presso Coffee Maker. Unlike electric coffee makers that drain power all day, this sleek, minimalist gadget needs only coffee grounds, hot water, and your own elbow grease to make a café-quality drink. As a bonus, the Presso is completely recyclable. $140, pressousa.com
76 | Spirit
DIY BREW
Our friend Zoe Florence in New York City writes:
So a few weeks back I received my first ever coffee making machine! I was super excited for my Presso to arrive, and reassured by my nearest and dearest that I too would be capable of making my own coffee., and save money at that! Goodbye burnt tasting, overpriced, fancy coffee-inspired beverages, hello d.i.y. coffee fun times. I loved the idea of a cordless, super simple machine that even I could operate.
After a long day at work I returned home to find my box o’ Presso waiting for me on my seat and once my cheap and cheerful coffee grinder arrived I was ready to start brewing. Grinding my deluxe beans was a no brainer and after boiling my water and having all of my equipment in place I pushed down on the arms of the presso and voila, my espresso was ready, and I might add, tasted far better in the comfort of my own home than at some cheesy yuppie coffee bar.
The next thing I knew my roommate and I got really jazzed about the Presso and started making back-to-back lattes, warming and frothing our lactose free varieties of milk and while she was frothing away, I was the house barista. Needless to say we were both bouncing off the walls for the rest of the day and I have now established a pleasant routine of presso-ing daily before running out the door to work.
Gemma Cutler of Toronto, Ontario writes…
I’ve always been daunted by the big boxy machines I’ve seen on friend’s kitchen counters and have instead relied heavily on my local coffee shops to do the work for me. Dose, tamp and pulls were foreign… concepts.
Presso is the easiest espresso maker I’ve ever used and finally understand that espresso isn’t simply strong coffee. There is a true art and technique to pulling the perfect shot…one that Presso let’s you do first hand. Using your hands. It’s really quite cool.
The presso seems right at home out on the green grass surrounded by chickens. I guess one could say it’s only natural as the Presso is one of the lightest and transportable espresso maker in the world. If you love the taste of a fresh espresso and a cafe is not close by you might just want to give the Presso Espresso maker a try.
We Presso folk tend to be pretty simple, but there are certain things that we think are really important in making a great cup of coffee.
Ask any coffee lover and they will tell you, the fresher the grind the better the coffee. If you really want to take your coffee making seriously you must invest in a grinder so that you can grind your own coffee at home. Do you need the most expensive one on the market? Probably not. But it’s a great idea to invest in a conical burr style grinder. This kind of grinder won’t heat the beans up while it grinds the coffee, which means the flavour of the coffee isn’t compromised. You can get manual or electric burr grinders (manual grinders are great for those times when you are off the grid with your Presso).
Grinding your own coffee is all about experimentation. Try altering the coarseness of your grind. Traditionally, you want a finer grind for espresso but you want to make sure that it’s not too fine. If when you begin to press the Presso arms down you feel a tremendous amount of pressure and no liquid is coming through the portafilter, then you know you have gone too fine. If the coffee starts pouring through the filter at warp speed, you’ve probably ground your coffee a bit too course.
At Presso headquarters, after a little bit of playing around, we have found the perfect grind from our machine. Our grinder produces that perfect consistency when it is set on a fairly course setting. Who woulda thunk?
Another important aspect of your grind, is how you tamp. Fill your portafilter with your desired amount of coffee, and then using the tamper press down on the coffee (once again, you will have to experiment with your tamp- you need to find a level of strength somewhere between dainty and He-Man). It’s important to keep the portafilter level when you tamp-resting it on a counter top usually helps. Some people go as far as tamping on a scale to make sure they are applying the correct amount of pressure (usually around 30 lbs), but after some experimentation you will know what works best for you and your Presso.
Grind at home, play around with your technique, and start drinking some really delicious coffee!
Sleeping outdoors is no excuse for bad coffee. On a recent trip to Rainbow Beach, we didn’t have to sacrifice our morning ritual even though we were miles away from a kitchen. Instead of using our electric kettle, we heated our water over our camping stove—that was the only difference. We had hot, delicious espresso, as we gazed out over the waves—not a bad way to start your morning. The only problem is, it’s been hard to convince people that we were “roughing it.”
Espresso makers like most type of equipment need maintenance and occasionally parts need to be replaced. The Presso espresso maker is in a class of its own when it comes to maintainance and repairs. With espresso makers that need plugging in you had better have a degree in electronics if you stand a chance of understanding why your espresso maker is not working the way it used to.
Maintaining your presso is as simple as running some hot water over it when it has finished performing its coffee making duties. Note this is a good idea to do before you use it too so the body is clean and warm for the first shot you pull out. It’s also a good idea to give your presso a nice rub down with a soft cloth after the rinse to keep it looking shiny and new.
If something gets worn out in your presso or breaks it’s not too hard to pull the presso apart and replace parts. For example the O – Ring after 1000’s of presses may start to get a bit thin, as will your espresso shots if you don’t have enough pressure. No problems with the presso. Simply take a slot head screw driver to the crown of your presso, take out the screw. Pull up the plunger. Take off the worn out O – ring. Put a new one on. Screw it back together and you are back in business. Replacement parts for the presso are available for sale in Canada, United States and Australia.
The Presso is backed by a 12 month guarantee against manufacturing faults (under normal use).
The Presso was designed, or perhaps invented is a better word, in London by Patrick Hunt of therefore design, product design consultants. Patrick and his award winning team of designers and engineers, work with many of the worlds most successful consumer brands to create pre-eminent products. International clients include TomTom, Samsonite, NAIM, Orange. Products range from Toys to HIFI, Phones to Notebooks, Cookware to Luggage and Accessories like the presso and Sugar Spoon. Based in the heart of London, therefore has over 15 years experience creating innovative, award winning, technology driven products.
Pictured above is Patrick Hunt with Greg Cromwell making a hand shake agreement backed by a piece of paper, a delicious meat pie and a pint of Fuller’s London Pride.
Patrick and Greg have been promoting pressos together since May 2006 when the first order was placed for Australia. Since then the two have teamed up to distribute the Presso in Canada in July 2007 and most recently America has been added to the list.
Sign up for our newsletter and we'll send you Presso tips and special offers.
