Regulars at the Porter will be used to
seeing the coffee machine on the bar, and the sound of it GRINDING out a coffee
and the strange wheezes and rumbles within as it toils away. Coffee is such a
part of everyday life now that one wonders how one managed before we had an espresso
coffee machine.
Things have moved on a bit though since we
first took delivery of the coffee machine a little over 4 years ago. Decent
coffee is now obligatory in pubs and restaurants, and with the likes of the
dreaded Starbucks on every high street, a wide range of coffees is almost de
rigueur, and people look askance if they can't get their favorite cappuccino or
latte when they're in need of refreshment.
So I've been looking around at what's now
available. On a recent trip to NY I happened to use a superb coffee machine in
the hotel we were staying at. I noted the model down - a Franke Evolution - and on my return a quick
search on-line found some local suppliers of said machine. They are not cheap however -
£6,000 or thereabouts for a fully specified model: but they certainly do the business. At the touch of a
button, you can have any one of the following - Americano, espresso, flat white,
cappuccino, latte - all available large or small. It will even do hot
chocolate, as well as hot water for tea - now that's what I call a decent
coffee machine. Mines a double tall decaf soya latte - if you see me at the bar.
Delivery of the new machine pictured
opposite should be some time in the next few weeks. The coffee machine and
coffees will now be supplied by our new suppliers Roy Ireland Espresso . They do
a fair-trade coffee, which fits in with our ethical policy, and will shortly be
doing an organic fair-trade as well. The real bonus though is that the machine
is very quick indeed, so no more waiting while our machine plods through that order for
6 coffees!
News item by: Philip Andrews
