Over the years, as an independent trainer, I have had the pleasure of working with many different makes and models of espresso machines. I say ‘with’ and not ‘on’ as there will always be a certain synergy and relationship between a barista and her or his espresso machine. A relationship based on not just an understanding of coffee and extraction theory, but also the individual machine’s mechanics and technology. So much more than just ‘pushing the right buttons’.
All this experience didn’t fully prepare me for the unknown arena of mobile catering. Not wanting to compromise on the quality of my coffee just because I was on the move I stuck to what I knew and loved best. First, my beautiful La Marzocco GS3, which until then had been a rather luxurious home machine. Then, as the events got bigger and busier, I fell back on my beloved workhorse La Marzocco Linear.
The downside of both of these machines was they were power hungry. It was restrictive in that the horsebox needed to be attached with an ‘umbilical cord’ to an electricity source that often is not available. This led me to enter into an unchartered territory - gas power and lever espresso.
Lever espresso was something I was very excited about, knowing that the purpose of the paddle on my La Marzocco GS3 was to reproduce the control over pre infusion that was created by the original lever engineering. I also appreciated that the receding pressure profile (rather than the constant pressure profile delivered by an electric pump) can give a better extraction of desirable compounds in coffee. The most exciting element was the back to basics approach, simple engineering that hasn’t changed in decades upon decades, yet it can still produce the most amazing results in the cup. And, running on LPG it’s efficient and clean energy consumption is in line with our commitment to sustainability.
Finally, and very importantly, the freedom to rock up and brew delicious coffee wherever you are.
I love my new Bosco. It’s not the only lever espresso machine and it’s not the only gas powered machine. But I tried it once, then once more and was prepared to wait several months whilst Mr Bosco himself built it in his workshop in Naples.
Nine months later and the romance blossoms!
