Pulling Espresso by Hand Is More Fun Than Pushing a Button

Coffee is the original biohack and the country’s most popular productivity tool. As we adjust to Daylight Saving Time, caffeine addicts CABLE The reviews team writes about our favorite coffee brewing routines and appliances. Today, contributor Brad Bourque pays homage to his manual espresso machine. Look for other Java.Base stories on others CABLE writers’ favorite brewing methods.

For me, coffee is as much a nerdy obsession as it is a practical necessity. I don’t like high maintenance and prefer simplicity, but I also need my coffee to be bold and interesting. For years I used a kettle and Aeropress, easy to clean and stored in a crowded cupboard. My roommates at the time really enjoyed it. But when I got my own place, I wanted something more substantial, while still remaining very simple. The Flair Signature, a manual espresso machine, seemed like an obvious choice. It still sits proudly on my counter in all its stainless steel glory, taking up a permanent place next to my sink.

Where larger electric espresso machines generate the pressure and heat needed for espresso inside their massive housings, the Flair takes a different approach. A large lever sits on top of a small stack of brewing equipment, and you use this lever to create the pressure bars needed to make espresso. There is one chamber for your land and another at the top for hot water. Fill them in the correct order, lower the handle, guided by the convenient pressure gauge, and watch with pleasure as the thick, cream-covered espresso pours out from the bottom.

There are other crucial pieces to this puzzle, and I fully committed by opting for a simple gooseneck kettle and manual burr grinder, chosen for their simplicity and consistency. Coffee lovers should instantly recognize Fellow’s Stagg EKG kettle, and yes, mine is draped in green and yellow reminiscent of my favorite football team, thanks for noticing. The 1ZPresso JX-Pro S isn’t particularly fancy, but it’s easy to clean and consistent, and it came highly recommended by Reddit, although I admit I was tempted by the Comandante C40, a manual grinder that costs more than the rest of my setup combined.

Fortunately, the entire workflow is nearly silent, a blessing for slow and/or hungover Sunday mornings. I can throw some Steely Dan on the record player, turn on the kettle and start spinning the hand grinder while I take care of my other morning tasks. Although it seems simple, it is a process that has a surprising number of variables to change, and I personally experience them every time I shoot. Each minor adjustment in grind or water temperature creates a cascading set of changes in both the process and the end result. It’s a daily quest for unattainable perfection that I know well after using the Aeropress for so long, and I find it deeply satisfying when I feel like I’ve achieved it. Knowing that I was entirely responsible for that great first sip gives me a bigger boost in the morning than any amount of caffeine.