Coffee Break: Cost-Conscious and Caffeinated

Life Lesson #19: Add a shot of caffeine to your coffee routine with these cool espresso products

This post breaks from the traditional Richonomics format so I can talk to you about espresso, the sweet nectar of the Gods; and some related products I recently discovered that I’m excited to share with you.

This Christmas my wife, Katie, surprised me with a gift to help me up my coffee game – a conical burr grinder.  This was aimed at replacing an inexpensive blade spice-grinder we’ve been using for the past 7 years.  Admittedly, I was aware our grinder was terrible for grinding coffee beans. But since it seemed to perform the basic job OK, I couldn’t rationalize the upgrade.

The Grinder

Katie researched coffee grinders extensively before deciding on this $139, “entry-level” Baratza Encore burr grinder.  As highlighted in my “Rolex in the Crosshairs” post, I am very difficult to purchase gifts for, and this was no exception.  Despite her thorough research, I needed to follow up with my own exhaustive analysis before feeling comfortable committing to the gift.

After overcoming my initial shock that a $139 grinder was considered entry level, I learned more about its capabilities and limitations.  It received high praise in all the ways we regularly brew coffee: drip, pour-over, AeroPress.  However, it fell short in its ability to grind for espresso.

As we don’t make espresso in our household, this should have been a moot point, which is the exact conclusion Katie arrived at.  However, learning my new grinder might not be up to the task of pulverizing beans fine enough for espresso created a twisted yearning to make espresso that never before existed.  Ironically, I wasn’t even sure I liked espresso.

Katie had no idea she was opening Pandora’s Box when she started down this path.  But you could begin to see the look of regret forming in her eyes.

This story, however, isn’t really about the grinder.  Since we didn’t have a means to make espresso, I needed to solve that “problem” before I could determine which grinder would ultimately best suit our needs.

And so the story begins…

The Espresso Machine

Our wonderful neighbor across the street makes the most delicious lattes.  They have a beautiful, sexy and expensive, Italian semi-automatic espresso machine that is the envy of the neighborhood.  The allure of fine Italian, handmade craftsmanship and a classically-styled chrome and stainless-steel case called out to me like a siren.  Stepping far out of character, I began to seriously explore making an investment in espresso that would have easily approached $2,500.  This was not the Rich behind the Richonomics blog you are all familiar with.

I became obsessed, dragging my family all over town to specialty coffee-gear retailers looking at this fancy equipment.  I fanatically pored over product reviews and blogs, and watched YouTube videos to learn as much as I could about the various features and brands.  As I narrowed my choices and honed in on target models, I scoured Craigslist, eBay, and open box and refurbished listings at various online and local retailers.

The math, however, just never penciled out.  I didn’t know if we would really pull enough shots or drink enough lattes to justify the upfront cost of one of these extravagant machines.  Moreover, I didn’t want to hassle with the maintenance; nor was I keen on the inevitable future repair expenses either.

So, I returned to my familiar and comfortable frugal roots and went back to the drawing board.  This time, however, the pendulum had swung too far in the opposite direction.

As my research intensified, I somehow stumbled across the dark web of coffee brewing.  I discovered a subculture of AeroPress users who were modifying their devices in an attempt to create enough pressure for an espresso extraction.  Some modifications involved a rudimentary, makeshift lever system; while others jerry-rigged manual fruit-and-vegetable juicers.

Could this $30 device, which I already own, be the answer to my question?

As it’s intended to be used, the AeroPress produces between 0.35 to 0.70 bars of pressure, which is equivalent to about 25 to 50 pounds of pressure.  To create espresso, however, you need 9 bars of pressure, which is equivalent to about 640 pounds of pressure based on the diameter of the AeroPress filter.  Somehow applying over 600 pounds of pressure to a polypropylene plastic cylinder filled with 200 degree water did not seem like an intelligent plan.  So I quickly abandoned the idea after a terrifying vision of my family visiting me as I recovered in the local hospital’s burn unit.

Despite the minor setback, I fortuitously found myself on the right track.  The AeroPress modifications led me to several interesting espresso-related Kickstarter campaigns, which ultimately led me to a successfully funded and launched Kickstarter product – the Flair espresso maker.  Additionally, since it launched a little over a year ago, there were plenty of user reviews, videos, and general information available to research to my heart’s content.

The Flair takes a minimalist and economical approach in its portable, manual lever-press design, with the promise of a simple and effective espresso extraction.  I was especially attracted to the removable stainless-steel brew-head, which allows you to easily pre-heat the whopping, heavy-duty, 9-ounce cylinder.  This is important so you can maintain the ideal water temperature as you pull the shot, which is critical to a proper extraction.

I was interested, but still had a couple of questions.  As I was winding down my espresso research late one evening, I emailed Flair with a question.  Within a couple of hours I had a comprehensive response from the inventor himself, Sergio Landau.  The level of support I experienced firsthand, before even becoming a customer, corroborated everything I had read. I was sold!

The Flair is offered in several packages ranging from $159 to $229.  My wife and I both preferred the look of the Signature model, which was only $30 more. I wanted the stainless-steel tamper and extra brew head; so we settled on the Flair Signature Bundle at $229.

So how does the Flair perform?  Simply put – Amazing!

It didn’t take long to master its unique workflow and start pulling incredible espresso shots with an impressive thick layer of rich and delicate crema.  The more I used the Flair, the more I enjoyed its effective simplicity and knew I made the right decision.  My neighbor, with the fancy Italian machine, was impressed with the results as well.

Something else I’ve come to appreciate is the Flair team’s commitment to new product development.  For instance, they just released a new portafilter design: the Easy-Clean Portafilter.  Of course, I had to get my hands on one.

As expected, it lives up to its “easy-clean” promise.  Additionally, it has a more aggressive grip for easier removal from the brew head, as well as a flat bottom, which allows for more stable tamping.  It’s now included with Signature models, which makes the upgrade even more compelling.

But what about the grinder?

Coincidentally, while an expensive semi-automatic machine would have necessitated a more expensive grinder costing at least double the price, the Flair is much more forgiving.  It worked superbly with my “entry-level” grinder.  Bonus – even more effective savings!  Plus, my wife’s grinder decision was finally vindicated.

Got Milk?

But what about milk-based drinks like lattes and cappuccinos?  The Flair can pull a phenomenal double shot espresso, but you’ll still need a way to heat and texture the milk.

When I started this journey, I knew I wasn’t going to be content using a battery-powered milk-frothing wand to foam milk.  I wanted to be able to duplicate the results of a steam-wand-equipped machine so I could create velvety smooth microfoam for my lattes.

For the sake of brevity, fast forward through considerable additional research to where I discovered an unusual and interesting product – the Bellman 50SS.

This 8” tall, stainless-steel pressure vessel bears some resemblance to a grenade.  In fact, my father, whose outlandish concerns I’ve previously shared about fishing-line beheadings, wasn’t shy about voicing his fear that it could explode, sending metal shrapnel through my kitchen and flesh.  Fortunately, it was designed with a pressure-relief valve to prevent such carnage.  After all, I skipped on modifying the AeroPress to avert a burn tragedy.  So the last thing I needed was my milk steamer to become an IED.

This little miracle device creates plenty of steam pressure to heat, froth, and stretch the milk.  Additionally, it has no problem summoning the power to create wonderfully textured milk for several drinks back to back.

By the way, the good folks at Prima Coffee took great care of me and I couldn’t recommend them enough.

Caffeinated

At the end of the day, we paid $413 for the total setup, including the grinder. Uncharacteristically, at one point I was prepared to spend nearly that much on an espresso-worthy grinder alone.  Now with the Flair espresso maker and Bellman steamer, we are able to create coffee drinks that rival a fancy setup costing five times more, with no ongoing maintenance or service expenses to boot.

By the way, Katie used a 10% coupon code when purchasing the grinder, a gift in and of itself.

So skip the lines at Starbucks and start easily brewing café-quality, artisan coffee drinks at home with a Flair and Bellman combo without breaking the budget.