An Evening to Remember

Yesterday evening while I was at the Bald Barista I was chatting to the owner, Buzz, and he was telling me that they were getting a new espresso machine on Thursday. After talking through what the main features of the machine would be Buzz then invited me back to watch them install and set it up!

So this evening I was back again. (Big thanks to my wife for releasing me from kids bedtime duty!) There on the counter, waiting to be plumbed in, wired up, and brewing was Buzz's new pride and joy - a Faema Stylema.

For about the next three hours Buzz, his staff, a couple of guys from Milano Coffee Systems and me talked coffee, watched numerous shots of espresso being pulled and tasted a few too. Buzz was obviously thrilled with the new addition and anyone who came into the cafe the rest of the evening wanting coffee got it for free. I guess, though, that he's no longer particularly excited about his water boiler as he still charged for tea. :-)

What was particularly great was that this expert barista was talking through his techniques with me - some great insights into the way he works.

But wait! The evening then got even better!! As we all sat chatting around a table Buzz turns to me and says, 'Do you want to have a go at pulling a shot?' I couldn't believe it, and to be honest I was a little bit giddy with excitement. It was brilliant!!! Monica, Buzz's other pride and joy, talked me through the process then entrusted me with this brand new piece of equipment. (I thought it turned out as a pretty good shot, IMHO).

One of these days I'll write a post about significant moments in my coffee history. This moment will definitely feature.

So thanks, Buzz, for allowing me to experience a bit of coffee culture at a new level.