I’ve been using an Aeropress to make myself good coffee at home for many years now. But well, you know, I like a challenge so I picked up a manual lever espresso machine on eBay.
My choice was a La Pavoni Europiccola — I think made in the 1990s — which has no thermostat, no pressure gauge and no pumps to help you out. Those in the know though say it makes perfect espresso. It turns out there is no shortage of how-to videos on Youtube but this is seriously geeky stuff and, one week in, I’m nowhere near to mastering it.
