This post is slightly off topic, except that coffee can be an integral part of your lifestyle and pursuit of excellence in photography. Many an evening, I have a fresh cup of coffee just to the right of my MacBook Pro as I peruse images in PhotoShop or prepare my files for printing. For me coffee is part of my workflow. I can sit back and compare different adjustments I've made to an image, while sipping a great cup of java. It slows the process down and gives me a chance to really consider what I want to do with a given image.
Coffee for me is also a craft or interest that I'm just as passionate about as my photography, growing heirloom tomatoes and collecting/storing fine wines from around the world. Therefore, the equipment I use for making great coffee and espresso is somewhat analogous to the gear I've used over my career for making my photographs. In general, the coffee gear I've come to enjoy the most over the years are simple, straight forward products that perform their chosen task very well with no additional bells and whistles.
So with this in mind, and thinking that there must be other Pentaxians that share a similar passion for coffee and espresso, here are my "2010 Glorious Bean Awards" for various coffee related products. As I frequent several coffee forums as much as I do the photo forums, I'm sure my choices might elicit some debate, but I guess that's the point of my post...to mix up the dialogue here for a change. And, to remind folks that just like coffee, photography is supposed to be an enjoyable, enriching part of your life.
Best Coffee Machine:
Technivorm KBT 741. These electric coffee brewers are hand made in the Netherlands and are good enough to be certified by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA). They are the only machines I have found that brew at the right temperature (205 degrees) every time.
Best Grinder for Espresso:
Rancilio Rocky grinder. The Rocky is a top-grade, consumer mill made in Italy. It has the best quality burrs and a straight-forward adjustment to dial in the precise grind for espresso, regular-drip or other brewing methods. You can get it as an all-around mill, with a convenient front-mounted switch, or as a dedicated espresso mill, dressed up with a doser and coffee handle holder.
Best Grinder for Coffee:
Baratza Virtuoso. With its 480-watt gear-reduction motor and anti-static device, the Baratza Virtuoso’s high-end design proves its power and versatility. The Virtuoso features 40mm commercial-grade conical burrs that can be adjusted to 40 different settings.
Best Espresso Machine:
Espresso machines fall into three basic categories: Super Automatic, Semi Automatic and Manual. Knowing which one's right for you is more complicated and emotion provoking than selecting an SLR or deciding which FA Limited 31mm, 43mm, or 77mm to add to your camera bag.
Therefore, saying unequivocally what is the best espresso machine is hard to do. However, if you're serious about your espresso, want to have control over your shots and don't want to break the bank, the Rancilio Silvia (Version 3) is a machine with a reputation that speaks for itself. The Silvia is one of the most highly recognized semi-automatic machines in the business.
Best All Around Coffee:
Major Dickason's Blend
Peet's Coffee & Tea's most famous blend. Combines the best coffees from the world's premier coffee-growing regions. Very full-bodied, complex, rich, and smooth. A dark roast blend that's consistently good and readily available.
If you're a coffee aficionado, I'd love to hear feedback, your favorite products or your coffee experiences. And if you couldn't care less about coffee, here's a little data on the above photo. Shot with FA31mm and K-x in RAW at ISO 400, AV mode with aperture at f/8.0, exposure of 0.6 second, image de-saturated in Adobe Camera Raw. You can double click on the image thumbnail to see a larger file.
