Espresso

I have been hoplessly addicted to caffeine for the past fifteen years, so, one of the first things I will do on any given morning is make myself a coffee. Although almost any kind of coffee will do at a stretch, I prefer espresso, and specifically Lavazza’s Qualità Rossa blend. Other coffees may be smoother and more refined, but I have found nothing to match Qualità Rossa’s ability to jump-start my drowsy, stimulant-starved brain into something resembling wakefulness.

For years I relied on Bialetti’s marvellous stove-top contraptions, in particular their Brikka model, to make my caffè normale, until, a couple of years ago, my wife insisted we should splash out on a Gaggia Classic Coffee machine. I’m glad she did, as it’s turned out to be an easier and more consistent way of getting that crucial first cup of the day just right.

While the Gaggia machine is reassuringly heavy-duty, its design necessarily owes more to utility than elegance. Not so the devices pictured above and below, drawn from Enrico Maltoni’s collection of antique Italian coffee-machinery, which are as much sculptures in shiny metal as they are mechanisms for dispensing coffee…