THE PERFECT BREW

We all do it. Slide out of bed and drag ourselves into the kitchen to make ourselves a cup of coffee. It’s that or tap an app and pick it up on the way to work.

Might we suggest you put some style behind the coffee with coffee/espresso makers that adorn your home with all-day aesthetics? For the purist, you’ll probably want a fresh French press cup. The art of a press is a fairly easy process combining freshly ground beans and hot water in the simple process of ‘pressing’ the beans in a strainer and will satisfy you from the beginning of the process to the first sip. Rather crudely engineered around 1850, the ‘press’ comes in many languages. Known as a cafetière, cafetière à piston, caffettiera a stantuffo, press pot, coffee press, or coffee plunger, it is in its simplest form, a coffee brewing device.

Originally made by using cheesecloth to separate and hold away the ground beans, it would later incorporate more of a filter ring to help seal the press inside the cylinder as it is carefully and slowly plunged into the water. But in the late 1920s, two Milanese designers took to the task of adding a spring around the filter which gave the press more strength thus doubling the filter process to help keep fine grounds out of the finished liquid. Immersing the coarsely ground beans in the water of at least 200°F and allowing them to brew for at least 4 min. will infuse the hot liquid with the rich smooth darkness of the coffee. It is clearly a manual process but devotees swear by it to fully connect with the pleasure that follows…that first sip.

With the rise of national chains and as coffee became more of a morning staple, coffee drinkers started to get introduced to auto or semi-automatic espresso machines for their homes. Shiny stainless machines worthy of the kitchen counter mimic everything a paid barista does daily but are now at your fingertips 24/7. The process is

a bit more time-consuming and (for lattes and cappuccinos) often requires the maker to steam or froth the milk and then mix it into the desired espresso shots ‘pulled’ from the brewer. Like the French press, the experience of crafting one’s own beverage is part of the process and (hopefully) adds to the taste of the finished product.

Starting with one of the most accessible options, Breville is the market behemoth and offers a bevy of styles and features of essentially the same machine, ending with the same result. These tabletop machines look impressive on your counter and provide you with premium results. Their newest model, the Oracle Jet, is a semi-automatic espresso machine that combines user-friendly features with high-quality results. It features automatic grinding, dosing, and tamping, along with a responsive touchscreen display. Priced at $2,000, it’s an investment for those seeking convenience and customization in their daily coffee routine.

But why stop there?

Designed for precision, performance, and aesthetics, the upper tier in this product space features hand-crafted materials, advanced brewing technologies, customizable settings, and even AI, allowing users to create better than café-quality espresso at home. If you can afford it, kindly pick your pleasure: