A Handpresso for Father’s Day

For the April 2010 episode of On Est Ensemble where we had the former professional soccer player Nick de Santis as the star guest, I introduced a portable espresso machine.

I selected  the outdoor set by Handpresso because it contains the very essence of the nomadic espresso: the portable espresso machine called Handpresso Wild working with E.S.E. pods, 4 unbreakable cups, a 300 ml thermos-flask in stainless steel to have hot water always close to hand, and 2 small napkins. All that store neatly inside a small carrying case. Imagine the bright smile on the face of your dad if you show up with this kit on Father’s Day.

A Funny Moment of Web TV

But when you are recording live, things do not always as good as planned. It happened to me on my last design segment for On Est Ensemble.

The researcher for On Est Ensemble tried the Handpresso Wild before the show with success. In fact, he told me that it was easy to use. Therefore, I did not expect a miss in front of the camera. We thought that if I simply watched the tutorial video and had a look at the machine before the show, I will be alright. But making a delicious espresso with a machine that you never used before while recording a live Web TV show is not as easy as it seems. Many factors influence the quality of the coffee you produce with a manual machine. But it is also what allows the quality of a barista to shine.

My demonstration assured me of one thing. I recommend to give the Handpresso Wild only to an active person who does not mind a little exercise. To pump the machine to 16 bar requires more stamina than I imagined. Just watch the video of my design segment. There is no need to understand French to see what I mean. If you speak French, I am sure that you will laugh.

What is the right technique?

When it is done right, the coffee drops more quickly than on my design segment. This is the principle behind the espresso. Since the show, I learned what were my mistakes in handling the Handpresso Wild. So I suggest that you:

• Go a little bit over the 16 bar mark. This way, you will make sure that you have enough pressure when you hit the press button
• Use very hot water. Ours was not hot enough
• Watch the .How to Use the Handpresso Video

If your coffee is dropping slowly like mine, you did something wrong. Start again. Like anything else in life, practice makes better. You can buy the Handpresso Wild machine separately. A portable espresso machine is very appealing if you live in a small space or do not wish to allocate space on your counter for the big machine.

SOURCING:
+  Handpresso Wild ESE Pods or Dome (Ground Coffee) Version $145 CAD
+ Handpresso Outdoor Set $245 CAD – link to place an order online in Canada
+ In the States: Handpresso Wild Outdoor Picnic Set on sale at $179 USD, reg. $219  at Amazon.com
+ See the entire show at On Est Ensemble