• AeroPress Manual Piston Coffee by Aerobie
• La Peppina Spring Lever Espresso Machine by FE-AR
• Silvia Automatic Espresso Machine by Rancilio
• Rocky Coffee Grinder by Rancilio

AeroPress by Aerobie

The AeroPress is an interesting gadget and was my first foray into the realm of "better" coffee and a gateway into straight up coffee addiction.

Using an AeroPress pretty much couldn't be easier, although a "workflow" will naturaully develop over time.

My only tip on AeroPress for the uninitiated is to make sure to grip the base of the chamber when pressing out the puck after removing the filter, otherwise you can pinch your hand skin when knocking out the puck.

La Peppina by FE-AR

I purchased my Peppina from eBay after passing up on the opportunity to own Frank Zappa's personal machine via the Kickstarter campaign run by Alex Winter.

My machine was original purchased from ABC Importers out of Sun Valley, CA in 1976 and was shipped to Englewood, CO.

I made contact with Deluxe Coffee & Pasta in Sun Valley, where the old stock from ABC Importers wound up, I spoke with Sergio who is the resident expert on these machines who has most spare parts available for purchase including kettles, seals, heating elements, portafilters, handles, pistons and more. The only items they do not have are group heads.

Silvia by Rancilio

We found our Silvia on Craigslist for an impossible to pass up $150. It was an original model from '98 that received a new boiler at some point down the line. Even with a v2 boiler this thing obviously received an olympic pools volume of tap water given the amount of scale inside.

Even the frame had rust that will need addressing.

We arranged for replacement boiler gasket, updated portafilter gasket, new style steam knob, various other seals to refresh the unit.

It's currently in parts awaiting a master plan for PID temp and pressure control via a micro-controller, as well as revised wiring harness using terminal blocks.