(Thanks to CoffeeGeek for that photo since mine are all shotty iPhone pics.)

I am a coffee freak. I wake up and I need my coffee, I want my coffee, I just REALLY like the routine of having coffee. When I was in high school (and into college) I actually worked at a Starbucks slinging drinks. This worked out for me because it was a paycheck with unlimited access to industrial grade espresso machines.

Automated espresso machines.

Eric is also obsessed with coffee, but in a completely different way. He needs/wants/likes the routine of coffee — but is also completely obsessed with the ART of making espresso.

He has a manual espresso machine. Which is maddening. You have to turn it on, wait 30 minutes for everything to heat, wait for some light to come one, time out from the time the light comes on to to something else, pull the shot for 23 seconds only …. you get the idea.

This is espresso making, but complete with a kitchen timer and a healthy dose of anxiety.

I finally watched, and rewatched, and took notes, and rewatched.

Then, armed with a scoop of my favorite beans from Blue Bottle (which I introduced Eric to about 10 months ago and we haven’t looked back), I tackled the Rancilio.

And man, was that delicious.

This is the machine Eric & I are currently using: Rancilio Silver

It’s kind of a beast to use (obviously), but we love coffee. So sometime in the next year, we’re hoping to invest in one of these, much easier to use machines:

Livia 90 Automatic Espresso Machine HML90A

Expobar Brewtus III-V with vibration pump

It sounds absurd to look at those and see a cost savings. But if we bought one of those machines, based on the amount of Americanos we drink, even the most expensive machine would pay for itself in about 4 months (compared to if we did all store bought drinks, all the time). Now THAT is ridiculous (I KNOW. I told you – we like our coffee).

So instead, we buy good beans and make it at home. Hopefully, in the future, in a machine that doesn’t take FOREVER and that I don’t make him make them in 99% of the time.

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I made a list of 30 Things I Want to Do Before I Turn 30. Feel free to keep up with my progress (as I check things off my list) here.