Although we're not yet open, and we're a hybrid shop (retail/cafe) rather than straight-up cafe, we know coffee sales will account for a significant portion of our revenues. Being new to the business of specialty coffee we've put a lot of time and research into making sure we choose the right location, equipment and beans for the coffee drinkers in our community. Initially we decided on a lightly-used 2 group Nuova Simonelli Appia which we installed in our home kitchen so we can familiarize ourselves with it before we open our doors. After a month of trials we feel pretty confident about using this machine in a moderately busy cafe environment such as ours. And then...out of the blue, SHE showed up on our doorstep: an Elektra Belle Epoque.

The retro aesthetic of this machine is a perfect complement to the vintage general-store design of our shop, but it's cost and scarcity excluded it from our selection process. However this used model was in great shape and reasonably priced, so after the local espresso tech tore it down and gave it the thumbs up, it seemed like destiny so we caved and are now familiarizing ourselves with it in our test kitchen. Pulling shots on it feels more like performing with an instrument rather than working a machine - which of course is a large part of it's attraction. The trade-off is ergonomics: it's easy to see why espresso machines evolved into a horizontal form factor, but we're learning to deal with the eccentricities.