7gms

soy piccolo before and after shots: before shot

after shot:

The Brunswick East Project

If you haven't been here already then you owe it to yourself to go

Is it Melbourne's best coffee? No, perhaps not - it is as the name suggests a work in progress, but what these guys lack in experience they make up in dedication and enthusiasm, which seems to be missing from a lot of coffee establishments these days

Here the question seems to be about the possibility of what coffee can be, bearing in mind that coffee is and should be a constantly evolving project - rather than an attempt at laying down the law and saying: this is what coffee is!

The boys here are only too willing to open their doors and to let other budding baristi / roasters in to have a play on what can only be described as top of the range and state of art equipment

So venture in for yourself and see what it's all about - you may just be able to add to the espresso equation...

espresso coffee at the european

I cant quite recall the circumstances that lead to this cup and saucer lying side by side, on by table in the back corner of the European, but I do recall that alcohol may have been a contributing factor.  And while its true that there are 'fresher' products on the market than the coffee on offer here, there is no doubting that they make it well.

Not to everyones taste, and a bit 'ashy' on the palate - but still good coffee, better than many places are serving elsewhere

Inside Gerald's Silvia

This is why you should never trust anyone other than a trained / skilled barista with your precious espresso machine.  Gerald's housemate ran his Rancilio Silva dry and burned out the boiler and welded in heating element

So Gerald and I decided to pull it apart and get the boiler out so we could replace it ourselves - which we did - get the boiler out I mean. The replacement part is not so easy as worldwide demand for copper has meant that prices and parts are at a premium, and the boiler is on backorder.

Although, we did have a local distributor in Melbourne offer to replace the boiler for us at a cost that was almost equivalent to the purchase price of the machine - so we decided to do the job ourselves, now we're waiting on parts

All in all its been been a very worthwhile job pulling the machine apart, as I also now have an ageing Baby Gaggia, and a Eurolab all-in-one machine on my bench,waiting to be pulled apart, as I'm cannibalising the Eurolab to fix the Gaggia

Believe it or not you can actually but a Eurolab new for half the price of a replacement vibration pump for a machine

Wierd but true...

soy piccolo - a minor place

I happen to think that this is the best coffee in Melbourne at the moment: soy piccolo from A Minor Place in Albion Street, Brunswick - using Atomica Dark Espresso Blend on a Synesso Cyncra machine.  Not only great tasting coffee but total cool ambience, great service, and a fantastic total chilled vibe.  

My No 1 pick for Melbourne espresso right now: