bread coffee chocolate yoga

. . . all in bklyn

Sunday, July 16, 2006

knock knock

ooh ooh ooh and one of the many wonderful espresso toys from the espressoparts care package was a lovely, large knockbox! hooray!

you know, this is one of those little things i just didn't have, really. i've spent years rushing my still-dripping portafilters over to the trash and knocking them out against the edge of the can.

while it seems as if this would be an expedient solution, it actually has many drawbacks:

espresso dripping from the spouts stains your wood floors unless you clean it up immediately, which means your just-pulled shot sits around longer than it should
to keep said espresso spouts from dripping on said floor, you place the other hand beneath them as you run across the room to the trash
dripping espresso is hot, burning the palm of said hand
knocking against the rim of the trash can somehow results in grounds and espresso drips flying out of the trash and sliding down the side of the can
said trash can is white, meaning it is now covered in messy, sticky coffee gunk and said gunk can't be hidden
unhide-able gunk requires you to clean off the side of the trash can immediately, which means your just-pulled shot sits around longer than it should and you have a burned palm
banging around on the trash can makes a large noise, frightening cat and drawing husband's attention
said husband comes into kitchen during this bit o' chaos and for the 1,000th time remarks that home espresso is too messy
said husband then nostalgically sighs for the wonderful, mess-free, cheap cappuccini of the tazza d'oro and wonders aloud why no coffee is never really quite as perfect as that in rome
with result that you really wish you had a knockbox

you see, a little thing like a knockbox -- especially a knockbox with a so-called "quiet base" -- can be more than just a convenience. . .it can actually be a saver of sanity and preventer of humiliation. . .

my pals at espressoparts tell me that the rubber on the center bar might over time become loose. one suggestion was to replace it with a part easily acquired at most hardware stores.

well, forewarned is forearmed. i guess i'll see if i have that problem, but i don't think i'm going to do so much knocking that this will ever be an issue, personally.

bread coffee chocolate yoga

. . . all in bklyn

Sunday, July 16, 2006

knock knock

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