The World's Coolest Espresso Machines
If you're cruising along the tree-lined Route 246 in Buellton, California, heading toward the quaint, Danish-inspired town of Solvang, you might miss the unassuming storefront of Salvatore Espresso Systems. Inside, the white-haired Salvatore Cisaria, his eyes glinting behind wire-rim spectacles, welds custom machines into fanciful designs and dresses them in hammered copper, stainless steel, and polished brass and gold.
With clients from all over the world and a business that thrives primarily online (his wife, Wendy Stephen, manages sales and technical support), the 62-year-old Salvatore, who came to California from Italy in 1984, doesn't need to lure customers into his shop with flavored coffee drinks. But if you do step through the door and onto the burnished-copper floor he crafted himself, you'll find a cozy showroom crammed with whimsical machines (one shaped like a wine barrel, another a tribute to Ferrari race cars) and a workshop outfitted with tools he has modified to build whatever he (or a client) imagines.
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Salvatore will gladly tell you all about it—and he'll pull you an espresso with the same deft precision he learned back in Italy at his uncle's cafe. Until then, he offers us a few insights to tide you over:
"I grew up in a coffee shop in a little town called Ostuni, in South Italy. It's still there—Caffe Trieste—in the main square. Three generations. My cousin took it over."
"The first time I went there, I was about four or five years old, on a Sunday, these two guys were working on this big, huge lever machine. It was beautiful copper. Oh my god. I never can forget that picture."
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"I quit school at about 13. I did a lot of plumbing and also metal and electric work. I went in the army at 18 for a year and a half (you have to, otherwise you end up in jail). Later, I worked in a high-tech machine shop in Florence. We made bijouterie, little buckles and accessories for handbags and shoes."
"The Giro d'Italia went through Florence two years ago. Did you see it? Oh my god. It was beautiful."
"Everyone wants to come to California. They call it the Golden State, right? California! When I first came here, there were only a few espresso machines."
"I started out selling and repairing machines. One day my manager asked me, 'Can you install this machine at this guy's house?' I didn't know what it was, the Motley Crüe. Nikki Sixx—he was a cool guy."
"I met Wendy in 1990. She came to buy an espresso machine from me."
"In 1993, I decided to build my own because there was not a really good espresso machine for the home. It was all crap, all plastic stuff. There was one really good machine the size for home. It was made in Switzerland."
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"I did all my homework. I did my drawings. I gave it a little bit bigger capacity than the machine made in Switzerland, and made it a little more automated inside."
"I want to make something that nobody makes. Because I like it. Because it's cool. There are so many machines on the market, but nothing like these. Every one has a signature. Every one has a serial number and is personalized with the customer's name and the date it was made."
"All the metal work gets done in the back. Some components we import from Italy. You can't reproduce parts that were designed in Italy in the 1960s. I make the grinders and the brass and aluminum tampers. We order the brass in a rod, two to four feet long. It's expensive stuff. Then it gets on the bandsaw. And it gets all sliced. This is the boiler, which we also cut here. You have to heat the copper and the brass to a very high temperature."
"Remember years ago when they said coffee was bad for you? And then they changed their minds. One of the doctors who worked on a medical journal told us that people don't understand that coffee has more antioxidants than broccoli does."
"In Italy, in the afternoon, if people have a headache, they drink an espresso and they twist a lemon peel in. Ten minutes later, bingo! No headache. That's what I saw in the coffee shops when I was young."
"Espresso, it gives that little energy. I have basically three a day. Three doubles. One in the morning, but in the afternoon, I've been drinking decaf. I've reached that age. You go to Florence and you see these beautiful coffee shops. It's people just sitting around, they talk, they meet people. Even if you go back to 1600 or 1700, people designed percolator machines. Because coffee was a way to socialize, to see people. It's always been like that."
"Bicyclists, they like high quality. Instead of drinking a cup of American coffee, they'll have an espresso. They want to drink a product by quality not by quantity."
Salvatore's Guide to the Perfect Espresso
1: Start With Fresh Beans
You want freshly roasted, high-quality beans. They should be light brown and dry in appearance. Oily or dark-colored beans are overroasted, which makes for bitter espresso, or they're too old. The oil should stay in the bean until it is released during brewing.
2: Prepare Your Cup
Serve espresso in a three-ounce ceramic cup with thick walls that retain heat. The small size will concentrate the flavor and aromas. Run the cup under hot water or set it on top of your machine to warm.
3: Prime the Machine
Flush water through the machine before pulling your shot. That way, you'll ensure that the interior mechanisms are uniformly heated and ready to go.
4: Find Your Grind
Look for a burr grinder with multiple settings, and grind beans just before you pull your shot. The correct setting varies for each espresso machine. It can also change with the weather and the quality of your beans. If the water flows through the coffee too quickly, pick a finer grind setting. Too slow? Grind your beans more coarsely.
5: Tamp Firmly
Apply firm enough pressure when you tamp to slow the water passage through the coffee. If it flows too quickly, your espresso will be thin and flavorless. When you press the grounds too hard, the water moves through too slowly and your coffee will be overbrewed and bitter. With practice, you will learn to feel exactly the right tamp.
6: Check the Color
A good shot should have a chocolate color and syrupy texture as it brews. When you see the golden crema on top, you'll know you've pulled the perfect espresso.
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