Getting my hands dirty

Things have been a bit quiet on this here blog. A few reasons for that really… Most of my time is spent in a space that doesn’t have a phone line yet and it has been lots of very long days. I am pretty tired. However, I am also pretty happy.

In other news, on Friday I filmed a short section with Derren Brown for an upcoming tv show. I make no excuses – I am a massive fan of his stuff from his card stuff (that is amazing if you ever track down videos or see him do it) to the stuff he is more famous for. I won’t give away much – it was a memory driven piece and there was no way to fake it. I was impressed. I also felt bad as some years ago (right at the start of my career in coffee) I sold him a domestic machine, and apparently it caused him no end of trouble. I may well be sending regular free apology coffee! I am really pleased I got to do it, and he was great to chat to as were the rest of the production team.

The other reason I am happy is that the restoration of the Gothot sample roaster is going well. I hope to fired it up by the end of the week. I have become obsessed with the near magical properties of WD-40, and I am slowly developing the ninja skill of besting stuck screws. I will post up a few photos once the roaster is done. I still can’t believe how dirty is was, and how it escaped spontaneously combusting when 60 years of dirt finally caught fire!

We’ve been drinking some good espresso of late too, and I have been caught of guard by a few really excellent shots – satisfying, rich, complex – so there’s the last reason of this post to be happy.

Looking forward to Hotelympia, the UKBC and all of that soon. The barista party should also be a good night….

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