Life, in Particular

Christmas gift ideas

By Kevin Steel ⋅ November 25, 2007 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment

As we head into the Christmas shopping season, I thought it would be reasonable for me to make a couple of gift suggestions. This is for the coffee lover in your life; I mean the real coffee lover, not the Starbucks go-er who takes delight in that chain’s candy in a paper cup or mugs of warm milk with a teensy bit of espresso in them (and why these places can’t make a decent latte without the foam, you dolts, is beyond me). If you like your coffee strong and like to drink it at home, this is the setup.

Pictured here is my coffee making equipment. The grinder is a Braun. It is over 22 years old and still runs perfectly, even with daily use. I acquired it when I opened a coffee store, The Daily Grind, in the Peter Pond Mall in Fort McMurray in 1984. (I was 22.) The current model, the Braun CaféSelect KMM 30, looks similar and my guess is it will last as long. Mind you, I don’t use the finest grind. I set set it at about the middle. With a good full city roast” there’s lots of flavour.

The coffeemaker is a “6-cup” stove-top espresso maker from Vev Vigano. I bought in Montreal in 1990, so that would make it 17-years-old. I’ve used it at least twice a day since then. When I’ve been able, I’ve carried with me as I’ve traveled. Besides being placed on an electric stove element, it’s been used on wood stoves, on Coleman stoves, gas stoves, and on campfires, with remarkably little damage. And it always produces the same cup of coffee. Well, not exactly the same–really depends on the coffee you put in it, but it’s always strong. It’s called a “six cup,” but I get one big mug out of it, or two smaller cups. Vev Vigano makes a whole line of these makers, but I recommend this basic model because it isn’t too fancy and the owner won’t mind banging it around. Everyone I’ve bought this for loves it.

The Vev Vigano is stainless steel. Other manufacturers make similar models out of aluminum, but I don’t like those. Anyway, this sucker is tough. This morning mine was stuck in the dishwasher–loaded last night–and in my caffeine deprived state I didn’t realize what was going on. So I gave the dishwasher’s bottom rack a strong yank, which not only bent the lid of the coffeemaker out of position slightly, but also knocked off that top black piece attached to the lid. After fishing the piece out of the bottom of the dishwasher, I grabbed a hammer and pounded it back on the lid. Not a scratch. (My amazement at the success of this early morning brute force repair is what prompted me to post).

For those of you unfamiliar with this type of coffeemaker, you should know there are basically three parts to this thing–a top, a bottom and an insert which goes in the bottom part that holds the coffee. It works like a coffee percolator; the difference is, in the stove-top espresso maker the water only goes through the coffee once, whereas in a percolating coffeemaker the water circulates up and over, through the grinds continually which gives off that wonderful aroma, but makes the coffee taste very bitter.

The stove-top espresso maker’s top and bottom unscrew in the middle. The top part has a gasket or sealer ring. This wears out over time–mine usually last a couple of years–and you can probably purchase replacements at any store that sells the makers, or at any Italian supermarket. If you are giving it as a gift, grab a few extra rings and throw them into the package with maybe a note where they can get more, though they won’t need to know that for a few years.

Actually, I recall this maker comes with a fourth part, a piece that goes in the insert so you can use less coffee if that’s to your taste. I lost the part years ago and don’t miss it. My sister uses hers, but then she goes for the espresso roast with a fine grind, and so uses less coffee.

So there’s a couple of durable Christmas gift ideas, tested by time. I won’t be making too many of these types of recommendations because the only other things in my kitchen that have lasted this long are the cast iron frying pans. You usually don’t buy those in boxes, so they’re a devil to wrap.