A love of special coffee unites countries around the world. The most popular way of making coffee in Europe is espresso. Classically, hot steam is forced through finely ground roasted coffee at high pressure, resulting in a concentrated drink with a fine crema. Around 120 years ago, the first machine for making espresso was patented in Milan. The name "espresso" comes from the "coffee locomotives" popular at the time and the analogy with steam.
Good coffee from good machines
Thomas Lüdtke from Gettorf in northern Germany knows only too well that coffee can have completely different nuances of taste and, above all, that preparing it is an art form. Over the decades, he has acquired an extensive knowledge of coffee varieties, roasting methods, and bean storage and has become familiar with hundreds of different espresso machines, from small fully automatic machines to large industrial machines. He shares his insights with his customers in a cosy shop in the pedestrian zone, where true coffee connoisseurs don’t just get roasted beans and accessories, but a complete all-round service.
Mechanical works of art
Before Lüdtke can show us just how convincing his freshly brewed espresso is, however, there is a great deal of work to be done in the adjacent, bright workshop: The large dual boiler machine from an ice cream parlour undergoes a full basic cleaning and maintenance. Large, high-quality espresso machines have a totally different design to inexpensive fully automatic machines for domestic use. They are small works of art made of about 70 % mechanics, the rest is tangled cables, electronics, and chrome. Lüdtke has to decalcify the boiler, replace all the valves and screw connections, disassemble the grinder, and thoroughly clean all the assemblies.
Grip without damaging
He almost exclusively uses special KNIPEX pliers for working on the expensive equipment. Because a lot of the machine’s screws are made of brass and are also usually in areas that are visible, they cannot get damaged or scratched. He announces his favourite saying "straight jaws – without flaws" to the room with a grin and holds up his KNIPEX pliers wrench. Pliers in hand, he sets about dismantling the portafilter deep inside the cubic metre-sized machine. He uses "chrome pliers" for this, there are no other tools.
The right pliers for every step
With trained hands, he grabs the right parts deep inside the machine. He counters screw fittings, loosens union nuts and fits them with new rubber seals, removes valve inserts and coats them with Teflon grease. The shafts of the brewing unit have screwed cams. He pulls the shaft rings out of the mechanisms with Circlip Pliers, aligns the lugs on the housing correctly with flat-nose pliers, and reassembles the finished parts with small needle-nose pliers. Every move is perfect, it’s pretty impressive. Just yesterday he installed a new control with a static relay and a new wiring harness in the device. The last cable connections are now being finished with a pair of crimping pliers before he reassembles everything later this afternoon.
Perfect pleasure
The smell of fresh coffee wafts through the front of the shop, one of his machines hisses pleasantly - and the man that was a resourceful mechanic mere moments ago is now a barista champion. Not without an ironic grin, Lüdtke conjures up a little bear face in the crema of our espresso. Another thing he can do! And in his private life, he devotes himself to another, somewhat more precision-mechanical hobby. But that is another story that we've told already - you can find it here. You only get this level of self-confidence from someone who can really rely on his skills and tools. Perfetto!
