Here is our founder Richard (and Pitanga) in a coffee plantation in the State of São Paulo, near the border with Minas Gerais, in the heart of Brazilian coffee country. Pitanga is his mother-in-law's dog, and she—like her owner and Richard's wife—grew up not too far from where the photo was taken, in a community very proud of its Italian roots.
Rewind a few years to when Richard was trying to impress his now-wife and his trusty Aeropress wasn't cutting it! (It turns out that Brazilian-Italians are quite picky when it comes to coffee...) So began his mission to make the perfect espresso.
He traded his Aeropress for an entry-level espresso machine and later to his beloved Gaggia Classic, and set about learning how to be a home barista.
Today, Richard can be found tinkering with his Gaggia at home in London, or out with his wife sampling espresso in the cafés of the city and beyond.
Our story
We want café quality espresso at home to be achievable for anyone, without spending thousands on a pro or "prosumer" grade espresso machine and grinder. Sure, we can aim to upgrade one day, but what can we do in the to improve our shots in the meantime? We need to get the best espresso we can from the equipment we have.
It was exactly this thought process that led us to research the work done in the coffee community on using filter papers to make espresso. Back then, they were cutting their own from chemex or drip filters, and that's how we started too.
Take it from us, it's pretty tedious job, and we grew frustrated with the (lack of) options to buy. We didn't feel comfortable with filter paper that was being transported half way around the world—sometimes more than once—or that couldn't be guaranteed to:
- fit perfectly in our filter basket, above and below the puck
- come from sustainable forests
- come from non-polluting, low carbon manufacturing processes
- be manufactured and packaged in food-safe environments
- be of the right quality to improve the taste, not add its own taste to the coffee
- biodegrade after use
So, we set out to make our own right here in the UK, and Esspero was born!