As an amateur barista, I am proud of my machine and I am also proud of all the accessories that I use to operate it: tamper, single shot, double shot and bottomless portafilters. I love their heavy weight and how they look. I find their shinny chromed parts to beautifully contrast with their plastic black ones.
The dilemma
One of the challenges when I started using my machine was to find a good place to store all of the accessories. My wife suggested putting them in one of the kitchen drawers. To be honest, I felt bad when I started storing them in there. I organized them and try to align them, but the next time I opened the drawer they were a mess. I had to move around some things to be able to find what I was looking for. I was also worried that the parts where hitting each other every time I opened and close the drawer.
When I told about my problem to my coffee lover friends, some of them laugh and told me: “at least you have a full drawer for your coffee stuff.”
After a fruitless search online, it seemed obvious that I would have to build my own organizer to store my tools. I wanted something that would not only hold everything on its place, but that it will also serve as a frame to proudly display my tools.
Materials
I decided I would make my box out of wood. Everyone can agree that: steel and wood look good together. I wanted to give it an industrial look, something you would find in an old neighborhood brick walled loft. For the interior, I wanted a custom design that would hold each piece on its place, but that would also look elegant and help protect them. I settled for a black, soft material that will not scratch the metal. Finally, I wanted it to be personal. These are my tools, I use them every day to craft something I like. The wood will make it unique, but why stop there? I wanted to include my initials in the box (“LAG”.)
The outcome
The final result was exactly what I was looking for. An industrial looking espresso toolbox that keeps everything on its place and that is aesthetically appealing. It was a lot of work, but I think that the result speaks for itself. Here showing the layout for two portafilters
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| espresso toolbox for two portafilters |
What happened next?
We were so very happy with the end product that we created more espresso toolboxes for some of our espresso lover friends and all of them have been very grateful with it.
Believing that this will be a great addition for all the people who want to proudly store and organize their portafilters we set our mind on being able to offer this as a product available for more people. Starting today, we have them available at eBay (two portafilters or three portafilters) and also at our online store. You can find them with the setup for two or for three portafilters.
This could be a perfect gift if you have an amateur barista as spouse or friend. We can personalize it with up to three letters when you order it.
The model displayed fits espresso machines that have a 58 mm tamper or E61 group head, including the following:
- Rancilio: Silvia, Epoca S1, Epoca ST1
- Quick Mill: Vetrano, Andreja Premium, Anita, Alexia, Silvano
- Izzo: Alex, Alex II and Alex Duetto
- Rocket Espresso: R58 V2, Giotto Premium Plus, Giotto Professional, Giotto Evoluzione,
- Cellini: Premium Plus, Professional, Evoluzione, Classic
- Grimac Royal Falcon: la Valentina
- Expobar: Brewtus II, Brewtus IV, Office Lever, Office Lever Plus, Office Control
- Vibiemme: Double Domobar, Domobar Super, Domovar Junior
- ECM Germany: Technika IV, Barista,
- Bezzera: Mitica, Magica, Unica
- Isomac: Alba, Millennium, Tea
- La Nuova Era: Cuadra
- Famea: Carisma
- Pasquini: Livia G4
- Gaggia: TS
- among others...
