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A couple months back, I discovered a tantalizing new product. Called the Handpresso, it is a highly portable, manual espresso maker that uses the pressure generated by a hand pump to create shot after shot of perfect espresso. I had to take one for a test drive.
I've now had the Handpresso in my possession for about a month, and it has quickly become one of my favorite unnecessary kitchen tools. I say unnecessary because I really didn't need it, but now that I have it, I can't imagine ever giving it up. It makes producing a shot of espresso as easy as boiling a kettle of water and pumping up the chamber with air (it takes about 55 to 70 pumps, depending your speed and energy level). The coffee pods produce a good tasting shot (I realize that these pre-ground packs make coffee purists cringe, but they actually do the job nicely).
The only drawback I see with this tool/appliance is that it makes it hard to produce a succession of shots. It is at its best when you only need a single shot. Otherwise, the pumping gets old quickly and when the machine is hot, it's a little tricky to remove the old pod and replace it with a fresh one without burning yourself.
I see this as a great gift for the espresso lover, especially those folks who do a lot of camping or require regular hits of caffeine.
Lately, I've had this obsession with cutting boards, whether it's a giant butcher-type block, those colorful silicone mats that are meant to keep food separated for safety reasons, or the "green" cutting boards made of sustainable bamboo.
