What is the philosophy behind this project?
Londinium I will deliver the taste excellence of the Bosco
Londinium I will be a reservoir machine, that is to say, it will not need to be plumbed into the mains
Londinium I will set a new benchmark in engineering excellence for domestic espresso machines and will utilise excellent materials with best in class fit and finish
The primary objective is to bring to market a lever espresso machine that delivers consistently excellent results in the hands of a user who is relatively new to espresso, not a cantankerous beast that delivers a great shot with seemingly no rhyme nor reason. Thermal stability of the group is therefore the datum for this project. Until this is achieved Londinium I will not enter production.
As a result it is intended to appeal to a broad audience and not just appeal to espresso freaks. For this reason it will have a hot water port for americanos and instant preparation of other hot drinks such as teas and hot chocolate without having to boil a kettle separately. It will also be intended to be left on all day so it is ready to go whenever you feel like a hot drink. It will also feature an oversize element so it reaches operating temperature quickly enough for it to be used on a working day as you rush to work – too many machines are only used at the weekend as they take too long to heat up.
In conjunction with these objectives Londinium I will have a reservoir so the boiler can be filled without having the inconvenience and danger of having to switch off the machine and bleed the pressure from the boiler, as you do with an Olympia Cremina. This of course comes at a cost; as a result the machine will need to be larger, but then we need sufficient mass at the rear of the machine to act as a counter-balance to the force of the spring lever, so the need for a reservoir is kind of forced upon us anyway. Nonetheless, we will be pushing the design envelope very hard to keep the footprint of the machine as small as possible
Additionally there will be a particular design focus on ensuring the group does not cool when the machine is idle. For this reason a thermosiphon will be added and the group will be mounted as close to the boiler as we can
Finally, it will be an object of beauty, as we are well aware that more than one person is typically involved in the decision to purchase any item that sits anywhere near the kitchen. Plastics will be limited to applications where they are they most sensible solution, for example, the knobs.
It will be a timeless design and model changes will be as infrequent as possible, much in the manner of the Olympia Cremina design philosophy.
We look forward to publishing images of the prototype here as soon as it is completed. We expect to see it by the end of June.
Londinium Espresso are proud to support British manufacturing with the creation of the Londinium I spring lever espresso machine
ps – the target selling price for Londinium I is GBP1500 including VAT. we will be trying very hard to stick to this number to ensure the machine is accessible to as many people as possible, in particular those considering a prosumer pump machine.