I live by the hand grinder:

http://www.home-barista.com/forum...o-essay-t4482.html

And BTW, my Export used to travel back and forth to work with me every week before someone very nice lent me a La Pavoni Pro. Most of the quality hand grinders I have will do fine with either manual or spring lever. A few will choke them to a standstill.

Tony Levin made espresso so much cooler for me... He even has a coffee corner on his personal site.

oofnik wrote:I have one question. What material did you use for padding, and how did you form fit it so well?

Don't know what Lance used, but here's an idea from another post on a related H-B thread, (they probably should be merged).

travel kit instructions

and the full thread with an additional H-B thread on the subject:

travel kit thread

coffee on the road

oofnik wrote:Hi Lance,
This is precisely what I have in mind to do. I'm glad I found your thread!
I have one question. What material did you use for padding, and how did you form fit it so well?

Thanks!

My travel case was originally made for a medical microscope. I got it from a friend that worked at a hospital repairing medical equipment. The padding is foam. It was already almost a perfect fit for my Europiccola. I just had to cut out a little extra foam to get it to fit. I also glued in some additional foam where needed.

I am glad some of you like the travel kit. I usually get funny looks and I sometimes wonder if I am being silly dragging that kit around with me. Well I got both a positive and negative reinforcement supporting taking it with me when I recently took it with me to visit my daughter in Idaho.

First the negative. On the way down my wife and I stayed at a B&B in Boise Idaho. On arrival at the B&B I inquired as to where I could set up my espresso machine. The proprietors bragged about being coffee connoisseurs and about the custom roasted gourmet coffee they serve. I took there word for it and left my machine in my room. The next morning with breakfast they proudly served there coffee. Or should I say, luke warm water stained with ground charcoal. The coffee was very weak. In this case that was a blessing as the roast was very carbonized. This could have been avoided by "using it." NEVER trust a B&B when they say that they have good coffee or comfortable mattresses. It is safer and less disappointing to just assume both are going to be bad.

Second the positive. My daughter loves coffee and usually buys an 8oz unsweetened Latte from whatever espresso stand is handy or just drinks black coffee from her Hamilton Beach drip machine---Ugh. She was quite taken with my little Gaggia Factory and totally blown away by the espresso it produced. She kept wanting me to make her another one, and another, and another, and would get disappointed when I had to tell her that the boiler is dry and has to cool down before I can refill it. She said that she did not know coffee could be that good. She is now on the path.

Taking my travel kit on past trips at other B&B's has mean that I have never had to drink a bad cup of coffee. Also, it has also been an opportunity to make the other guests happy. They are usually pleasantly surprised when I offer to make them an espresso, americano, cappuccino, or a latte. It is really a treat to see their faces when they taste it.

I think I will continue to use my travel kit along time into the future.

reviving an old thread here, fullsacks avatar made me think of it. This one is currently traveling with my wife, it has large rubber casters so it can easily be moved along hotel hallways. I also have another setup (no photos right now) with a different Pavoni and a Dienes hand grinder in a smaller aluminum suitcase. The lever does not need to be removed in that one. When my wifes comes in for service next i will probably cut some new foam for it.

doleeo wrote:haha, Tony Levin is the reason i got into coffee. I wanted to be just like him and almost got an Estro Profi.

My 2nd machine (the first a Briel)
The Estro (Starbies version) is still in my basement..got a Saeco non pressurized basket), but I think the pump is done for.
Tony's use of the Chapman Stick is amazing.

Tony's use of the Chapman Stick is amazing.

For several years at the NAMM show, the company I worked for at the time (Line 6) featured free espresso from a cart as part of our booth. Now I understand why every time I turned around, I saw Tony, because the guy we had running the cart pulled a great shot.