<beatrice>
Beatrice.
A lever espresso machine with the temperament of a small opera. She goes down when she pleases and comes back when she is ready. We do not rush her. We pull when she lets us.
The machine
A diva with a brass lever.
On a good day she pulls like a dream, 9 bars, a slow 27 seconds, a shot you would write home about. On a bad day she is a paperweight with a light on. The status bar at the top of the site tells you which kind of day it is.
Bram is not allowed to descale her unsupervised. We do not talk about why.
Pull a shot
Tap pull. She may or may not cooperate.
Steam the milk
Milk has opinions.
It wants to be silky, not boiled. Bring it to the sweet band and stop. Past it, it goes thin and loose, and there is no getting it back.
Still cold. Keep the wand in.
When she is down, the bar runs on batch brew, and nobody complains within earshot of Della.