Adam and Anna

I have bought a decent 'home barista' coffee machine to take out to Switzerland. For a few years I have been tempted to buy one there, but not at Swiss prices, so I decided to buy one in the UK and take it out with us when we go there in a couple of weeks time. So today I unboxed it and set it up so that when I take it to Switzerland it is 'up and running' so to speak. I do like a decent cappuccino/flat white, it's my one indulgence, as not drinking wine or spirits I like to treat myself with good coffee - life is too short to drink bad coffee! This is a bean to cup machine so this morning I had to set it up and test the various bean grind sizes to get the correct extraction - once it is set up it is very easy to use, all at the touch of a button on the screen. Gavin was my guinea pig tasting the various espressos, either too bitter, or too watery until it was just right! The machine guides you by saying 'it seems too watery, reduce the grind size' - all assessed by the weight of the output of the espresso. I learnt today that for a perfect espresso you should use 18g of beans which produces a 36g espresso. I managed to steam the oat milk too but that needs much more practice, it could be silkier. My cappuccino tasted delicious, so much so that I am tempted to keep this machine here to use instead of our built in coffee machine which is not as sophisticated as this one. I can see myself travelling back and forth to Switzerland with my precious coffee machine on the back seat of the car, haha!

It was cloudy this morning but that soon lifted to sunshine and it is another hot day. Tomorrow is going to be a scorcher, they think one of the hottest days on record at Glastonbury. It's the effect of the so called heat dome - why do they have to come up with these new names all the time? 

Adam arrived from San Diego today, he got the train from Heathrow into London where he met Anna who had come in from Cambridge, to then get the train home to us, but when I went to the station to fetch them they were not there. In his sleep deprived/jet lag state he got on the wrong train and ended up nowhere near home! Anyway he finally got here and it was lovely to see him and Anna again.

We are having a BBQ at home tonight, it is the perfect evening to eat outdoors. Luke has just arrived back from Paris and will also be joining us.