Knock boxes

Freestanding or built-in is the first question, and the answer depends on your worktop. A freestanding model sits next to the machine and you carry it to the sink when it is full; that works at home and on a small bar where you do not want to or cannot drill. The 16.5 cm knock tub is the most compact of the four and fits on a narrow worktop as well.

A built-in model or a knock drawer disappears into the worktop, which keeps the top flat so you can simply wipe across it. That is the choice for a fixed coffee station where the position of the machine no longer changes. The brushed stainless steel knock drawer slides open and shut, which is handy if you would rather not have the grounds in sight.

Knock the portafilter against the rubber bar with its rim, not with the bottom and not with the side of the basket. One firm tap is enough; keep tapping away and the rim will wear all the same. Hold the portafilter slightly at an angle while you do it, so the puck falls out in one piece instead of scattering.

Empty the box before it is full, because a pile of wet pucks compresses and starts to stick to the bottom. With a built-in model you lift the box out; with the drawer you slide it forward. Coffee grounds do not belong in the sink, because they clump together in the drain.

Stainless steel and plastic are the usual materials here, with a rubber bar as the wearing part. Rubber hardens over time through the combination of heat and coffee oils, and a hard bar no longer absorbs the impact. Replace the bar as soon as it stops giving when you press on it.

Rinse the box out daily with warm water and a neutral cleaner. Coffee oil settles as a brown film that starts to smell rancid, and that smell carries into the next puck.

The rest of the kit around the espresso machine is with the barista accessories, among them the tampers you press the coffee with and the milk jugs you froth the milk in. For the glassware the espresso finally ends up in there are the coffee glasses and the cappuccino glasses. If the coffee then heads towards the bar, have a look at the espresso martini or the carajillo.