There is a scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s “To Catch a Thief” where Grace Kelly, and Cary Grant stop for a picnic lunch of fried chicken and beers after eluding the police in the south of France. There is a romantic nostalgia about it that has always drawn me in. Not because of the picnic thing, although if Grace Kelly had asked me to go for a drive in her metallic blue 1953 Sunbeam Alpine Mk I and stop for a picnic, I wouldn’t have said no. I’m not sure where the feeling of nostalgia comes from, maybe it’s the idea of a leisurely way to spend time your best gal, and enjoy the countryside in the South of France. Ok I’m getting lost in my thoughts here. What got me going on this tangent was an email I got this morning for the Handpresso Complete Outdoor Kit. Seeing the machine in it’s carrying case along with cups, and napkins got me to thinking about two things. First the scene in “To Catch a Thief”. Second, wouldn’t it be awesome to have an espresso while

What got me going on this tangent was an email I got this morning for the Handpresso Complete Outdoor Kit. Seeing the machine in it’s carrying case along with cups, and napkins got me to thinking about two things. First the scene in “To Catch a Thief”. Second, wouldn’t it be awesome to have an espresso while hiking in the woods? OK the second thought is a lie. I’m not going to lug this up the mountain so I can have an espresso on the trail. I’m more likely to hike up and down the mountain and stop at the coffee place in town for a cup while I rest my feet and review the photos I took. I do like this thing though, and I kind of want it even though I have no practical reason for it.

From a design perspective, this is a thing of beauty. From the themo-molded EVA case to the cups, what is there not to like about the look of this? Even the Handpresso machine is a stylish little device capable of delivering a creamy espresso with 16 bars of pressure.

Handpresso was established in Fontainebleau, 55 km south of Paris which might be the reason it made me think of “To Catch a Thief”.