Doctor espresso
Russell Kerr also known as Doctor Espresso
This year is a major milestone in the coffee world as it’s 75 years since the first Gaggia machine began work in the UK and you can see this majestic machine in action and taste its coffee every day in Doctor Espresso Caffetteria on Station Approach near Putney Bridge - one of four stylish 1950s designed coffee shops Russell owns in the capital, branded as Doctor Espresso and run by his wife, Vanessa.
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How Doctor Espresso gives the romantic coffee culture era the kiss of life
Doctor Espresso is a man on a mission to restore vintage coffee machines and bring them back to life … and they’re also now in action at his four vibrant cafes along with countless others nationwide. The good doctor, also known as Russell Kerr, has been restoring coffee machines for more than 30 years and now has the finest collection of vintage coffee machines in the UK, including the two oldest working machines which are both Italian-made Gaggia machines. |
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Russell says: “Vanessa has always wanted these vintage machines to be used, loved and shared with others rather than kept as static objects which is why she runs the cafés day to day with the working Gaggia machines at the heart of the operation.”
The restored Gaggia lever machines from the 1950s, 60s and 70s are the epitome of gleaming steam-powered elegance that make his cafés living and working museums, offering espresso lovers a rare chance to taste coffee the way it was made in the true Italian tradition. Russell, who has a BTech in electronic engineering, moved to London from Northern Ireland in 1987 and his first job was repairing microwaves in West End coffee bars but when he spotted some of the eye-catching, fantastically designed old art deco coffee machines in them he wondered who repaired them. When he realised no-one did he decided to take on the role, bought a broken vintage machine, stripped it right back to its bare basics and then fully restored it over 30 days so it looked and worked like new. “When it was finished it looked like a piece of art,” said Russell. “I wanted to do that again and again and again.” He’d bought it for £100 and found a buyer who offered him “one-and-a-half’’ for it. Russell thought he meant £150 but the buyer just kept counting out the cash until it came to £1,500. It set him on his way and, over the years, Russell’s restored countless vintage coffee machines and has been a consultant to every coffee brand out there. It’s a pure labour of love and an absolute passion to bring the coffee past to life that drives him. “These are not just coffee machines,” he says. “They’re superbly engineered works of art and objects of desire.” The machines have also shot up in value in recent years with Russell regularly turning down bids of £15,000 from museums or private collectors for some of his machines. “My response is always the same,” he says. “I did not buy the machines to sell them. Thank you anyway.” Russell has almost 30 vintage coffee machines on display at Doctor Espresso’s Bar No3 on Fulham High Street with the second oldest Gaggia machine in the UK in action at Doctor Espresso Mama V’s café on Voltaire Road, London. His fourth café is Espressino at Chapel Yard in Wandsworth. Restoring these old machines is always a challenge but there’s nothing Russell can’t overcome. “Unfortunately there are no parts available so you have to make it, mend it or find a way to fix something that’s irreparable,” he said. “Old machines were manufactured from brass, copper, steel – there are no light materials used so these are going to last forever once I’ve got them back up and running.’’ About 15 years ago Vanessa bought an old Gaggia that had been discovered in a French barn and Russell lovingly renovated it over many days. He’d just finished the restoration outside on a hot summer’s night and nipped to get a friend to help him load it into his van, but thieves struck first and stole it. The machine was worth £20,000 and so the crime was investigated by the Met’s Serious Crime Squad but when they caught up with the thieves they discovered the criminals had sold it for scrap. “It was absolutely heartbreaking,” said Russell. Italian Enrico Maltoni, known worldwide for restoring old espresso machines, heard about the theft and said Russell was welcome to a room full of old coffee machine spares to see what he could make from them. Russell managed to build a vintage Gaggia which replaced the one that had been stolen, along with six other machines. His passion continues to evoke the taste, the smell and the look of the past in the 21st century with the vintage machines. “A coffee machine is so much more than metal,” he says. “When you bring it back to life, you bring back an era.” Pictures supplied by Doctor Espresso
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