Espresso Anywhere with Benjamin Hardman

Icelandic Highlands—Remote Cabin

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All over the world, people start their day with an espresso and take the next steps toward their dreams. Espresso Anywhere is a series that offers a glimpse into the unique and inspiring ways individuals are using their espresso machines to fuel their passions and pursue their dreams. The series continues in Iceland, where photographer Benjamin Hardman strapped a Linea Mini into a modified Arctic vehicle and drove it to a remote highlands cabin. There, under the northern lights and with glacier water running through the machine, he discovered a new kind of espresso ritual.

Can you share the moment you first fell in love with espresso, and how that memory connects to today?

Growing up in Australia, I had an incredible coffee culture around me. I remember in the early days of university I brought a little home espresso machine, it was super slow but I absolutely loved the process of sourcing beans from local roasters around Perth and trying my luck at dialling them in with the very limited settings on the machine. My journey in photography began in documenting the surfing scene in the south west of WA. A big part of every shoot day was the specialty coffee with friends and locals after getting back from a super early morning surf photo session. So coffee and taking photos have always been a match in my world!

Moving to Iceland over ten years ago, I definitely brought my love of brewing coffee with me and like home there is an amazing coffee scene here. I get my coffee from Kaffibrugghúsið, roasted by Iceland’s OG coffee legend Sonja Björk Grant.

What’s your favorite espresso drink — at home, on the road, or in that cabin — and what makes it special to you?

At home I have always loved the Cortado for our morning ritual, a perfect mix of espresso and milk in my opinion. In fact back in Perth, there somehow spawned a very strange name for this same drink and I haven’t heard it anywhere else, the Long Mac topped up. 

In the mountains and on polar expeditions I often take an Aeropress and Comandante grinder setup, it’s easy to travel with and fast to use. There are however a few special occasions each year where I will bring my espresso machine to remote locations like cabins in the Icelandic highlands. Making a Cortado in the middle of Iceland is an absolute dream combo!

Where exactly did this photoshoot take place, and what was the journey like getting to such a remote cabin in Iceland?

We did this shoot at the center of Iceland in the winter time. One of the most remote parts of the country. It can be a very challenging drive in our modified Arctic vehicles to reach places like this in winter, driving over ice and snow for hours. When the weather gives you a window with no wind and cold clear skies, you have to go for it. 

We had the most incredible northern lights that first night of the shoot. Upon going inside after capturing images of the dancing auroras, I’d never been so excited to go to bed knowing there is a Linea Mini waiting for us in the morning.

How did you manage to bring the Linea Mini all the way out there — and what was the most challenging part of setting it up in that environment?

It was a pretty wild mission to get the machine out there, I strapped it down to the middle seat in the truck with pillows for padding all around. In the end it really couldn’t have gone smoother and the machine made for a great arm rest!

You often return to the same landscapes across seasons. How does repeating an espresso ritual compare to returning with your camera to familiar places?

My daily coffee ritual runs in parallel to my creative process in so many ways. Returning to the same places throughout the year reveals the finer details and character of a landscape. It shows you how nature reacts to changing temperatures and conditions. Coffee is just the same!

Honestly this is such a good comparison also because I feel like my taste for coffee works through the seasons in sync with the changes in nature. Right now I am a sucker for natural or honey processed Ethiopian coffees, which was sparked by the transition into Fall and the darkness returning, a longing for a smooth but complex coffee to ease into the shorter days.

Icelandic water is famously soft. How did it shape the way your espresso tasted in the highlands, and did you adapt your recipe for it?

Icelandic water is mind blowing. The best way I can describe it is pure and gentle, naturally filtered down from the glaciers through layers upon layers of subterranean lava rock. I don’t see any scale build up or water spots like in other countries, making it especially great for use in espresso machines. In terms of taste, I guess I have never really considered the water to play a role in that, because it is so pure here and doesn’t interfere with the coffee tasting notes!

What did it take, practically, to run a dual-boiler machine off-grid in the cold?

The cabin we stayed in has no power or running water, both of which are quite essential for a Lini Mini to run. I brought a portable DJI Power 1000 battery unit with me. We sourced the water from a nearby glacial stream, some of the coldest and purest water on the planet. There can be sand in the water straight from the stream, so I took a Brita water filter jug to fill up the machine.

Are there parallels between the way you fine-tune a photograph and the way you dial in an espresso?

There are so many parallels, for me both crafts require a careful consideration of each step of the process. In the field, it is putting that extra time into fine tuning the composition of a scene and allowing your senses and emotions to help tell a deeper story. Dialing in espresso requires that same attention to detail, with taste and smell being critical to maximising the particular coffee you are working with. It’s all about being in tune with your senses!

What one photo from this trip means the most to you and why?

I want to say the image of the red Aurora which is quite a rarity to see, but honestly the images of the Linea Mini in this particular mountain cabin where my journey in Iceland began is such a special series to me, so the Linea Mini shots win!

Beyond being a tool, what does a La Marzocco machine symbolize to you?

It may sound wild, but my Linea Mini is my most cherished possession. It is the core of every single day at home and the heart of our house. It symbolises the act of slowing down and focusing on the finer details of life, something that I hold close in everything I do.