Shop Front: Wake up and smell the coffee! Anyone not yet aware of the bitter-sweet caffeine-induced blast from an authentic Italian espresso - best taken in the morning so espresso virgins can avoid sleeplessness later on - should try this latest offering from FrancisFrancis!

Featured on kitchen sets in Sex and the City - a programme not noted for virgins, least of all of the espresso or cappuccino kind - it allows you to offer guests espresso pronto and properly prepared. So get a kick out of making espresso while giving your guests a kick (of the caffeine kind, of course).

The X1 variety pictured comes in 15 colours - the black and stainless steel look great, but I couldn't imagine the rose or pale blue variety behind a bar on Rome's Via Del Corso.

But, as the X1 costs €626, perhaps it's best to have had an espresso before reaching for the credit card. Available at Brown Thomas.