I Need An Espresso Education

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by Jenady

Thanks for the link. I watched a bunch of videos.

I have a 3 cup Bialetti Express and the grinder in my shopping cart.

Now I have one more big question. Which beans to buy?

Fresh roast, period. Nothing else will quite make the crema + aroma + flavor that makes it all worthwhile. Unless you are a caffeine-resistant android like Germantownrob then a 3-cup pot is larger than you think once you start grinding beans and drinking coffee, by the way.

Learning mokapot technique takes some practice but once you get it down the effort is worth it.

Espresso, by the way, is produced with a machine that generates a min. 9-bar pressure; the mokapot doesn't do that.

Originally Posted by Mister Moo

Fresh roast, period. Nothing else will quite make the crema + aroma + flavor that makes it all worthwhile. Unless you are a caffeine-resistant android like Germantownrob then a 3-cup pot is larger than you think once you start grinding beans and drinking coffee, by the way.

Learning mokapot technique takes some practice but once you get it down the effort is worth it.

Espresso, by the way, is produced with a machine that generates a min. 9-bar pressure; the mokapot doesn't do that.

I took your advice in a couple of ways.

I bought a bag of cheap Dark Italian beans to practice with. My first batch was an absolutely evil brew and the pot spurted out the side and the top. It was a complete failure.

Next I filled the basket with grounds just to the top with no tamping and made sure everything was tight. This brewed OK but it still sort of erupted out of the post in the center. It was drinkable but very weak.

Next I set the Capresso grinder a bit finer and gently compressed the grounds in the basket but did not dome it up. This batch was better but I was still not satisfied.

So, I went back to your original post on the art of using the Bialetti pot. I followed your advice exactly. I got the ooze and the "crema". It took just about 45 seconds to brew. This batch was excellent using cheap beans.

At this point I am thanking you over and over for the advice and wondering what is so wrong with my Capresso grinder. That was until I tried to grind some of my UncleBeanz. The damned thing was totally jammed up. I mean the top would not go back on the base.

I took it as far apart as you can without drilling out the factory plastic welds that hold the body together. I cleaned it out and put it back together. It still does not go back together.

That is when I remembered another piece of your advice, "One for life and essentially uncrappable. Granted, the budget is somewhat screwed but still uncrappable:

Rocky (Rancilio) Grinder".

At this point I am under the influence of four cups of "espresso" and I decide to cut my losses since I am already totally hooked on the new brew. Damn the budget, I just ordered a Rocky. Can a Silvia be far behind?

Now I am impatiently waiting.

[Blueface]

Originally Posted by Jenady

Rocky (Rancilio) Grinder".

At this point I am under the influence of four cups of "espresso" and I decide to cut my losses since I am already totally hooked on the new brew. Damn the budget, I just ordered a Rocky. Can a Silvia be far behind?

Now I am impatiently waiting.

Glad I am not alone biting the bullet here and going over the hill for a long slide.
Congrats.