Espresso at Home

[md4958]

Originally Posted by leasingthisspace

Mister Moo thanks for putting this down. I really like reading what you have to say about coffee. I enjoy coffee but i like putting sugar/ milk in which I know it is wrong but I drink what I like. I hope to someday enjoy coffee to the point of no add ins. I have been cutting back on all that stuff. Thanks for your wisdom.

I was once at a winery in Piemonte and asked the manager there, what he considered the best wine... his response "the one you enjoy drinking." The same holds true for coffee. Drink what you like, like what you drink.

There is nothing wrong with putting in sugar and milk in your espresso. In fact in Italy MOST people use sugar or sweetner in their coffee.

As far as milk goes, if you add a touch of steamed milk it is called a macchiato (that crap that starbucks calls a macchiato is really a caffe latte) If you add cold milk it is called a macchiato freddo.

If you add 1/3 espresso 1/3 steamed milk and 1/3 foam from the steamed milk, then you have a cappuccino. Alter the portions to 40% espresso and 60% steamed milk (leave out the foam) and you have a caffe latte.

Take your steamed foamy milk and make it very very warm (not hot) serve it in a highball glass and add a short shot of espresso (2oz) and you have a latte macchiato... the ladies love this one because it looks really beautiful when you add the espresso to the milk.

When steaming milk remember the rule I always tell my employees... if its too hot to hold, its too hot to drink (the steaming pitcher). If you scald the milk, not only will it taste bad, the first sip will fry your tastebuds for the rest of the drink.

Also cold milk+ chilled frothing pitcher= better foam.

Moo, any thoughts you would like to add?

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by md4958

...Moo, any thoughts you would like to add?

What you said. (And I am fond of cream or milk and sugar with coffee as often as not. What's not to like? )

[duckmanco]

Good to see you post this back up Moo, and anyone interested, once upon a time I went against everything this guy told me and went the semi-decent budget route, and got AWFUL espresso. This was largely due to me not giving it enough tries over the course of a week, but after a week of making a mess, elevating my blood pressure, and failing miserably I JUST WANTED A SHOT OF MF'ING ESPRESSO!!! Whew..... so I delved further into my moka pot (which became a 2cupper brikka) and found true happiness with faux-espresso that tastes plenty good, even without considering how much work/effort it DOESN'T require.

The moral of the story IMO? = Either jump in all the way and commit to spending both money and time, or spend neither and go moka pot route.

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by duckmanco

... Either jump in all the way and commit to spending both money and time, or spend neither and go moka pot route.

Yeah boy. (Starting with a snarking good grinder above and before anything else. A good grinder for moka is a good thing - that or pro-ground. Same thing with vacpot and, a little less so, press. Paper filter drip - use a hammer if you want and the coffee still comes out good if the beans were OK to begin with. I swear people think I just make this stuff up. Thanks for the kind validation report, Duck'o.) Jeezo. Who wants to start a grinder thread?

My brain is still swelling from concussion of the last one I started. My flesh was ripped, eyes gouged and reputation (what little there is of it) was tarred and feathered. Fact is, once a bunch of anti-expensive-grinder sharks smell blood in the coffee they won't stop circling until the prey is dead, shredded and eaten. I don't think I have the strength to start another grinder thread. I am only alive today because I taste so bad.

Originally Posted by md4958

Drink what you like, like what you drink.

Thanks.

[floydpink]

I might be nuts, but I really have learned one of the most important things about equipment, cheap or expensive, is to keep it clean with a regular schedule of daily wiping and cleaning of all parts and a twice monthly descale.

I was doing great the first few months with my Gaggia and all of a sudden, couldn't get good foam. I tried everything from changing milk brands to buying a new pitcher.

After really taking apart the steam wand, I discovered a part inside the sleeve that looked really badly gunked up. After cleaning it, I was back in business.

It's a real pain in the butt, but I feel it's necessary and probably why Starbucks charges so much for their lousy coffee.

[Swampper]

Man Mister Moo, that is the best post that I have ever read on what it take to create espresso at home. Well done!

I have been making espresso at home for about 2 years, and have been making good espresso for about the last 2 months.
I recently moved from a Rancilio Silvia to a Simonelli Oscar.

The Silvia is a good 1st machine, but the Oscar is the real deal.
It's stable temperature makes a LOT of difference.

I would like to underscore that you must have a source for freshly roasted beans, and a good burr grinder.

It has been a fantastic experience, and the espresso world, and the cigar world have a lot of parallels.

[N2Advnture]

Awesome post bro!

~Mark

ps - owner of a C1000

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by Swampper

...The Silvia is a good 1st machine, but the Oscar is the real deal. It's stable temperature makes a LOT of difference.

I would like to underscore that you must have a source for freshly roasted beans, and a good burr grinder...

Thanks for kind remarks.

It's easy to come off as a total azzozzole (my specialty) talking about the fruitlessness of sub $200-300 grinders paired with minimum $500 coffeemakers but - what else can I say that your own experience hasn't borne out? Every time I read about someone "jumping" on a low end espresso machine (and saying they'll get around to a better grinder later) I feel... no. I will not go this way again.

All I want to say more about home espresso:

1. it can be way better than than 90% of what coffeeshops sell; and
2. it takes about $1000 minimum to play; and
3. it's a stupid sport, really, when a great grinder and a $20 mokapot can make staggeringly good coffee approaching espresso.

You gotta really want it. There's cheap ways in but results will almost always disappoint.

Having said this I now concede that there are a few people with $149 Hamilton Beach espresso makers and $150 Solis grinders who will say they love their stuff, they make world class espresso and I'm full of chit. Well, I'm sure they're right.

But let me hear back from them after 24-months. If they still disagree with me then they don't know what good espresso is supposed to tate like - or they're OK with 65% of their shots being sorry, which, with enough milk, sugar or syrup, may be fine.

I check this thread every morning just to drool....

I don't have the $$$$ maker....mine was discussed, slammed, hammered, kicked, and basically called a POS the last time I mentioned it.

It's claim to fame, however, is that it's spent more time in Iraq than in my kitchen!!

I've been dying to get a Gaggia one of these years, but that machine will NEVER leave the house!!!

Besides, I'm more of the "shade tree mechanic" approach to espresso - even a lousy glob is better than none at all...and always a learning experience.

Couple of the guys here blew me away with some amaaaaaaaaaazing french press coffee at the MB Herf...but that's another story!!!

Keep them pics coming Moo!!!!

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by tobii3

I don't have the $$$$ maker....mine was discussed, slammed, hammered, kicked, and basically called a POS the last time I mentioned it.

Besides... ...even a lousy glob is ... always a learning experience.

hope I wasn't the one who hammered your piece of sh... I mean, your espresso maker. Hey! You start where you are and make the best of what you have. That's always it, isn't it? I heartily agree that any espresso machine is the route to learning the process, developing a little technique to get the best from what you've got and deciding if a next step is a good idea or not.

Originally Posted by md4958

...I would rather see somebody buy a $20 moka, than a $150 espresso machine.

The problem as a professional barista, is that when somebody is used to drinking lousy coffee, they almost expect it.

That nails it down for me. I was imprinted by a couple of years of killer coffee while I was in Europe and, upon returning home I wanted to reproduce it. Slap wore me out with the wrong espresso gear. And, for sure, a mokapot paired with a good grinder is 5x the value of a low-flight grinder paired with a $2000 espresso machine.

Grinders... gotta get to grinders one of these days. They really do come before everything else in coffeeland. Uh, in my overblown and highly overrated self-important opinion of this topic. I am really just guessing on all this stuff so, if anyone takes me to be too full of myself, just remember - I don't know what I'm talking about. That my disclaimer and I'm sticking to it.

[md4958]

Originally Posted by Mister Moo

3. it's a stupid sport, really, when a great grinder and a $20 mokapot can make staggeringly good coffee approaching espresso.

Moo, I completely agree. I would rather see somebody buy a $20 moka, than a $150 espresso machine.

The problem as a professional barista, is that when somebody is used to drinking lousy coffee, they almost expect it. Aggrivating to say the least, espically when they are used to the that Starsucks sells.

[md4958]

Originally Posted by floydpink

I might be nuts, but I really have learned one of the most important things about equipment, cheap or expensive, is to keep it clean with a regular schedule of daily wiping and cleaning of all parts and a twice monthly descale.

I was doing great the first few months with my Gaggia and all of a sudden, couldn't get good foam. I tried everything from changing milk brands to buying a new pitcher.

After really taking apart the steam wand, I discovered a part inside the sleeve that looked really badly gunked up. After cleaning it, I was back in business.

It's a real pain in the butt, but I feel it's necessary and probably why Starbucks charges so much for their lousy coffee.

Cleaning your equipment is essential. ESPECIALLY if you have an auto-frother on your espresso machine. The tube should be cleaned out every day... just think of milk sitting in there for a few days... gets kinda nasty.

Also, if you use your espresso machine alot, you might want to consider a backwash soap such as PuroCaffe. It is a detergent you use in conjunction with the blind filter your machine should have come with. It will really make a difference in the taste of your espresso... no more burnt taste or black spots in your crema.