Jack,
I’ll certainly look into that. Anything else I should know? Why does such a simple device make strong flavorful coffee?
How does one make crema, anyway? Why are espresso and ristretto able to get it? If I could, I’d just drink that.
I do enjoy my aeropress, but consider it a wonderful coffee maker, not an alternative espresso machine. I enjoy the fact that the aeropress brew is much less bitter than many coffees.
And crema is basically carbon dioxide foam, IIRC. It’s part of the breakdown product one gets when subjecting coffee beans to high pressure and heat, and it’s most treasured because it helps emphasize and bring out the tasty aromatic organic molecules produced in the brewing process. Espresso without crema is dead to me.
crema has oils in it. which is where the bean, roast, grind, tamping and all the stuff mentioned above has to work right to get it.
When I take the brew basket* out, I notice thin, long cracks in the coffee. Does that always happen no matter how good the tamp or does that suggest a bad tamp?
How do you get a good tamp?
- the thingy you put the ground coffee in through which the water passes
cracks are bad. should be an even hard mass.
you need to put some grounds in, tap lightly to level and pack down. you need to use force when packing. level grounds starting and level packed ending.
you can use your thumb (if you don’t have a device) but you need control to make it even.
grounds for 2 cups is a good level to pack. less will dent too easily. if doing 4 cups do it in two tamping.
based on my limited experience.
That channeling ain’t right, and will interfere with proper brewing, as the water will pass quickly thru the fissures rather than uniformly thru the grounds.
Need fresher beans maybe? Or maybe a finer grind. And definitely you need a proper tamp. What kind of tamper are you using? Not one of those plastic jobbies, I hope. You need one that fits your portafilter basket (the thingy that holds the grounds) precisely.
It takes about 1/4 cup of unground beans to make a double shot.
Good tamp discussion here: Purpose of the Tamp - Tips and Techniques
and here: Light Tamp = Less Channeling - Tips and Techniques
Unless you are ready and willing to spend a substantial amount of money on real, good quality espresso maker, I suggest you get yourself a Bialetti Moka Express pot.
True. It actually takes about five seconds to brew; the ten seconds before that are for taking a capsule out of the box, putting the capsule into the machine, closing the machine, and pressing the button. You can do it faster if you’re in a hurry.
<<shudder>>
It’s the same general idea with pressure extraction, just way less pressure (you pushing down a plunger instead of a pump.) One issue is that you want the coffee to be a little bit finer ground than normal drip coffee, so using it in concert with a burr grinder works well or else you need to get the coffee from one of those grind-your-own places. The normal paper microfilters mostly prevent oils from getting through, but you can get metal ones similar to an espresso machine portafilter* that can consistently make a thin layer of crema if you’re grinding fresh. I agree with Qadgop that it’s no replacement for a real espresso machine, but the concentrated coffee it produces can work as an approximation if you’re going to mix it with a lot of milk.
(*which is incidentally what you call the brew basket thingee on an espresso machine)
As sort of an aside, I’ve always wondered why nobody makes a cheap lever-type espresso machine. The big weakness of the cheap home machines is that getting consistent pressure out of the chintzy vibration pumps they use is tricky. I’ve rebuilt a couple of Europiccolas and there’s really not a whole lot to them, but once you get the hang of them they make outstandingly good consistent espresso. I can’t imagine the actual parts justify the $800+ price tag so I wonder why someone (possibly someone non-Italian) doesn’t make a cheap knockoff.
How long should it take to make the espresso? I have a Nespresso machine at home and I think that it is taking about 30 or 40 seconds for and espresso once you press the button. I will time it when I get home. Online searches seem to indicate that hot water should be flowing through the coffee for about 30 seconds.
http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/students/tchen3/espdifine.html 22-28 seconds
How to Brew Coffee and Espresso Brewing Guide | BeverageFactory.com 20 to 25 seconds
We’ve had our Rancilio Silvia for over ten years now, IIRC. Yes, they cost more, but they’re workhorses. The only way it’s showing its age is that it’s just started to get harder to raise a crema. But crema or not, the espresso is superior.
Now that I think of it, I suppose we’ve had our Mazzer Mini burr grinder the same amount of time. It’s also an Italian-made workhorse, and though we’ve had to replace a simple little spring that keeps the doser handle working, it shows no sign of slowing down.
Now I want a double ristretto.
It took 27.5 seconds for the water to go through the pod into the cup. That seems pretty inline with various sources I have seen on the internet and my experience in watching people make espressos in coffee shops.
I’ve had good experience with the Breville.
let me caveat with a few parameters.
- $599
- an important part of decent espresso is fresh ground beans. The Breville has a grinder
- if you’re into milk based such as cappuccino or lattes, then the espresso shot isn’t as critical as if you’re just slamming straight shots of espresso
- it’s not great at straight shots
- can turn it on and brew straight away without warmup time although a warm up is beneficial
- we have made at least a couple a day for the past 4 years, so easily 4000 shots.
- its really easy to operate. My chinese mother in law whips out a decent cup a couple of times a day when she visits. And let’s just say she’s not the most technologically advanced person on the planet.
Net net, ease of use and not stupidly expensive if you’re not making straight shots, then it’s a pretty good machine. I have found that even with the big bag of espresso beans at Costco (maybe $6 pound), I can make a much better cappuccino than I have ever gotten at Starbucks.
Convert that into Starbucks units. That’s at least $16,000 (4000 cups of starbucks at $4/cup). I’m pretty sure I do a single shot cap for under a buck. In these terms even the Silvia and a great standalone grinder has a pretty quick payback if you don’t feed the Starbucks addiction.
Wow. $600 and it doesn’t make a decent espresso shot? And you’re happy with that? A stove top / moka pot makes decent coffee for a latte.
CarnalK, it makes an *infinitely *better shot than a stove top / moka pot. Moka pots are good for what they are but they steam the beans and the wrong temperature and pressure for anywhere close to a decent shot. It’s a burning extraction and you get zero crema. Same to be said for the low end “espresso” makers.
The Breville makes an okay espresso but no where near a professional machine or the Rancillo. And if you’re dumping it into a bunch of milk, well that obscures the taste to a degree. For me, the moka pot doesn’t make good latte - and you have to deal with the milk separately. for years I used a moka pot, put milk in the top chamber, and had that for breakfast. Good for what it is but IMHO not remotely comparable to what the Breville will do.
The Breville is a great machine if you want a good espresso that’s really easy to do with fresh ground beans. The ease factor and no need to wait for the warm up time was the main reason I went the Breville route. My wife isn’t the type to fiddle with a Rancillo. Make sense?
PS. If the Breville dies (although going strong after ~4,000 cups), I may go for a good grinder and the Rancillo if my wife is up for it.
With the help of a small jar (using the lid as a tamp) and by putting my whole weight on it, I’ve gotten a decent-ish tamp and crema.
I’ve just learned to use the pressure release nozzle to make steamed/foamed milk and then adding that to the espresso and it’s as good a coffee as I’ve ever had.
So, how does one adjust the amount of milk which is foamed vs steamed?
Can one use something other than milk? Are there milks that go better with coffee/espresso or is cow milk the best one in your opinion?
Play with your steam wand. Keep it above the surface if you want more foam, and bury it towards the bottom if just want to heat the milk.
Cows milk works really well. I tried goat milk and it was okay. I once tried human breast milk but that kinda squicked me out and sure the psychological side didn’t allow for a realistic taste test.
you foam the portion you want shallow. then plunge in to heat.
Doesn’t anyone use the coffee capsule/pod machines like the Nespresso?
I have an Aldi one that works a treat, but I only drink coffee in the morning, I don’t like it enough to spend lots of money on a machine for it.