-sighs-
I try hard to ween myself off of Starbucks. Really I do. Not because of the exorbitant cost, so much as the fact that the closest one to my house is at my university, and so I have to get in my car, pay for parking, and by that point I feel obliged to do – shudder – thesis work.
Well, when I’m hanging out at my mum’s, I remember that she has an espresso machine grandma bought her, that she never uses. Grandma insists that it’s “very expensive,” and thus is a very good espresso machine. Rather than spend a half hour explaining commodity fetishism to grandmama, I decide to go and give it the old college try.
So I follow directions that I find on the internets, tamp the coffee, put in the dealy (you know, the one with the handle…the…dealy?), make sure it’s tight, and the handle can jiggle around. Then I wait for the machine to heat up and the ready switch to light up. Then I flick the switch and…
Coffee does not come out. It makes a lot of angry “whrrrrring” noises akin to the electric bicycle pump that I have. But after about 5 minutes, it becomes apparent that my espresso is nowhere to be found. I would normally presume that this means that my machine is broken. However, after yelling, swearing, dumping my coffee out, more yelling and swearing, and repeating this process again, the coffee comes out!
It seems to follow this routine without fail, just to mock me! I wanted a latté, not rage! It’s not broken, since some of the time, the espresso comes out. I’d say it’s functionality is at about, say, 45%.
What could explain coffee coming out some times, but not other times? The handle on too tight? Too loose? Too much coffee, not enough? There’s plenty of water in the reservoir.
Any advice from baristas and coffeephiles on here would be greatly appreciated!
-Antonio