Espresso - I should get me a machine that makes this...

[Westerly Wood]

No matter how hard I try, I cannot make coffee look like this. But nearly any restaurant can...

 

[chazmo]

Espresso machines are expensive and fairly labor intensive just to have at your home, Woody. I've always wanted one but I'd rather just pay for the gas to get to my local coffee shop for my afternoon cappuccino.

 

[GGJaguar]

Espresso machines are expensive and fairly labor intensive just to have at your home

Yes, this. I have one and used it for a while. Too much work and not just for preparing, but the cleaning. The steamed milk part was especially important to keep clean. The whole contraption is up in the attic (I think). For espresso, the easy-button way is a moka pot (I use a Bialetti, but there are other good brands). You don't get the creamy foam, but you do get good flavor and it's pretty easy to clean.

 

[Westerly Wood]

Yes, this. I have one and used it for a while. Too much work and not just for preparing, but the cleaning. The steamed milk part was especially important to keep clean. The whole contraption is up in the attic (I think). For espresso, the easy-button way is a moka pot (I use a Bialetti, but there are other good brands). You don't get the creamy foam, but you do get good flavor and it's pretty easy to clean.

I have a Moka Pot, and I use it from time to time, but had no idea that was its name lol.
So then, what am I doing wrong? What is the correct measure of coffee to the little water fill. I got the smaller size too.

ps: I don't do steamed milk or sweetness to taste, just black.

 

[GGJaguar]

I have a Moka Pot, and I use it from time to time, but had no idea that was its name lol.
So then, what am I doing wrong? What is the correct measure of coffee to the little water fill. I got the smaller size too.

ps: I don't do steamed milk or sweetness to taste, just black.

Yes, fill to the water line and fill the basket with ground coffee to just a hair under the top of the basket. Do not pack the coffee down in the basket. That's for espresso machines, not moka pots. Leave it loose. The real key is how you grind that coffee and that's a bit of trial and error. I use a Japanese hand grinder set to a finer grind (but not "powder fine" as with an espresso maker). While this makes a good cup of espresso for my tastes, it's not the same as what you get with an espresso maker. BTW, my Italian friends in southern Italy mostly use moka pots so I'm just doing what my ancestors did I guess.

 

[Roland]

When we had a winter home in Puerto Rico we would order a coffee and we would get an espresso. The neighborhood coffee shop didn't have fresh brew so we started drinking americanos and got hooked on those. So then we bought an espresso machine so we could make americanos at home. The thing is, it is labor intensive and if we drank more than a couple cups of coffee a day it might be different.

 

[Westerly Wood]

Yes, fill to the water line and fill the basket with ground coffee to just a hair under the top of the basket. Do not pack the coffee down in the basket. That's for espresso machines, not moka pots. Leave it loose. The real key is how you grind that coffee and that's a bit of trial and error. I use a Japanese hand grinder set to a finer grind (but not "powder fine" as with an espresso maker). While this makes a good cup of espresso for my tastes, it's not the same as what you get with an espresso maker. BTW, my Italian friends in southern Italy mostly use moka pots so I'm just doing what my ancestors did I guess.

I guess I am not adding enough coffee. Which is good news. Cause I can always add more...

 

[Guildedagain]

Italian friends in southern Italy mostly use moka pots

A Moka properly packed will make a fine creme on top.

 

[Canard]

I have a Breville espresso machine. It wasn't too expensive on sale. It is not as nice as the high-end Italian one my Swiss chef friend has in his house but it probably cost only an eighth of the Italian machine. The Italian machine makes nicer coffee than the Breville but not that much nicer.

Another Breville machine followed me home a few weeks ago, a freebie. I gave to my nephew for use in his studio.

 

[Canard]

If you have hard water, your coffee won't taste that great from an espresso machine and you will have do a lot of descaling on the machine with vinegar. Use bottled water or filtered and softened water.

 

[Canard]

A Moka properly used will make a fine creme on top.

If you watch French or Italian TV and movies, all you will see when people serve coffee is Bialetti Moka pots or clones. The Moka pots produce hotter coffee with considerably more caffeine BUZZ. I have a number of sizes of Bialetti pots. I use the huge one when I have to make (faux) espresso for a larger number of people. The little single cup one is a constant companion on camping and canoeing trips.

 

[FNG]

Espresso machines are expensive and fairly labor intensive just to have at your home, Woody. I've always wanted one but I'd rather just pay for the gas to get to my local coffee shop for my afternoon cappuccino.

A cappuccino? In the afternoon?

 

[Westerly Wood]

A Moka properly packed will make a fine creme on top.

I tried it a bit ago. No crema on top, but a seriously strong cup of joe.

 

[markus]

Espresso machines are expensive …

Yes but …


markus

 

[Guildedagain]

I tried it a bit ago. No crema on top, but a seriously strong cup of joe.

I'll have to give mine a try, camera ready. I've ever seen the press make fine crema on top, wondering how much the beans are a factor?

 

[Guildedagain]

The little single cup one is a constant companion on camping and canoeing trips.

I had a dream of making espresso on road trips, even at a rest stop, and realized it with a small Moka I stiff have, Campingaz stove, ground coffee, water, Half & Half in a cooler, Sugar in the Raw, and a Nissan Stainless travel mug. I'd make my coffee, put everything away and drive, drive, drive, eventually to another rest area to "decoffee" ;[]

 

[Canard]

I had a dream of making espresso on road trips, even at a rest stop, and realized it with a small Moka I stiff have, Campingaz stove, ground coffee, water, Half & Half in a cooler, Sugar in the Raw, and a Nissan Stainless travel mug. I'd make my coffee, put everything away and drive, drive, drive, eventually to another rest area to "decoffee" ;[]

I am free from the need from cream and sugar, no objection to them but not generally required for me. It simplifies things a bit.

I have a trusty old small single burner Optimus white-gas/naphtha stove which has gone with me backpacking, camping, glamping, sports fishing, driving, canoeing, etc. In a pinch, it can also use gasoline/petrol/benzine, although I do not recommend such habitual use. I have the small hand-pump starter kit for it so I can get it working quickly in cold weather. The Optimus stove and my single cup Bialetti Moka pot ($1.25 CDN at a thrift store plus the cost of new rings) have had a long and beautiful relationship, one that will continue. It was at first sight between them.

BTW: The pic here is cribbed from a long dead EBay listing.

 

[Guildedagain]

It won't be long before we set up our coffee pots like guitar collections for pics ;[]

Have you heard of the Aeropress? Something I bought about 10 years ago that makes a great cup.

I like that stove! I need one!

The need for cream was always just to make it cool enough to drink, and these days I use honey.

plus the cost of new rings

Rings will be cooked after a while, do source replacements (better coffee shops in the old days) before you need them, and then remember where they are when you need them.

I think my original Moka is totally unbranded, old. I've learned the hard way, don't ever loan one out, someone will make coffee in it and then let it sit uncleaned for weeks, and they do corrode.

 

[Canard]

I like that stove! I need one!

Rings will be cooked after a while, do source replacements (better coffee shops in the old days) before you need them, and then remember where they are when you need them.

I've learned the hard way, don't ever loan one out, someone will make coffee in it and then let it sit uncleaned for weeks, and they do corrode.

Stove: They do show up on EBay.

Optimus 111 stove with silent burner - made in Sweden | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Optimus 111 stove with silent burner - made in Sweden at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

There is also a listing from the UK for what appears to be a Russian knock-off, brand new.

If you live or go anywhere where it gets cold, you should look for one of these hand pumps (the thing in the middle) if you do get a small Optimus stove.



Rings:

No problems. There is a district nearby that was the centre of the post war community of Italian immigrants. Rings and baskets are kept in stock in a number of shops.

Lending:

Yes. In addition to not being cleaned properly, lent out Moka pots also tend to suffer from burnt rings. My personal rule of lending is this: never lend anything that you wouldn't freely give or can't afford to give; following this rule has preserved many friendships.

 

[Guildedagain]

Hear hear.

The burned ring, I love that smell... not, it's from unwittingly leaving the heat on too long, when the water is gone, the heat has to be off. I do it by ear, when it's done perking, you're good. So when you loan things to newbies, not one of these... but my kid has my original college one, and treats it right, and now I use a small Bialleti DAMA I picked up at a yard sale unsused for a couple bucks.

I think - by memory - it's about 7 minutes for the small pot from start to boil/finish. Pretty quick actually.

I got through college - 3 times ;[] - with a small Moka and a Nissan Stainless mug. Make coffee, warm up car, drive/drink coffee, last sip in the parking lot before class at 7:30am. I see this as essential survival, as in driving to school without the coffee would be unsafe.

Same as driving wife to airport at 3:30am or any other essential mission, be prepared, be awake.