Saint Senior Member Joined: 4 Aug 2003 Posts: 2 Location: Montreal Expertise: Just starting
Posted Mon Aug 4, 2003, 2:42pm Subject: Begginner question: Making espresso at home on the cheap
Little intro: I'm a begginer.
I love coffee. I drink it black, no sugar, no milk, and I don't really like any specialized coffees that have milk in them.
Thus I stick to standard brewed coffee, and espresso.
When in Australia, I saw for the first time someone using one of the hose "coffee pot" type devices. You put the espresso in the middle, water on the bottom, and then you screw it together and put it on the stove. I can never remember what it's called.
Anyway, I purchased one along with some espresso at the earliest opportunity.
It was a "three shot" small device, but made about a double in terms of quantity.
I found it VERY strong coffee, and that I enjoyed it more by watering it down a littel, and getting one "good" cup of standard coffee out of it.
Once home, I found a place to buy more coffee, and after describing the device I had to the man, he ground the beans to suit it.
When I went back, the women ground the beans more finely than the man had, and I find that it no longer makes as good a cup of coffee.
So my question: What kind of coffee should I look for? How should I specify it to be ground? What tips can you give me for making a better cup of coffee?
jim_schulman Senior Member Joined: 19 Dec 2001 Posts: 3,772 Location: Chicago Expertise: I live coffee
Posted Mon Aug 4, 2003, 3:53pm Subject: Re: Begginner question: Making espresso at home on the cheap
You lose almost all the coffee aroma in a few hours after coffee is ground. So the first thing every coffee lover should buy is a coffee grinder.
Ideally, one should buy a good quality burr grinder. But, inexpensive burr grinders are horrible. So it's better to buy a whirly-blade grinder like a Krups for a few dollars than a $35 burr grinder. This will work OK on your mochapot (that's the name of your coffee maker, Bialetti is the largest manufacturer).
If you decide to invest in a burr grinder, the least expensive good one is the Bodum Antigua grinder, about $50 US.
larry0223 Senior Member Joined: 14 May 2003 Posts: 25 Location: London, UK Expertise: Intermediate
Espresso: Francis Francis! X1 Grinder: Dualit
Posted Tue Aug 5, 2003, 11:58pm Subject: Re: Begginner question: Making espresso at home on the cheap
Saint,
A decent grinder will definately help you out, but if you dont want to run to that expense, use the people who are grinding for you.. they seem quite helpful.
When the man grinds it ask him what number he has his grinder set on, and if that makes good coffee, ask the woman to use the same setting. If you dont see the guy again make sure you note down the grind setting so you can ask for a finer/coarser grind next time.
And dont grind too much at once. It loses flavour real quick once ground.
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