Espresso at Home

[Mister Moo]

How much better are high-end espresso makers than budget/econo machines?

More than night and day.

For example, I recently jumped into the shark tank and acquired a DeLonghi EC155 -- a pump machine that can be had for well under $100. It has some really serious design flaws, but ignoring those it seems to make pretty good coffee. Pretty good, I say, because I was expecting better.

This is where things historically have gone off the track and peope begin sending me exploding cigars. So! This is just an opinion based on my experience, not a statement of fact: low end steam and pump machines are what they are. In general, if you have low expectations for espresso, they will be met. Otherwise they're good:

1. to help one decide if they want to make good espresso at home (which I already said was a bad idea - expensive ticket to play); or

2. as a teriffic looking paperweights. (Most of them end up in the garage.)

I had three cheapies and I really like great espresso. One of the three delivered great brew but I had to play it like a violin to get the right tune out of it more than 50% of the time. I'd call it a learning experience. If I knew then what I know now I would have bought one extreme grinder and a $10 mokapot instead of four espresso machines and two grinders

I'm still new at this so there's a lot of room for operator error, but I'm working on my technique...

Zakly. Start where you are. Making good espresso is, in part, learning how to eliminate operator error. Learn how to make the best with whatever you have. That might be great espresso half the time, or it might be not-so-great espresso 100% of the time. If it makes you crazy after a year or two, upgrade or slide happily into mokapot world.

Yet I wonder -- am I setting my sights too high? Is this the best I can expect from a budget machine?

Old saying - "When you think you might maybe have a problem then you already do."

And what is "fake" crema? (as critics of this machine have espressed.) What's fake and what's real and how do I tell the difference?

False crema is the floaty foamy brown emulsification you might get when producing coffee with methods under 9-bar of pressure.

[Fumes]

Thanks for your sage counsel, Moo. Expert or no, it helps. Meanwhile I have some really nice beans to work with and this forum to look to for comaraderie and sound advice. On my part, practice, discipline, and a trainer machine. One day I hope I can snatch the coffee bean from your hand.

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.

[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.

[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.