November 19, 2005

• Mandyman- I love my stovetop espresso maker - Bialetti. I see you don't want steam driven; any particular reason?
• I prefer steam too.
• I can guess why not steam: they're higher maintanance. I had one I didn't clean the filter bit properly and the central chamber imploded while I was boiling!
• For me, a pump machine is faster and requires very little babysitting. I pull a little hot water through to warm my cup before putting the portafilter on. It's great. After using one, I kinda don't want to go back.
• Steam espresso machines are terrible. No crema, poor thermodynamics, shots that take forever to extract and taste like char. Moka pots are an exception - I'm referring to your standard sub $100 "espresso machine" you'll find on a wood veneer shelf at your local starbucks. That said - I've got a Baby Gaggia. Quite nice, it's a few years old and I picked it up used for 175. I've pulled a good number of godshots off of it and it's not even my nice machine. For tons of info.
• mandyman: A good thing to also do is always preheat both the grouphead and the portafilter. Pull a nice long water shot through the portafilter (sans coffee) before you load the portafilter with your fine grounds - this can be the water shot you use to preheat a demitasse as well. In other words, exactly what you already do - but do it with the portafilter on. You'll find this gives much better tasting espresso.
• It has to be brass, as big as a barrel, and have an eagle on it. best damn cappucino I ever had.
• You want a Gaggia Carezza.
• 
• Sweet Jebus, that thing looks like it comes from a Jules Verne novel...
• I dunno. It seems a bit...much. That winged creature would look great on the hood of my car, though.
• So, I guess what I'm really wondering now that I think about it a little more is if it is totally a waste to get one of the cheaper pump machines that I see--the ones that are $100 or less and made by Mr Coffee and the like.
• I'd say yes. As in it is a total waste. I'd recommend craigslist, you might be able to find a deal and a good pump machine will last a while. (other problem with steam espresso machines - they break, every year, like damned clockwork).
• I'm referring to your standard sub $100 "espresso machine" you'll find on a wood veneer shelf at your local starbucks. There are no sub $100 machines at Starbucks, and their machines are pump-driven. I have no idea what quality espresso they can produce - probably a moot point anyhow, given the general disdain for Starbucks coffee.
• cheaper pump machines Crap, I missed that word. Anyways, espresso is like all else; you get what you pay for. Fresh roasted coffee, perfectly pulled through a nice espresso machine, and a hand rolled cigarette (hemp paper, amsterdam shag tobacco)... that's better than sex.
• This is along the lines of what I've seen.
• ...that's better than sex. Um, no.
• Five years ago my boss went to sbucks and bought a pump machine, it really was a rebranded Saeco aroma. We use it every day and never had a problem (minor cleaning). Now we are hooked on pods as they are fast and less hassle but it works fine with the ground brown. The one we use looks much like this Saeco Classico. A bit over your price window but it still works great after 5 years and it is ready in 6 min. Enjoy
• Well, Chyren, obviously you have never had sex with me.
• I also reccomend the moka pots. They take a little tending, but, being low tech, you get a good cup for little investment. I've used them in timeshares in Spain, and was served espresso in one in a great Italian restaurant in NYC. Great coffee in all cases. I gave one to my sister, who loves it.
• Be sure that it is not your water killing machines. Even with descaling, it can be hard to keep a machine going it you have really hard water. You might need to install a reverse osmosis filter for the water you use in machine.
• This [warning:opera music] is where I buy my espresso every morning, and the reason I don't own an espresso machine. Nothing beats what they brew. Nothing. Any monkey who finds themself in SF should contact me and I'll buy you the best espresso of your life.
• My local coffee guy has offered to demo machines for me when I'm ready to buy a new one. I think that's the best way: try them out, see what they do. My only worry is that I'm going to walk out of there with a new La Pavoni and big hole in my wallet... I have an elderly Krups, one of the more expensive ones, and it works great, now that I've got my coffee grinder set up right. It takes a while to figure exactly how much coffee, how hard to tamp, and how fine to grind. I think if you're in the market for something GOOD pods are off the menu - I mean, when were those beans roasted? If it wasn't within the last week, then forget it. I enjoy paying a call on my suppliers once a week and picking up fresh beans. A survey of local baristas in Wellington revealed a lot of them don't even have espresso machines at home and drink plunger coffee instead. I would agree that well-made plunger coffee is worth drinking and would tide you over until you have made your mind up. I'll make stovetop espresso when camping, and I won't refuse it if offered, but I find it over-extracted and bitter these days.
• i use one of these at work - it's more or less an electric bialetti. at home, i have a grinder from starbucks that i'm very happy with. i generally drink filter coffee at home, though i've a few stovetop contraptions for espresso when the fancy takes me. if i wanted a good sturdy espresso maker for home, i'd buy gaggia.
• My girlfriend researched many machines for about $250, and, she chose the Briel Cadiz off Amazon. For the price, it is the best that you can get. After I got it, I did the research and if I wanted a better one, I would have had to spend over $600. I have had it for a year, and I have no complaints.
• Acquired a heavy-duty, Italian-made, top-of-the-stove pot about forty years ago -- still going strong and hasn't imploded nor does it produce burnt espresso. Has aluminum walls about 1/2 inch thick, I don't recall the manufacturer. But, alas, it doesn't look a bit like R2D2.
• brokevespa--I noticed the Briels on amazon and was curious. I'm not familiar with the brand at all. All you alls who keep telling me to use a stovetop maker, I appreciate your advice and I swear I'm not against them--in fact I've appreciated having them in my life at times--it's just that I prefer the ease of the electric pump machine and the fact that I can do things like pull a bunch of shots one after the other, if neccessary.
• Espresso Black coffee at sidewalk cafes with chairs and tables like gaudy insects. It is a precious sip we intercept filled with the same strength as Yes and No. It is fetched out of gloomy kitchens and looks into the sun without blinking. In daylight a dot of wholesome black quickly drained by the wan patron... Like those black drops of profundity sometimes absorbed by the soul that give us a healthy push: Go! The courage to open our eyes. -- Tomas Transtromer, trans by May swenson and Leif Sjoberg
• Oooh - beeswacky, nice. I like "Where coffee is served there is grace and splendour and friendship and happiness". --Sheikh Ansari Djezeri Hanball Abd-al-Kadir from In Praise of Coffee.
• I got my very own machine this Christmas. It's an ultra-cheap steam-driven device, but it does the biz fairly well, and I lurve it with all of my might.
• do hand me a cup at five a.m. it's time to get the stables clean again sound like a horse with my head in a bucket without coffee in me I'd just say BEEP* (turn off that alarm and go back to sleep) *salutes Crackpot