Stovetop espresso makers anyone?

[Avotius]

I never cared for coffee.

Then I started drinking the odd espresso with my Norwegian friend, may he rest in peace. Now I have a one year old daughter who seems to have espresso flowing through her veins and I get why coffee is part of a balanced diet.

Now as a coffee newb I want to stop drinking Starbucks and Costa espresso. 3 dollars for a double sucks.

Been looking at a stovetop espresso maker like a Bialetti Venus or Moka. I hear they are not bad and a good way to get into better tasting coffee on the cheap. I always heard to avoid aluminum cookware so stainless steel?

Maybe something else the veterans can suggest?

 

[Steinberg2010]

Bialetti make very good pots. I'm not sure about the material though!

I'm now caffeine free but mainly used one of those pots until a few months ago!

I would highly recommend a stovetop pot, but also grind your own beans either by hand in a dedicated hand grinder or a burr-grinder (use Amazon). The flavour is so much better!

~S

 

[matoqui]

Hello,

This kind of coffee maker

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ESPRESSOKAN...te_Kaffeemaschinenzubehör&hash=item33811974f3

is often used at home in Italy. The coffee will be good, not excellent. Make sure you remove it form the heat as soon as it starts producing coffee - otherwise the beverage can "burn" and the taste deteriorates.

However, in my experience you can get something closer to Starbuck's with this kind:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Krups-Il-Pr...all_Kitchen_Appliances_US&hash=item3cd79cf463

which you can also find in Sears and Sam's Club.

Of course, for best results you need to start with good ground coffee. Some people grind the beans themselves to have top quality.

This is a good link to learn more about espresso:

http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2007/03/making-perfect/

Enjoy!

Manuel

 

[Avotius]

Grind my own eh? Noted. Will get me a grinder.

 

[Avotius]

Anyone for the french press?

 

[gm13]

I'm a french press guy. Good brew and it's simple. I've a nice Frieling insulated version that I use for boat or camping because it's rugged though I suspect keeping the brew hot for longer leads to some bitterness too. I've been tempted by stovetop espresso makers but always leery about the temperatures involved, quick way to bitter coffee it seems, if you don't babysit them, no experience with one though. Also, given this is RFF, go with a hand grinder, electric grinders are the digital of grinding, no soul🙂

 

[btgc]

How about being purist and bewing coffee in a conical lab flask? You control the water, temp and time, everything! Just be sure to have one dedicated for coffee 🙂

 

[Roger Hicks]

Or switching to Greek/Turkish coffee...

Cheers,

R.

 

[Avotius]

How about being purist and bewing coffee in a conical lab flask? You control the water, temp and time, everything! Just be sure to have one dedicated for coffee 🙂

Like that poor dead chemist in Breaking Bad? Haha....I think I will try the easy way then graduate up 😉

 

[Avotius]

Was looking on Amazon and the moka pots are made of aluminum and I have always heard it can be dangerous to your health to cook anything in aluminum so I was searching out a stainless version. I have a plug in hot water pot so can boil water in that then add it to the coffee pot.

These are all good tips, I think tomorrow I will make a purchase after a little more shopping around.

 

[btgc]

Like that poor dead chemist in Breaking Bad? Haha....I think I will try the easy way then graduate up 😉

Like a guy in Remark's "Arch of triumph", I think.

I also wouldn't go for aluminum pot. Maybe it's great in flying objects but why take chances.

 

[milosdevino]

I have one of these
http://www.ebay.com/itm/The-Origina...all_Kitchen_Appliances_US&hash=item20d9656c0f
They make really nice coffee and do the frothy milk as well. Very expensive but will last a lifetime, had mine 20+ yrs already. It was the bargain of the decade $4, not $450.

 

[JoeV]

I use a Bialetti, a barista machine and an Aeropress. All three make great coffee but I think I prefer the Aeropress the best. It's like an upside down french press with a small paper disc filter. The fineness of grind, water temperature and length of steeping time can all be modulated to fine tune the coffee to just how you like it. Doesn't require espresso-fine grind but somewhere between drip and espresso. No aluminum, but plastic.

~Joe

 

[ampguy]

Moka pots make good turkish coffee. For espresso, I use different PID controlled machines to control the temp and pressure, with a Baratza Vario grinder and gram scale. VST baskets, usually a naked portafilter.