I mentioned recently that I bought a brand new coffee making rig. It’s true.
Before xmas, I decided it was time to get a proper espresso maker. I’d rid myself of my old monstrosity; a combination steam driven espresso maker and 8-cup drip pot together in one ugly, black plastic casing.
I never used the drip pot and the espresso maker churned out drinkable, yet not quite right cappuccinos and lattes and I’m a bit of a coffee obsessive, especially now.
I started doing what I usually do when I’m interested in something, I surfed the internet and I found three really good websites:
Each site is chock full of extremely useful information about coffee, from equipment reviews to bean recommendations and tips and tricks on how to get the best from your coffee. I learned loads, but still have lots more to learn. If you look carefully, you might even find some posts from me on one of the forums.
Growing up, I wasn’t into coffee. My parents either drank instant, or weak and watery filter coffee and all of it decaf.
It wasn’t until the early 80s that I had my first proper cappuccino. From then, I was hooked.
It wasn’t as easy as it is now to get a good coffee, this was in the days before there was a Starbucks on every corner, you had to look around to find places that made them right.
My Italian grandfather, my mother’s father, who came from just outside Naples, used to make espresso using a traditional stove-top, Moka pot and I can remember my parents saying that it was far too strong and bitter for their taste. I never got to try any, even though I wanted to. They said I wouldn’t like it. At that age, they were probably right, but I’ll never know. Grandpa’s been in heaven for a very long time.
I’ve owned a couple of steam driven espresso machines, besides the old one I recently binned. I bought my first one in the early 90s and used it for several years before it gave up the ghost. Another one followed and that lasted a few more years, but now, I own a proper machine.
It turned out, before I started my manic online information gathering exercise, I knew less than diddly squat about coffee.
For starters, the online coffee community refers to those steam driven espresso machines as “steam toys” as they don’t make real espresso. By steam driven, what I mean is that the water is heated to the temperature of steam and the steam pressure forces the overheated water through the ground coffee. That would make the water far too hot for brewing coffee.
Coffee should be brewed at just below boiling point; steam is water heated to beyond boiling point. That’s not good.
Proper espresso machines come in three varieties, all of them produce water at “brew temperature” plus steam for frothing milk, but each accomplishes this in different ways.
The most basic machine is called a single boiler-dual use machine and it works like this: Inside it is a a single boiler, with two user controllable thermostats, one heats the water to brew temp, the second brings it up to steam temp. The catch is, you have to wait for the machine to transition from one temp to the next, which can take a minute or so, depending upon the machine. You have to time what you are doing very carefully to get the most out of this machine. These are the least expensive as well and include most Gaggia home models and the Rancilio Silvia I contemplated buying.
At the other end of the scale are dual boiler machines; one at brew temp and a 2nd at steam temp. With this sort of system, you can pull shots and steam milk at the same time, without any waiting or transitioning. Most professional machines work this way.
And in the middle, the third category is what I bought, a heat exchanger (HX) machine. These are clever devices, they use one boiler which only comes up to steam temp, and the brew water is flash heated via a heat exchanger that passes through the boiler. This set up gives you continuous steam and brew capability, but without the extra complication of 2 boilers.
Have I bored the bejeezus out of you yet?
I’ll stop being technical now.
All of these machines are fairly simple to operate, but it takes a certain amount of knowledge and as I am learning, experience to maximise their potential.
By far the most important info I picked up from my new found coffee websites concerned beans and grinders. You need a seriously good grinder and you need freshly roasted beans.
Decent grinders, like anything good, aren’t cheap and my coffee expert pals all suggest you budget 50% of the cost of your espresso machine, for the grinder. Espresso machines can be quite finicky about how finely ground the coffee is, too fine and the machine will choke and you’ll get nothing out of it and if it is too coarse, your shot will pour too fast and you’ll have a cup of sour tasting swill.
Being a complete beginner at this, it took me a couple of hours of experimentation before I got my first drinkable shot from my new kit. Thankfully, the people I bought it from sent me a free kilo of roasted beans because I burned through half it on that first day and all but the last 2 shots went down the drain.
A proper espresso, single (1 oz) or double (2 oz), should take approximately 20-25 seconds to pour. Using lined shot glasses, marked at the 1 oz level and a stop watch, you aim for this magic timing and amount by adjusting the fineness of your grind. It took me a while to get a feel for all this, but since then I have used different beans, which required adjustments and have been able to fine-tune the grinder to improve my results. Today, I’ve made myself two cappuccinos and the espressos that went into them were the best I’ve made so far. They weren’t perfect, but I’m on my way!
By far, what has made the biggest difference to my coffee is fresh beans. I really wish someone share this key fact with me ages ago. Coffee beans need to rest for about 2 days after roasting, to allow for the CO2 gasses to be released, don’t ask me why. After that, its fresh for around 2 weeks, before it begins to go stale. Oh and it needs to be ground just prior to brewing, as its starts to go off within minutes of being turned to brown dust.
I didn’t know any of that shit! And its all true!
For the last few years, I’ve been using a cafetière, or press pot or French press, if you prefer, but I’ve been putting pre-ground, supermarket bought coffee into it. Drinkable, but nothing like the coffee I’ve been enjoying since I bought the new set-up.
Freshly ground beans are a revelation, with flavours so rich and complex that I don’t have the vocabulary or knowledge to really express it in any meaningful way. I can say, without question, that in the last week or so, I’ve had some of the best coffee I’ve ever tasted, anywhere!
Even Mrs. H noticed when I switched to the freshly roasted beans, that it tasted better. The place I’m getting them from is an online shop, which roasts them to order and ships them out, the same day. You receive them the next day, well packaged, with the date of roasting printed on the pack. And it’s not that expensive, either.
The espresso machine I bought is an Izzo Vivi, which is made in Italy, and is very shiny and heavy. The original design of this type of machine was patented in 1961 and it has a very distinctive grouphead, which if you visit coffee bars, you would probably recognise. It’s called an E61 grouphead; the grouphead is the bit they lock the portafilter into, just before brewing. Oh and the portafilter is the handle-thing which holds the filter basket, filled with ground coffee. I bet you know what I mean!
It took me ages to decide on which machine to buy and while my decision was guided and informed by those websites I mentioned, the person who helped me the most was the salesperson I spoke to at the online company where I bought it.
I spent nearly an hour on the telephone with this salesperson, asking as many questions as I could, including “which one do you own?” and “which one has the least returns?” The Izzo Vivi was the answer to both questions and I was sold. It was one of the models I was considering, anyway, so it wasn’t a complete surprise. Actually, the one I was leaning towards was significantly more expensive than the Vivi, but my salesperson friend said it wasn’t as well constructed and it was made of inferior components.
The Vivi is based on a commercial design and uses many of the same parts and components as its bigger, professional brothers. That means if and when it ever needs repairs, the new bits won’t be that expensive.
The place I bought it from is really cool, they give you a 2-year warranty plus they unbox, check and calibrate the machine, before shipping it to you. I was very impressed. They also double box it, which meant it arrived in pristine condition.
I also bought my grinder from this company, a Macap M4D, but I won’t bore you with too many details, except to say it is a professional piece of kit and should last for years, as should the espresso machine. They told me with care and maintenance, the Vivi should keep going for at least 20 years.
I’m not going to post a link to this company, as I don’t know if they would appreciate being associated with some drugged up weird-o like myself, but if anyone is interested in finding out more, please email me and I’ll gladly provide you with the link; just don’t tell ‘em the hippy sent you! I am very impressed with them and would heartily provide them with my seal of approval and recommendation. I don’t think I would have bought a machine in this price range, from anyone else.
Likewise for my source for coffee beans; I would love to throw some business their way, the coffee from them has been orgasmic and the service has been first class too, but I don’t want to piss them off because of who I am. I’m happy to provide the link privately, should you wish to try some for yourself and they’ll grind it for you, if you wish.
Some companies, like my good friends at EDIT are happy to be associated with me, others might find me a bit too controversial. That’s fair enough, I know I’m not everyone’s cup of tea, or rather coffee.
In my world, coffee is a drug, just like anything else that effects your mood or central nervous system. Caffeine is a serious stimulant and I am very sensitive to it, always have been. That means I have to stop drinking coffee fairly early in my day, or sleep will be elusive come bedtime. It doesn’t matter, because I really love the stuff, never more than I do now!
My coffee journey? The title of the this entry, comes from a phrase I’ve seen often repeated, to newbies such as myself on coffee forums and it refers to the route you take to get the best coffee experience imaginable. With fresh beans, my new grinder and my new espresso machine, my journey has moved several light years ahead in a very positive direction.
Bottoms up!
