People, I know what you think. "This woman has been in Italy for well over a year and not - repeat - not made a cup of espresso at home yet." Iknowiknowiknow. But I have owned an espresso pot for well over a year and that counts for something. Today was the day I decided to use it for the very first time.
In the beginning, I actually did not like espresso much. Too dark and bitter coffee for my liking. But the coffee culture in Italy is so addictive. At 10 am every morning I either want to go to a coffee shop and have a shot of espresso, often with a cornetto (brioche) - or I make coffee at home, usually an instant...
Naturally, there are now very fancy coffee making machines in the market and capsules with different flavours so that you can be your own barista, but I like the shape and size of my espresso pot and prefer to make coffee this way. Especially now that I know how easy it is.
In the beginning, I actually did not like espresso much. Too dark and bitter coffee for my liking. But the coffee culture in Italy is so addictive. At 10 am every morning I either want to go to a coffee shop and have a shot of espresso, often with a cornetto (brioche) - or I make coffee at home, usually an instant...
Naturally, there are now very fancy coffee making machines in the market and capsules with different flavours so that you can be your own barista, but I like the shape and size of my espresso pot and prefer to make coffee this way. Especially now that I know how easy it is.
I found excellent step-by-step instructions from this blog www.thehungrymouse.com - so well worth checking it out, if you want some re-assurance on the actual process of making a decent cup of espresso.
There are couple of things to be aware of. An Italian friend told me that when making espresso in a never before used pot for the first time, you have to throw away the first cup of espresso because it often tastes bitter. Did that. The other thing is to make sure that you do not boil the water too fast or on a too big flame of gas. Again, the espresso will become bitter very quickly. You are also not supposed to peak inside the coffee pot all the time. Leave the lid on and the little pot will do its job. So, all this advice in mind, I set to make a shot of espresso.
I put cold water on the bottom part of the pot, up until the little screw mark. Then I added 3-4 teaspoons of coffee to the second part, enough to fill the small container. All that was left, was to tighten up the top part in place and set the pot on a moderate flame of gas on the stove.
After couple of minutes, there was a bubbly sound. When that finished I took the pot off the flame and took a peak inside: there it was, my very first home made espresso. It tasted very good, too!!! Success!!
After couple of minutes, there was a bubbly sound. When that finished I took the pot off the flame and took a peak inside: there it was, my very first home made espresso. It tasted very good, too!!! Success!!
