White Orchid Melody

This is a great little article about the benefits of breaking your shopping habits:

 http://down—to—earth.blogspot.com/2007/10/living-small.html

Those of you who are addicted to your caffeine fix, but are looking for a more frugal solution than a daily run to Starbucks, might find the following useful.

Some form of espresso/cappuccino maker has been a fixture on our kitchen counter since we got married.  We aren’t regular coffee drinkers, but love a good mocha.  Making a mocha at home is much more economical than buying one out.  It might not be quite as good, but it’s a heck of a lot easier on the wallet.  And actually, our mocha-making skills have improved quite a bit thanks to this book.  It’s about opening an espresso business, but the tips are useful for just making good espresso drinks at home too. 

In addition to a machine, to make a good Cappuccino or Mocha at home you need:

Fresh, cold water - make sure the water you put in the machine is nice and cold.  And depending on the type of machine you are using, it may need to be filtered. 

The right grinder - don’t buy pre-ground coffee for making espresso-based drinks.  The grounds are too big and you won’t get a good brew.  Buy whole bean coffee and and an inexpensive ($10) grinder and taste the difference!  Your grinder should have an espresso or very fine setting.

Well-tamped grounds - at coffeehouses, they have tampers which are round metal inserts that mash the grounds nice and tight inside the filter.  Most at-home machines don’t come with one, but you can make do with a coffee scoop with a flat bottom, or even the bottom of a shot glass.  Just move it around and press until the grounds packed down.  Tightly packed grounds hold the water, which allows the sugars to be extracted from the coffee.  You will know your grounds were compact if you see the crema form on the top of the coffee.  The crema is a light colored foam that comes from the sugars in the coffee.  You will see it on the surface of the coffee and it should cling to the sides of the pot.  If it starts to break down, you have brewed for too long.  You should turn off the brew, or your coffee will get watered down.

A stainless steel carafe - this is for steaming your milk (or soymilk).  The key to perfectly frothed milk is to have the tip of the wand right at the surface of the milk.  It should create a swirling effect by suctioning and steaming at the same time.  Put the wand in and leave it in one spot.  There is no need to swirl it all around the carafe.  Once you have the desired amount of froth, drop the wand below the surface to get the milk nice and hot.

You’ll want to steam your milk before brewing your espresso.  Or, if your machine allows, concurrently.  The key is to add the espresso to the milk as soon as it is done brewing, before the crema has a chance to break down.  The best espresso is brewed into the serving cup, thus preserving all of the crema.  This is sometimes difficult with a cappuccino as you need a larger cup.

Making good cappuccino at home requires getting to know your machine.  But these basic principles should help you with any type of machine.  I have seen an improvement in the end product on a $30 machine and a $200 machine, just by tamping down the grounds and getting the wand right in the frothing.  You will be able to finesse the timing of your brew based on your own machine though. 

Happy Caffeinating!