it looked good. very fancy in fact. after a very long time reading the manual we finally figured out how to use it; well, turn it on at least. we also discovered a hidden society for scarily serious coffee drinkers. for an example:
"Brewing ratio" is the best way to specify what a "ristretto," "regular espresso," or "lungo" is. Brewing ratio is the ratio of dry coffee used to liquid beverage produced. For example, a 32 gram espresso shot prepared with 16 grams of coffee would have a brewing ratio of 16/32 or 50%. Previously I called this the "extraction ratio," but I believe "brewing ratio" is the more descriptive term. It is already used by the SCAA in defining brewed coffee parameters.
When first introduced to this approach, many people feel the geek coefficient is too high. They feel more comfortable remaining confused and deluded, gliby mouthing the terms "ristretto," "espresso" and "lungo." But I think that many serious home and professional baristas are motivated enough to seek a better way to communicate.
geek coefficient? you don't say.
whilst we haven't joined the coffee community who take this more seriously than their day jobs, we have become quite proficient in coffee-making. we know the difference between good and bad crema, how much coffee to grind to make a weak, strong, super strong cup of coffee, how to do a single or double espresso etc. it's been quite the learning experience all round. i even know how to refill the machine with water (big hint: everything shuts down without any warning leaving you incredulous and p'd off).
we don't rate illy coffee beans at all (we've tried their dark roast and regular roast). we much prefer the wholefoods range of beans - columbian at the moment. the crema produced by these beans is really good and the coffee just tastes better.
as for the steaming milk option - there is a knack to getting it frothy enough so it has body rather than just bubbles on the top. i have yet to learn it, sigh. interestingly enough, 2 percent or skimmed milk froths better than whole milk. i am going to try it with soy too and see how that goes.
now that i have crossed over into geek land, i am signing off before it's too late.
be your own barista. or not.
after several years of a Lavazza espresso machine that did all the work for us (using pods), we decided to branch out and get ourselves a coffee machine with just sufficient bells and whistles but not enough that we didn't have to do some work ourselves. i believe the term is semi-automatic. pffft. too much semi for my liking.
introducing the beauty and bane of our lives: the expobar brewtus II.
it looked good. very fancy in fact. after a very long time reading the manual we finally figured out how to use it; well, turn it on at least. we also discovered a hidden society for scarily serious coffee drinkers. for an example:
"Brewing ratio" is the best way to specify what a "ristretto," "regular espresso," or "lungo" is. Brewing ratio is the ratio of dry coffee used to liquid beverage produced. For example, a 32 gram espresso shot prepared with 16 grams of coffee would have a brewing ratio of 16/32 or 50%. Previously I called this the "extraction ratio," but I believe "brewing ratio" is the more descriptive term. It is already used by the SCAA in defining brewed coffee parameters.
When first introduced to this approach, many people feel the geek coefficient is too high. They feel more comfortable remaining confused and deluded, gliby mouthing the terms "ristretto," "espresso" and "lungo." But I think that many serious home and professional baristas are motivated enough to seek a better way to communicate.
geek coefficient? you don't say.
whilst we haven't joined the coffee community who take this more seriously than their day jobs, we have become quite proficient in coffee-making. we know the difference between good and bad crema, how much coffee to grind to make a weak, strong, super strong cup of coffee, how to do a single or double espresso etc. it's been quite the learning experience all round. i even know how to refill the machine with water (big hint: everything shuts down without any warning leaving you incredulous and p'd off).
we don't rate illy coffee beans at all (we've tried their dark roast and regular roast). we much prefer the wholefoods range of beans - columbian at the moment. the crema produced by these beans is really good and the coffee just tastes better.
as for the steaming milk option - there is a knack to getting it frothy enough so it has body rather than just bubbles on the top. i have yet to learn it, sigh. interestingly enough, 2 percent or skimmed milk froths better than whole milk. i am going to try it with soy too and see how that goes.
now that i have crossed over into geek land, i am signing off before it's too late.
it looked good. very fancy in fact. after a very long time reading the manual we finally figured out how to use it; well, turn it on at least. we also discovered a hidden society for scarily serious coffee drinkers. for an example:
"Brewing ratio" is the best way to specify what a "ristretto," "regular espresso," or "lungo" is. Brewing ratio is the ratio of dry coffee used to liquid beverage produced. For example, a 32 gram espresso shot prepared with 16 grams of coffee would have a brewing ratio of 16/32 or 50%. Previously I called this the "extraction ratio," but I believe "brewing ratio" is the more descriptive term. It is already used by the SCAA in defining brewed coffee parameters.
When first introduced to this approach, many people feel the geek coefficient is too high. They feel more comfortable remaining confused and deluded, gliby mouthing the terms "ristretto," "espresso" and "lungo." But I think that many serious home and professional baristas are motivated enough to seek a better way to communicate.
geek coefficient? you don't say.
whilst we haven't joined the coffee community who take this more seriously than their day jobs, we have become quite proficient in coffee-making. we know the difference between good and bad crema, how much coffee to grind to make a weak, strong, super strong cup of coffee, how to do a single or double espresso etc. it's been quite the learning experience all round. i even know how to refill the machine with water (big hint: everything shuts down without any warning leaving you incredulous and p'd off).
we don't rate illy coffee beans at all (we've tried their dark roast and regular roast). we much prefer the wholefoods range of beans - columbian at the moment. the crema produced by these beans is really good and the coffee just tastes better.
as for the steaming milk option - there is a knack to getting it frothy enough so it has body rather than just bubbles on the top. i have yet to learn it, sigh. interestingly enough, 2 percent or skimmed milk froths better than whole milk. i am going to try it with soy too and see how that goes.
now that i have crossed over into geek land, i am signing off before it's too late.
