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Italian Coffee

Espresso Coffee

Espresso Coffee - Short black

There is loads of information available about making the perfect espresso - Don't worry you won't get it right the first time. You may never get it right. Some people are just like that.

  For the best espresso coffee or the purest essence of coffee use top quality, freshly roasted beans, usually a dark roast such as Italian or Viennese or Dark French.. Espresso is brewed by forcing, under pressure, boiling hot water from the boiler, through packed coffee contained in a stainless steel filter with fine holes at the bottom to allow the Espresso coffee essence through.. This produces the purest essence of coffee with a layer of light brown foam or froth, originating the name Creme de Café.
          The proper grind of coffee is extremely important to produce good Espresso and Creme de Café. If the grind is too coarse, the Espresso will be watery and contain no Creme de Café. If the grind is too fine, the Espresso could go bitter. The grind is correct if brewing time is from 10 to 12 seconds and a good Creme de Café is obtained in a pre-warmed, heavy 2-1/2 to 3 oz. espresso cup (demitase).

1. Fill Filter holder (handle) full with ground coffee. Freshly ground and top quality of course but you know this already. How it is ground is important also of course but not on this page. The filter holder is the thingy that holds the coffee onto the espresso machine. It has a holder for the coffee with thin holes at the bottom that boiling water under pressure is forced through. Put a bit more coffee in, be generous. Oh- before putting the handle in the machine, good idea to put some boiling water from the machine into the cup - just a shot - this serves two purposes: Warms the cup first (don't forget to empty it before filling with coffee) and also, it clears any old coffee or grounds that are inadvertantly stuck in the machine from the last cup.

2. Use tamping tool to press coffee firmly with a slight twisting motion. Firm packing increases the resistance to hot water and allows the maximum amount of oil and essence to be extracted and the wonderful aroma to be released. (Tamping by hand gives best results, tamp to weight of about 3-4kilos of weight - 6-10 pounds and make it smooth, and level in the holder).

3. Now clean the top of holder with the palm of your hand so it will seal cleanly into the machine. Ground coffee on the top is not so good for the machine as there is a rubber gasket seal in the machine and it will wear out very quickly if you don't wipe clean your handle. Yes you should have clean hands, but don't worry, the coffee with be sterelised in any case whne it flows through to the cup below it.

4. Lock filter holder into machine, place small cup or glass under spout. Lock it good, you don't want to muck around in this regard. Most fit into grooves and are twisted hard to the left. So when it is in position, pull hard so you know it will not pop out of place because scalding water under pressure is going to go through there.

5. Push button (or however you turn it on) for espresso setting- 10-15 second pour for 6-7g of coffee- 30mls of coffee. This is to reasonable fill an espresso cup which is less than half the size of a normal cup. You don't need to fill the cup to the top in any case. The coffee should have a nice brown (tan) froth (cream or crema) on the top. Watch the water going in. When it starts to seriously be less than dark, turn the water off. Don't add bitter water to your beautiful cup of coffee. This is the worst sin, putting too much water through the handle diluting your coffee. It doesn't just dilute it, it makes it nasty. Don't believe me? make a short black, take the cup away, then put another cup down and turn the machine on again, yech.

When finished - you can take the handle out of the machine, give it a whack against the side of the box where you keep the grounds. Store the handle in the water. You definitely need to get the grounds out of the holder before starting again. We used a wooden box with a rubber roller from an old printer stuck across it that we used to bang the handle on to dump the grounds. Sorry, can't explain it much better than that. Of course the cleaner the handle is, the better the next cup is in any case. Also if you leave it stuck in the machine too long, the little holes get blocked up. Now drink it before it gets cold.

Espresso Long black

Be careful of long black's as this could mean a watered down short black or a double short black. Don't take a chance, life is too short, get it right the first time. This isn't some kind of politcally correct sociopathic sort of "we will know better next time". This is not a dress rehersal. Get it right.

Ristretto

For the ultimate buzz and the pure essence. Basically, its an espresso with more coffee added and less water. Ristretto means RESTRICTED. (as in the amount of water). So to fill up the espresso cup (demi-tasse), add more coffee to your handle and tamp it good. Don't muck around with this unless your are serious. Yes, you may like it with sugar, and sometimes its served with a lemon peel on the side (but who knows why?). Ristretto is the strongest of all. Feel superior when you order your ristretto. Look ridiculous when they bring out a hot chocolate instead.

Flat White - why would anybody go for something with such a boring name? "Hey, I'll have a flat white to go with my house in the suburbs". In any case, just pour the hot steamed milk over your espresso so it is a milky as you like it. What is really the difference between a flat white, a latte, and and a cafe au lait? Who cares.

Cappuccino - Everyones favourite because you get the frothy stuff with the chocolate on top. You get what you deserve.

Italian Cappuccino (or any cappuccino for that matter) must be topped with a rich, milk foam, a froth, which slowly dissolves into the Creme de Café. Make 3 ozs. of Espresso in a pre-warmed, heavy 5 oz. porcelain cup. Make a generous portion of frothed milk in a stainless steel frothing pitcher. Remove the froth with a large spoon and place on top of the Espresso. Serve plain or sprinkle with grated chocolate, cinnamon or nutmeg. Go for the chocolate, it is much nicer. You can also decorate the foam using the coffee coloured "crema" against the pure white milk foam. The only downside of a cappucino is when you get an amateur barista making it and the espresso is watered down and / or their is too much milk. Make it 1/3 espresso, 1/3 steamed milk, and 1/3 foam. (Tell them if its not right - you are paying for a proper job of it. If you let them continue to serve bad coffee, its your fault the next customer gets it bad also). Starbucks makes a particularly milky cappuccino. It needs at least twice the actual coffee to begin to come up to par. But who cares, they are laughing all the way to bank because you don't know any better and are too much of a wuss to say anything or go next door (next door is probably out of business anyway by now, so you get what you deserve).

Cappuccino is a name which refers to Franciscan monks who wear a long pointed cowl called a “capuche.” These guys were probably morons like most monks. The name itself is Italian in origin and comes from “cappuccio” which means hood. Some time ago after introducing the first Espresso machines in Italy, the Italians began experimenting with different kinds of coffee drinks by mixing the strong Espresso with other ingredients in order to make it more palatable.
          Espresso coffee at that particular time was extremely strong and bitter. This was due to the fact that the beans were roasted very dark because of the poor quality of green coffee they received from their African colonies in Ethiopia. The Italians soon discovered that their Espresso became more palatable by topping it with milk frothed underneath the steamers of their early Espresso machines. They noticed that the white topping on the coffee was somehow like the tonsure of the Capuchin monk, which is a shaven crown of the head. They also noticed that the color of Espresso coffee around the edge of the cup was not black, but dark brownish, just like the color of the monks robes. From then on this comparison gave the name of “Cappuccino” to that particular Italian Espresso served in large cups and topped with milk froth.

Cappuccino information from Wikipedia (but edited): Cappuccino is an Italian beverage, prepared with and milk. A cappuccino is generally defined as 1/3 esrpesso coffee , 1/3 steamed milk and 1/3 frothed milk. . A cappuccino differs from a latte, which is mostly milk and little foam. The "iced cappuccino" (or Freddo cappuccino) beverage is somewhat of a misnomer since there is no way to duplicate the foam on top of the hot beverage, but the term is nevertheless widely spread in some Mediterranean countries where ice is added before the foam. Espresso and cold milk on ice is called an iced cafe latte, while an espresso macchiato is a shot of espresso "stained" with a dollop of milk foam.

Besides a quality shot of espresso, the most important element in preparing a cappuccino is the texture and temperature of the milk. When a barista steams the milk for a cappuccino, he or she creates microfoam by introducing very tiny bubbles of air into the milk, giving the milk a velvety texture and sweetness. In some places, skilled baristas create latte art when pouring properly steamed milk into the espresso, making designs such as apples, hearts, leaves, I love yoos etc.

Cappuccino was mostly European until recent times. In the 1980's it started becoming fashionble in fine cafes across America and the world. You can now get a cappuccino at Macdonalds. Dip your big mac into it to make it taste better.

To make the froth and steam the milk properly will take practice. If it starts to squeek, then you are doing it wrong or there isn't enough pressure. Don't let it squeek. You may never get it right.

Short/Long Macciato

Add just a dash of your steamed milk on top for a normal Macciato, and add a couple of shots of hot water for the long.
The result should be a very hot, very strong dark brown coffee with a white dot of creamy milk onto of the coffee.

CAFÉ AU LAIT or LATTE

Basically same as a Latte but French instead of Italian. Go for Cafe con leche in Spain or Latin America. Café au Lait was originally served in France by brewing strong coffee, usually French Roast, and serving it with a pitcher of steamed milk. The coffee and steamed milk were then poured together in more or less equal amounts in a large bowl shaped cup. The Italian version, called Café Latte, should be made from equal amounts of Espresso and steamed milk but be careful, as most times you will have one espresso hit to mix with a big bowl of milk. (coffee flavoured hot milk).

Mocha

1. Place 2 teaspoons of chocolate powder in a glass with a small amount of hot water.
2. Fill filter holder full with ground coffee.
3. Use tamping tool to press coffee firmly with a slight twisting motion.
4. Level the coffee and clean the lugs.
5. Lock filter holder into machine and place glass under the spout.
6. Push button for espresso setting- no more then 25-30 seconds- no more then 30mls of coffee.
7. Blend chocolate and espresso together.
8. Steam milk and top with whipped cream or a thick layer of foam, sprinkle with chocolate.
9. A delicious long drink, a combination of chocolate and coffee- can be served in many variations.

Iced Coffee

1. Place 1 scoop of ice cream in glass.
2. Pour a double shot of cold coffee into the glass. Coffee liquor can be used, made through the espresso machine or the new Robert Timms RT Ice Coffee Mixer Syrups can also be used, available in Mocha, Choc Hazelnut and Espresso flavours.
3. Top up with milk to within 2cm of the top of the glass.
4. Further top up the glass with whipped cream and sprinkle with chocolate.
5. Serve in a parfait glass.
HINT If your shot of coffee is from the espresso machine mix a little vanilla or sugar with your espresso this will help sweeten your iced coffee.

Affogato

1. Add a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream to a small dish or glass.
2. Serve an espresso in a small jug with the ice cream.
3. Pour the espresso over the ice cream and enjoy.
4. Robert Timms RT Ice Mocha, Choc Hazel or Espresso syrups can all be used as alternatives to an espresso shot, or even a liqueur.