Monday, April 30, 2007
80 Degrees and Snow
Only in Colorado can you have consecutive days with the temperature over 80 degrees and still have snow in the ground. We got 16 inches of snow Tuesday night and by Saturday we hit 83. Even now, there are still large piles of snow in many shaded areas.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Espresso Machines
A friend recently called me from a Starbucks and asked for my advice choosing a new Espresso machine. He was looking at machines in the $200-$300 dollar range and thought a few of them there looked pretty good.
First of all, there are very few machines for less than $500 capable of making "real" Espresso and those that can have difficulty to do it repeatably. Now some may argue that their XYZ machine makes fine espresso for $100 or whatever. There is simply an inverse ratio of machine cost to preparation complexity. Even machines in the $500-$600 range require a pretty complex process to produce really good espresso. Not everyone has the patience to develop the process and repeat it accurately to produce good espresso.
So if you are looking for a machine that makes "Real" Espresso, here are your choices:
The least expensive are "Capsule" machines. Don't confuse these with "pod" machines. Capsules are hard plastic and air tight, pods are soft paper like tea-bags. One makes Espresso and the other doesn't.
Here is a easy tip for identifying "real" Espresso -- when you look at a recently made espresso, if the liquid inside is black -- it isn't espresso. Espresso is golden brown. Part of the magic of espresso is the exctaction of carbon dioxide from the beans -- that is what makes to golden cream or Crema in the cup. Without it, you have coffee.
I have a Nespresso capsule machine in my office, and it makes a pretty good cup of espresso. I generally don't make milk drinks (Latte, Cappuccino, Etc) so the lack of steaming capability isn't a problem. There are other Nespresso machines that can steam. Learn more about them here
A friend describes it's output as "Swiss" Espresso, which implies that it is not as strong and rich as "Italian" Espresso. He's right. But for less than $200 and 45 cents a shot it makes a pretty good cup without the considerable mess of a traditional machine. Nespresso frequently lists refurbished machines on E-Bay for a 15-20% discount.
Moving beyond the capsule machines you can choose between a semi-automatic machine and a super-automatic machine.
Semi-auto machines require the operator to grind coffee, dose, tamp, pull and froth milk manually. Super Auto's do all that automatically, only requiring the operator to keep the beans and milk topped-up. These are more expensive than semi-autos, but compared with a semi-auto and the required burr grinder, the difference gets pretty small.
If you are interested in producing the highest espresso quality possible and are willing to spend some time learning the technique required to achieve that; then semi-auto is the right choice. If you just want to produce good espresso with little or no practice, then get a super-automatic.
Good Espresso = Super Auto
Great Espresso = Semi Auto + Technique
I have used the $700 Gaggia Syncrony Logic super-auto extensively and am very impressed by it's performance. As noted above It makes good espresso (better then my Nespresso) at the push of a button.
Gaggia also makes very good semi-auto machines. Two friends have smaller Gaggia's (a Baby-D and a Compact). Both are very happy with them. These machines are ~$500 each and will require another ~$300-$400 for a good grinder. These are all good starter machines.
The next level in the quest for espresso perfection is a dual-boiler semi-auto. This is the biggest, baddest machine you can get without rewiring and plumbing your kitchen. My current machine is a dual-boiler Expobar Brewtus II. A dual-boiler has one boiler for brewing espresso and another for steaming milk. Single boiler machines (also called heat-exchangers) have one boiler for steaming and plumb the brew water through a heat-exchanger in the steam boiler to heat the brew water. This makes it difficult to achieve the kind of temperature control necessary to produce spectacular espresso. Dual-boiler designs offer the performance of a large commercial machine in a smaller footprint, and without wiring and plumbing. Prices for dual-boiler machines range from $2000 - $4000. With time and practice these machines make espresso better then almost any coffee shop and every Starbucks.
The pinnacle is the full Commercial machine. These require 240v power (like your clothes dryer) and a plumbed in water supply and drain (like your washer). Hmmm... Never thought of using the laundry room for Espresso...
I've had my Expobar B2 for over 18 months and am very happy. It took almost a year to really understand how to operate it properly. During that time half the shots were drinkable and the rest were bitter or sour and ended up in the sink. I don't remember my last sink shot. If you aren't ready to spend months learning to make great espresso, think about a super-auto.
There are many variables in the quest for perfect espresso and with time you can understand many of them and produce espresso that is better than anything you can buy at a almost any US coffee shop.
So, how committed are you?
First of all, there are very few machines for less than $500 capable of making "real" Espresso and those that can have difficulty to do it repeatably. Now some may argue that their XYZ machine makes fine espresso for $100 or whatever. There is simply an inverse ratio of machine cost to preparation complexity. Even machines in the $500-$600 range require a pretty complex process to produce really good espresso. Not everyone has the patience to develop the process and repeat it accurately to produce good espresso.
So if you are looking for a machine that makes "Real" Espresso, here are your choices:
The least expensive are "Capsule" machines. Don't confuse these with "pod" machines. Capsules are hard plastic and air tight, pods are soft paper like tea-bags. One makes Espresso and the other doesn't.
Here is a easy tip for identifying "real" Espresso -- when you look at a recently made espresso, if the liquid inside is black -- it isn't espresso. Espresso is golden brown. Part of the magic of espresso is the exctaction of carbon dioxide from the beans -- that is what makes to golden cream or Crema in the cup. Without it, you have coffee.
I have a Nespresso capsule machine in my office, and it makes a pretty good cup of espresso. I generally don't make milk drinks (Latte, Cappuccino, Etc) so the lack of steaming capability isn't a problem. There are other Nespresso machines that can steam. Learn more about them here
A friend describes it's output as "Swiss" Espresso, which implies that it is not as strong and rich as "Italian" Espresso. He's right. But for less than $200 and 45 cents a shot it makes a pretty good cup without the considerable mess of a traditional machine. Nespresso frequently lists refurbished machines on E-Bay for a 15-20% discount.
Moving beyond the capsule machines you can choose between a semi-automatic machine and a super-automatic machine.
Semi-auto machines require the operator to grind coffee, dose, tamp, pull and froth milk manually. Super Auto's do all that automatically, only requiring the operator to keep the beans and milk topped-up. These are more expensive than semi-autos, but compared with a semi-auto and the required burr grinder, the difference gets pretty small.
If you are interested in producing the highest espresso quality possible and are willing to spend some time learning the technique required to achieve that; then semi-auto is the right choice. If you just want to produce good espresso with little or no practice, then get a super-automatic.
Good Espresso = Super Auto
Great Espresso = Semi Auto + Technique
I have used the $700 Gaggia Syncrony Logic super-auto extensively and am very impressed by it's performance. As noted above It makes good espresso (better then my Nespresso) at the push of a button.
Gaggia also makes very good semi-auto machines. Two friends have smaller Gaggia's (a Baby-D and a Compact). Both are very happy with them. These machines are ~$500 each and will require another ~$300-$400 for a good grinder. These are all good starter machines.
The next level in the quest for espresso perfection is a dual-boiler semi-auto. This is the biggest, baddest machine you can get without rewiring and plumbing your kitchen. My current machine is a dual-boiler Expobar Brewtus II. A dual-boiler has one boiler for brewing espresso and another for steaming milk. Single boiler machines (also called heat-exchangers) have one boiler for steaming and plumb the brew water through a heat-exchanger in the steam boiler to heat the brew water. This makes it difficult to achieve the kind of temperature control necessary to produce spectacular espresso. Dual-boiler designs offer the performance of a large commercial machine in a smaller footprint, and without wiring and plumbing. Prices for dual-boiler machines range from $2000 - $4000. With time and practice these machines make espresso better then almost any coffee shop and every Starbucks.
The pinnacle is the full Commercial machine. These require 240v power (like your clothes dryer) and a plumbed in water supply and drain (like your washer). Hmmm... Never thought of using the laundry room for Espresso...
I've had my Expobar B2 for over 18 months and am very happy. It took almost a year to really understand how to operate it properly. During that time half the shots were drinkable and the rest were bitter or sour and ended up in the sink. I don't remember my last sink shot. If you aren't ready to spend months learning to make great espresso, think about a super-auto.
There are many variables in the quest for perfect espresso and with time you can understand many of them and produce espresso that is better than anything you can buy at a almost any US coffee shop.
So, how committed are you?
Europe Photos
We have a Flickr account and have published many of the European vacation photos there. Here is the URL.
http://flickr.com/photos/ren-kathy/
http://flickr.com/photos/ren-kathy/
Shoe/Pedal Experiment
After years of riding mountain bike shoes exclusively, I am trying road shoes and pedals to see if the increased pedal platform is more comfortable. I'm a huge fan of Sidi shoes -- i think I am on my 5th pair -- so I bought a pair of Sidi Ergo 2's for this experiment. I also got a pair of new Ultegra PD-6620's which have a very large platform. I chose them as they have a replaceable steel plate under the cleat instead of the plastic plate of the previous model.
Any cyclist will tell you that changing shoe/pedal can be pretty traumatic. Other than seat height the foot/shoe/pedal connection is the most critical thing to a comfortable fit. Since I have been using the same shoe/pedal combo for 3+ years and 20k miles, this is a significant change.
So, this morning I installed the cleats -- typically done multiple time to achieve a good fit. The shoes, which have a carbon-fiber sole come with a small piece of grip-tape to allow the cleat to attach tothe sole without slipping. First time I have ever seen that.
For the first attempt I placed the cleats as far outboard as possible to achieve the minimum "Q Factor" and placed the pedal spindle about .5 cm behind the ball of my foot. This is pretty close to where my other shoes are. After a short ride I may reposition them a bit based on how they feel.
Any cyclist will tell you that changing shoe/pedal can be pretty traumatic. Other than seat height the foot/shoe/pedal connection is the most critical thing to a comfortable fit. Since I have been using the same shoe/pedal combo for 3+ years and 20k miles, this is a significant change.
So, this morning I installed the cleats -- typically done multiple time to achieve a good fit. The shoes, which have a carbon-fiber sole come with a small piece of grip-tape to allow the cleat to attach tothe sole without slipping. First time I have ever seen that.
For the first attempt I placed the cleats as far outboard as possible to achieve the minimum "Q Factor" and placed the pedal spindle about .5 cm behind the ball of my foot. This is pretty close to where my other shoes are. After a short ride I may reposition them a bit based on how they feel.
Saturday Espresso Blogging
I turned out some of the best espresso shots ever this morning. After using Vivace Dolce for the last few months we are trying Black Cat from Intelligentsia. David Schomer's Dolce blend has proven a little difficult to get a handle on, frequently resulting in a "woody" or "grassy" taste in the cup. I've tried temps from 92c to 98c (standard 7c offset) and reduced these flavors a bit but never completely eliminated them.
My first shot with Black Cat was really good but took almost a minute for 2 oz. I adjusted the grinder a little coarser and the next shot was spectacular, rich chocolate aroma and flavor. We tried this blend about a year ago without much success. In truth we were still learning how to use our machine. I am now a big Black Cat fan and encourage anyone looking for a forgiving blend to give it a try.
My first shot with Black Cat was really good but took almost a minute for 2 oz. I adjusted the grinder a little coarser and the next shot was spectacular, rich chocolate aroma and flavor. We tried this blend about a year ago without much success. In truth we were still learning how to use our machine. I am now a big Black Cat fan and encourage anyone looking for a forgiving blend to give it a try.
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