Hall of Shame: ''What I did when I was a newbie...'' - Page 5

[Elbasso]

A friend came over and noticed my Silvia. He told me he had something similar, a Krups. I couldn't stop laughing. That is, untill he managed to serve me a cup from his "machine" that actually sucked less then the 210 F liquid death that I was producing at home. That was the moment I discovered the cooling flush .

[zin1953]

My first espresso machine was a Pavoni Euripocola . . . well, OK, first I had a moka pot and a stovetop steamer. That worked great until the glass beer stein I was using to steam milk in shattered into a thousand pieces one night (leaving me with milk -- literally -- on my face and the glass handle still firmly in my hand . . . and my date rolling on the floor laughing!).

That's when I discovered steaming pitchers. Of course it took me a while to figure out I was using an ibrik and not a steaming pitcher, but --

Once I got my Pavoni, I struggled with it for years wondering why I couldn't consistently pull great shots -- sometimes it flowed too quickly; sometimes it choked -- with my Krups blade grinder . . .

[quoad]

@ this thread...

I'm still very, very new... But a lot of these posts ring true!

My starting point was Whittard beans (a UK store selling beans that were probably - hopefully - roast in last month or so, and only sitting in jars open to the air for a week or so. Hopefully)...

With my whirly blade Krups grinder and a cafetiere, that WAS the peak of sophistication. I hadn't even heard of espresso, until I saw someone post on another website that they'd just spent £120 on 'an espresso machine'... Spending £120 on an espresso machine? Christ. Surely NO-ONE spends THAT much on coffee... Did he not know that there's a shop that sells beans? And he could get a grinder for twenty quid? A grinder with GOOD REVIEWS. On AMAZON, no less!

So, ey. I'd brew my (eight-cup) pot in the morning, have a mug with cream, and leave the other half of the cafetiere sitting there (cold, and brewing indefinitely) until I got back from work...

Came a point where I was quite enjoying my luxury coffee, so decided to spend fifty quid (NINETY dollars!) on one of these espresso machines. I did my research. On coffeegeek. And found that the DeLonghi Cafe Treviso was well up there.

Cue a year of painfully undrinkable cappuccino, as I lounged around being the peak of sophistication. One plumber told me it was the second best coffee he'd had in years.

Then I discovered a roaster, then got my own roaster (oddly, the beans still tasted better in the cafetiere...), then was talked into getting a Rocky Rancilio, so HAD to get a better espresso machine - a Gaggia Classic.

Thing is, the Rocky was factory-knackered. The burrs were off-kilter. So - having read EVERYWHERE what I had to do (six notches up from the zero point), I was producing six- to eight-second shots all year. And convinced (because that was 200 quidsworth of new grinder) that it HAD to be right, because - dammit - the equipment was so expensive.

Oddly enough, I stuck to cappuccinos. The one lad who came round for a 'tasting' of 'single origin' 'fresh roast' beans left in absolute horror. No crema, and I guessed that if it absolutely gushed out looking all foamy then - well - that must be kinda right.

Long story short - I've just had four weeks of revelation. Including a Mazzer Major, Macap M7, several screwdrivers, minor burns, one self-electrocution, and an Isomac Zaffiro.

So, uh, that's what espresso is, ey? Gosh. I quite like this drink It doesn't even need sugar and cream, aye!