phaelon56

Espresso Machines Plumbed In Espresso Machines - does it make sense? Least Expensive Machine for Decent Espresso? Return to Coffee Topics Master Index

I make hearts in my lattes and they're a love note to myself... or if I'm fortunate enough to have a female drinking companion I make sure she knows they're for her. I don't know what melkor's story is but I know what it should be - I was fortunate enough to share lunch with the melkor's and I suspect he's wise enough to regale her withlatte hearts damn near every day

I hear that it's true.....

Not exactly here or there in terms of topicality but the first commercial espresso machine ever placed in Noth America was a La Pavoni. It's still on display in the same place where it was originally installed in 1927: Caffe Reggio on MacDougal Street. Not one of my better pictures but it's a magnificent machine and worth seeing both for historical interest and as an industrial design statement of the era. Machine #1 Cafe Reggio This place is just dripping with authentic old NY atmosphere. They offer decent soup, excellent panini sandwiches and, ironically ebough, the espresso drinks are truly mediocre.

I won't go near that quote with my own version - it would be way too revealing I'll have to ponder for awhile to come up with a few others but I always like the one that Coffee Messiah in Seattle uses on their window and their t-shirts Then there's the bumper sticker: "Friends Don't Let Friends Drink Starbucks"

Staying on the topic of "why all the mini stuff?".... some things seem to suffer from being miniaturized Mini's that work for me 1) Skirts (just kidding... sort of but not really). 2) Little single bite cheesecakes with a bit of fruit glaze on top. 3) Mini pecan pie tartlets - yummmm. 4) Bite sized (or pehaps two bites is more polite) hors douvres style quiche. 5) Cute little triangular spanakopita (and damn near anyhing else in phyllo dough). The list of losers 1) Skirts (on the wrong person - definitely not kidding on this one). 2) Hot dogs - why do the full sized ones taste better? 3) Muffins. Big ones get that almost crunchy feel to the top - not the little ones. 4) Bagels. never ever have I tasted a mini bagel that aproacehed the texture and chewiness of a regular bagel. 5) Pizza. Admittedly... I've never tried quality pizza crust baked in a tiny size (like English Muffin diameter) but in a regular pizzeria, even the medium pies never seem as good as the large. A mini could only be worse.

Thanks to a heads up from Chad, one of our Food Media and News Forum hosts, I've been alerted to the introduction of an intriquing new product It's a bit confusing when one investigates more fully. Going to the original home page of Mojo Coffee Home Page takes you to a single page web site showing an actual microwave based home applicance that appears to be targeted specifically for use with their prepackaged green beans (I believe this is what they refer to as the "Wave Roast unit"). Now go to the "other" page of Mojo Coffee Index Page This site is more complete and has photographs of a person preparing their 'WaveRoast" coffee but show it being done in a conventional microwave. The implication here is that the prepackaged beans can be used in any old microwave oven. Perhaps they offer suggested roast profiles for those using a regular microwave (e.g. x number of minutes at the Lo or Med power setting follwed by x number of minutes at Hi power settign). I'm curious to get the reactiosn of others in this forum. Do some of you who are perhaps a bit less fanatical about coffee than the hardcore aficionado interested enough in convenience to invest in such a machine and sacrifice counter space for it? I see the real mass market appeal as being those folks who want something with the convenience of microwave popcorn - just throw it in, press a button and go. The benefits as I see them: 1) The folks who sell the prepacked cartidges of green beans stand to make a fortune if it catches on. There have been previous efforts to tie ongoing consumables purchase into the ownership of a machine (the OxyClean / Fast Orange folks who market the Zach & Dani's roaster try to do this with a "coffee club"). Despite this... such previous efforts have not been particularly successful because other roasters can utilize green beans purchased anywhere - packaging is not an issue. The money is in the blades.... not the razor. 2) It's possible that this may allow one to produce a cup of coffee that is better than the average grocery store prepackaged coffee, even whole bean coffee of good quality that is purchased in vac seal bags. It's possible.... not definite. The shortcomings - real and also possible: 1) Most likely a very high unit cost per serving of coffee - just compare the unit cost of bulk popcorn to the unit cost of microwave popcorn (have to do it by serving size rather than weight due to the extra shortening and additives in the microwave. 2) The concept calls for roasting the coffee just before it's going to be used roasted coffee typically requires a minimum degassing period of 12 - 24 hours before it is at its optimal level of taste and drinkability. I've tasted coffee that was ground and brewed within a few hours after roasting. It was okay but often very grassy tasting. The same coffee always tatsed far better a day or two later. Many espresso blends actually taste best after a 3 day resting period. 3) If it roasts too fast it will definitely have the potential for producing roasts with a bright and acidic flavor profile. Okay for some coffee varieties but not for others, especially not good for espresso blends. Many people using consumer level hot air roasters invest in a voltage control device known as a Variac that allows them to lenghtne the roast and get the smoother flavor profile that extended roasting allows (if done properly). 3) The charactersitics of roasted coffee are intrinsically related to the caramelization of sugar related compunds cainteined within the beans. I'll be very curious to see if microwaving can really achieve the same effect but I'll remain open minded until I have a chance to try some.

I never criticized Jimmy carter for saying nick-lee-er despite the fact that he was actually a nuclear engineer by virtue of his background.

When I initially had some curiosity about this I consulted The Joy of Cooking - the only general cooking reference book that I own. In the section with general information about squid it describes pounding to tenderize and then goes on to present a handful of recipes, half of which mention pounding and the other half making no mention of it. I always assumed that conch definitely needed pounding until I had a conch seviche in a Mexican fishing village this past fall - it was unbelievably tender - still had enough tooth but was not at all rubbery like other fresh conch I've had.

Okay.... so I love the salad and warm garlic breadstick thingies that you get at OG... but I end up there only when my female companion indicates that it's her choice of restaurant (which happens with frightening regularity, regardless of who the woman is). As for Outback - I won'tn wait an hour for a table anywhere but I'm in complete agreement with the argument that if you're traveling, have had a really long day and just want something predictable... it's not bad. Sometimes, if it's been a really long and arduous day, I don't really want to sit in a restaurant for dinner. Outback has a pickup service - call in your order and about 15 minutes later just drive up to the pickup window. they bring it to your car all nicely bagged up with utensils etc. Second rationale is that I often travel with collegues and there's a sort of unspoken assumption that we'll share meals. Not wanting to appear anti-social, I get with the program but regrettably... all but one or two of my colleagues are interested in predictable and familiar food - chain restaurants if we're on a budget or high end steak houses if there's money to throw around. Now that we have that out of the way... some of the best meals I've ever had were when I was traveling and sought out under-the-radar local places. So many memories that I can't begin to recount them all.... but I can still taste the food.

The index is fixed! The sub-index topics have been movced so that they are now viewable. Functionality could be a bit smoother in that multipel windows open but it works for now. At some point in ythe no-so-distant future the site may have software technology that will obsolete this index method but for now.... this may be helpful to some - thanks for your patience!

Espresso Techniques Frothing milk for lattes and cappuccinos Return to Coffee Topics Master Index

Just curious - how does it differ from their Sansbitter product - the one that comes in little bottles? have you tried both?

Not having tried coffee from a machine of the described style, I am curious. Is it closer to Moka coffee in terms of body, flavor and consistency?

I like my expresso nuculer hot and I always wear some gaudy joolery when I drink it.... until it's time to excape to the real world It really is espresso - pronounced like it sounds.

That would be my own personal password and believe me... I won't reveal it of only for the fact that it would make me blush and a few of you wonder....

The first and only time I ever bought shark was from a local Wegman's - purchased it ona Friday and when I opened the package on Saturday I alomst fell over from the ammonia - kitty litter smell ain't the word - it was borderline toxic. Haven't tried shark again but I'm very curious about skate. I've seen it suggested by some that the item sold as "scallops" in some areas is actually skate cut outs. I had no reason to disbelieve this as I've eaten some scallops that had no discernible scallop flavor (especially in Chinese restaurants) but the ammonia smell issue woudl seem to disprove this theory (only in that it is not skate that's being used - I still believe that counterfeit scallops are probably abundant). Is this skate that I saw at the local farmers market recently? Its the item in the middle bin on the right hand side of the picture.

I believe I have discovered the source of the problem - the forum section in which I "parked" the sub-indexes is accessibel only to forum hosts and moderators. I'll check with the Poobah's and find out where I can stick them so all wil be functional. I refuse to put them where the sun don't shine so don't even go there

Don't most places recognize the term "Pittsburgh style" or "Black and Blue"? Although I do suppose those are really more rare and red on the inside than pink. That said.... if I routinely went to a place where they consistently delivered my medium rare steak as a medium I'd try ordering it rare. Does it stand to reason that if they regularly overcook the steak it might extend to steak ordered rare, which would come out medium rare? Note to self: when ordering steak on a cruise ship, remove the word steak and substitute lamb, fish or poultry.

I made some paella last weekend and noted that the recipe didn't mention pounding the squid to soften. I checked a few cookbooks and discovered that some recipes call for this procedure and others don't mention it. I was using only the body of the squid, no tentacles, and they were of moderate size. I did pound them but it seemed that too much of the rubbery texture was absent. I find a bit of springiness to be a good thing, especially in paella, where it needs something to distinguish it from the many other flavors and textures. Your opinions or experience?

Am I correct in thinking that the big difference between the Mexican sodas and those in the US is the fact that they use real sugar instead of corn sweetner? I second the nomination of Ting. I love that stuff and other grapefruit sodas don't come close (certainly not those I've tried). I think the Jamaican D&G brand of Ginger beer is also above everage - much better than the Goya Ginger Beer that's readily available here. I just tried Moka - an Italian coffee soft drink - excelent with just the right balance of sweetness and coffee flavors. I'd be remiss if I failed to mention Cidona. It's a lightly carbonated natural apple flavored drink from Ireland - very good.

No offense taken Doc - I simply misunderstood your comment I don't know if they'll adopt the same approach in VA that they do here in Syracuse but I have actually seen with my own eyes, farmers with their beat up old pickup truck pulled up to the front door during the sweet corn season - unloading the corn they picked that day directly into the produce department . Compare that to the Shop Rite where I lived in North Jersey - NJ gorws some fantastic sweet corn but they never bothered to sell it at Shop Rite - we got crap from some out of state farms.

Uhhhh.... there is such a place. It's called Stumptown Roasters, located in the Hawthorne neighborhood of Portland OR (they now have some other locations as well). All the coffee they serve is made in 32 oz press pots and then poured directly into air pots for serving. They also make a mean latte. Their "Hairbender" espresso blend is well known outside of Portland and available by mail order. Rumor has it that Stumptown is high on the favorites list of the folks at ESI in Seattle - they are the US supplier of La Marzocco espresso machines and in a good position to know who's really got the goods.

By my humble standards you already have it down. I'm still stuck on hearts - can't even make a rosette. Not a problem - my lady friends are impressed and I'm not about to show them pics of REAL latte art like yours

Fair enough re/having a separate discussion. I believe I'll start a separate thread for this purpose as it's a bit OT and pertinent to a wider group apart from France and the Bleudauvergne household....