Wake Up and Smell the Coffee!
In Maimi’s Little Havana it’s a Way of Life!
How to make espresso. (Please do not write it or call it expresso!)
Espresso is made by quickly forcing hot water and steam through finely ground and firmly compressed coffee bean granules. The principle has been around for hundreds of years in the form of a two-teared moka pot. A moka pot requires more attention than an automatic espresso machine, but it will work anywhere there is a fire (sufficient heat). The modern machines were originally developed by Gaggia and Valente.
• Using a Moka Pot (making certain it is clean from past use) fill the bottom chamber with water.
• Using coffee specifically ground for espresso, fill the funnel (basket) with even layers of coffee, each packed down (like filling a pipe for smoking).
• Place the basket into the water chamber, make certain you run your finger around the edge so no grounds obstruct the seal.
• Screw the upper coffee chamber snugly onto the water chamber.
• Place the pot onto the fire (stovetop burner) and let the steam build up in the bottom of the water chamber.
• The steam forces the water to travel up the basket tube and through the coffee granules, making the thick frothy espresso liquid to flow over the edge of the top spout in the coffee chamber.
• When the espresso coffee chamber is almost full – immediately take the pot off of the fire, before the final eruption of steam. This is where you can burn your coffee grounds if not attentive.
• Moka pots can be cleaned with a solution of vinegar and baking soda, then rinsed very well to remove those flavors.
In the early 1800s large versions of the Moka Pot principle were produced to make pitchers of espresso. After 12 years of trial and error, research and development, Loysel de Santais exhibited the first large quantity, single cup espresso machine at the Paris Exposition of 1865. Luigi Bezzera was the first commercial manufacturer of espresso machinery and in 1906 he improved the machine to produce unlimited amounts of espresso. Bezzera sold his patent to Disderio Pavoni who began mass production of the steam-driven behemoths in 1910. These large machines needed a trained professional “Barista” to run all of the levers and valves correctly and safely. In 1945 the consistency of espresso was greatly improved when a mechanical piston was invented to replace the steam pressure. A lever on a heavy spring was pulled down to allow hot water into a piston chamber through a port in the bottom of the chamber. When the lever was released, the rising piston sealed the bottom port and very quickly pressurized the water forcing it through the compacted granules of coffee very quickly. This fast, high-pressure process produced a thick layer of foam, or crema, the signature of quality espresso. Today, modern machines have temperature controls and electric pumps improving the quality and consistency.
Quality espresso and coffee are made from only one species of coffee beans, the arabica bean, grown in Central and South America, Arabia, India, Africa and on several Pacific islands. Coffee is harvested by handpicking the red fruit from clusters that grow on short stems. Coffee trees flower several times during a growing season, so there is fruit in varying stages of development in every cluster of beans. Workers must pick only the red fruit, leaving the green, yellow and orange for further maturation – to be picked when ripe.
Each farm around the world has different tasting coffee, even from the same bean, because of the variables of the location – rainfall, sun, temperature, soil composition, elevation, drainage and the heritage of the plants.
The roasting of the beans is also more of an art form than it is a science. The expert coffee roaster knows the proper color, the nose, the look and the sound as the beans spin for each type of brew, from light, to medium, to dark, to espresso.
Steaming Milk:
Only use whole milk when steaming, because it contains more butterfat and froths more easily. Steamed milk is needed for Cafe con leche, cappuccino and latte drinks. A proper steaming pitcher has a handle, a fluted lip and a wide bottom. To steam the milk, keep the tip of the steamer near the surface and lower the pitcher as the froth rises – this allows the steam to drive the milk down, heating it evenly. Prepare each cup separately then add milk and refroth.
Serving Espresso:
Warm stoneware demitasse cups and saucers are typically used for espresso service. Place a small demitasse spoon on the saucer and a small strip of lemon zest to be twisted over the espresso to add the finish and the finesse to the drink.
For cold drinks using expresso, use 10 to 12 ounce tall clear glasses and for hot mixed drinks using espresso using a clear glass mug is preferred.
Café con Leche:
Using a larger, usually white, stoneware, dinner-sized cup and saucer is the traditional service. Froth the milk, then pour some warm milk into the bottom of the cup. On top of your milk, pour your strong coffee until almost full, then lay the frothy milk foam onto the surface.
(Source: Information and facts from the book “Espresso!” by Shea Sturdivant and Steve Terracin)
