The Americans choice of specialty coffee is the espresso. It is enjoyed in many aspects of daily activities at offices, homes, and social bars. The traditional morning brewed coffee maker has held its place but shares space with the espresso machine. Franchises helped established a way to get a cup without owning a machine.
Many kitchens now have an espresso machine sitting there. Some are small styles of the machines with choices like the hand held espressos. In the top, you put your ground beans and the high-pressure spray will force the water through creating the frothing foam. You do no hold the cup or machine; you put the cup underneath the drip. This is great to use wherever you have hot water.
The caffeine contained in espresso is three times that of brewed coffee but the flavors and extras added take up room in the cup so maybe we are getting less caffeine than we think. The original drink is the Italian style and as franchising experimented; they began to offer flavored extracts, spices, syrups, soy milk, and whipped cream.
A Moka pot, is a stove top machine that will create foam just like a conventional machine. They make very good espressos. There are 2 different machines that have levers, the pump driven and the spring piston. These are normally used for commercial use. The pump driven machine is efficient and will keep up all day long. At home or in a business, you can hook these up to a water connection and never worry about running dry.
Espresso machines are costly and if you only drink occasionally you may want to stick to visits to the local Espresso bar. They are made to last a lifetime and parts do have to be replaced. Purchasing a machine with this in mind will help you decide which one to buy. How long will you drink espresso is a good question to ask yourself.
The biggest secret to making a cup of espresso is not the machine, it is the Grinder. The better the grinder the better the coffee. The hard beans need to become particles to bring out the flavor with this method. Use a good grinder and you will make a great cup of espresso.
The taste will not live up to your expectations without proper bean grinding. Instead of being disappointed, use this knowledge to get the right grinder. The cost is comparatively 1/3 the cost of a machine.
Consumers tend t o do best with a semi-automatic machine which gives you control but not as complicated to use and you still have options. The automatic is used mostly by the commercial businesses but some homes use them too.
Check out a couple of things when shopping. Make sure your cups will fit in the clearance area of the drip tray. Is the tray for cup-warming real or just for looks? Make sure you can read the switches and print is sometimes very small. All you need is a little time to shop around for your new espresso machine. This is a great time to buy before the coldest weather gets here.
Ken Wright owns a best espresso machine blog. He writes reviews on many best espresso machine brands like Rancilio espresso machines, Krups espresso machines, Gaggia espresso machines, and Breville espresso machines.