Good Morning!
Be sure to read the instructions on your maker and grinder before brewing.
Use a burr grinder to grind your coffee. Consult the manual for your grinder to see how to set it for an espresso grind.
Pour the espresso into your foamed milk and think of all of the possibilities of a brand new day!
Whether you want to save money or would just enjoy having COMPLETE control over your morning brew — brewing espresso drinks at home can be a rewarding process to practice and perfect.
The equipment is not inexpensive, but in the long term, it will make financial and sensory sense!
We love this Breville machine, it’s heavy duty die-cast design is aesthetically pleasing. More importantly, we love the functional features that allow one to prepare the two ingredients in a latte perfectly and with ease.
The machine automatically moistens the coffee grounds just before extraction which causes them to expand and results in a richer, smoother espresso shot, with plenty of crema. The steaming wand swivels and can be positioned in the milk and easily adjusted to create great foam — and you don’t have to hold the vessel! Also, it has a frothing attachment which fits over the steaming wand and easily creates piles of dense, downy, soft foam. It’s on sale at Amazon.com right now (look in splendid items in this blog). You will also need a good burr grinder (blade grinders can’t grind the coffee as fine as is needed).
Be sure to read the instructions on your maker and grinder before brewing.
Fill your machine with cold, clear water (filtered is good!) After you have turned on your machine, it’s nice to place your drinking vessel(s) on the warming plate on top of the machine to warm.
These instructions are for making an individual latte, if you are making multiple lattes you can steam the milk in a pitcher.
Pour cold milk (any milk, including soy) into your vessel (1/2 to 1/3 of the way full). Position the tip of the steam wand just below the surface of the milk. Turn on the steam. As the milk level raises lift the tip of the wand so it is on the surface of the milk. As the steam continues to flow a drift of foam should begin accumulating. To build more foam, keep raising the wand, you should see bubbles forming and hear a frothing sound.
When you have achieved the desired amount of foam, submerge the steam wand into the milk to bring it to the desired temperature (160 degrees on a thermometer is good).
Use a burr grinder to grind your coffee. Consult the manual for your grinder to see how to set it for an espresso grind.
The coffee needs to be ground very fine, but shouldn’t be powdery.
Scoop the coffee into the “group” or “porta filter”.
“Tamp” (press) the coffee down using the “tamper” which should come with the machine.
Some machines do not require tamping.
Wipe off any coffee on the lip of the group.
Position the group in the machine and turn the knob (or push the button) to extract the espresso shot. A double shot should be about 2 oz. The shot should be a rich brown color and should have a nice “crema”on top.
Pour the espresso into your foamed milk and think of all of the possibilities of a brand new day!
As the weather warms, we’ll skip the foaming process and make “coffee milk”. To make coffee milk, pour milk into a sturdy glass and allow the espresso shot to pour directly into the glass (about 12 seconds). Add an ice cube if desired and enjoy.
For clean up, wipe the filter head, the area where the coffee comes in contact with the espresso machine, and run some water through.
Soak the steam wand (and frothing attachment if you have one) in cool water. Before using it again, wipe the remaining milk from the steaming apparatus.
The Breville machine, some burr grinders and Starbucks French Roast coffee are available in the splendid items section on this blog.
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