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Espresso Enthusiasts
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Some excellent café au lait early in the day, and a sublime cappuccino (not prepared by me) after lunch.
Having a cup of Rwandan coffee with Chocolate Fudge Lava Cake, very good.
I've never had any left in mine, unless I've pulled it off the stove too early. I wonder if it's time to replace the large rubber o-ring.
Yes, this has happened to me occasionally, too. But, then, my moka pot is ancient, a gift (a long time ago) from my godmother who had travelled to Italy on holiday, and subsequently brought this back for me, knowing that I love coffee.
Rwandan goes well with flan.
I just replaced all the rings on ours. Possibly due to it being SS and not aluminum? I've been trying to "dial" it in for a few days. Getting very strong, slightly bitter coffee. Will try a medium roast. I'm trying to limit my coffee consumption, and I figure having a strong cup in the morning, and by cup I mean dumping out a 9 cup pot's worth of moka into a stoneware mug, and then having an espresso once I get home after work.
I should note that our stove is somewhat of the professional variety. It blasts heat through multiple ports. It's capable of deforming high end cookware over time. I may or may not have destroyed my fair share of cast iron pots and pans... I can adjust the heat output at any level by removing the knob and using a very thin tool to adjust the gas regulator. Though I won't bother with that because I'm not that anal about getting a perfect temperature. I could always use a hotplate.I've been playing with water temperatures going into the reservoir, too. Our kettle has various settings. So far I've tried room temperature RO water using our kitchen's multi-phase RO system with UV and hot boiling water. I really should keep a journal for tougher prep methods like this.
I'm curious to try it with San Pellegrino and see if the mineral content alters the taste or if it makes for a brighter cup due to the higher CO2 content.
Or it could be because I like a French roast and the excess oil content contributes to the bitterness and possibly blocking up the holes for water to go through, increasing the contact time between water/steam and ground. I tended to drink moka in demitasse cups in a few long sips. Never a 10 oz mug.
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This is embarrassing to admit. It appears in my infinite wisdom I had forgotten to correct my grind from what I usually use to a little coarser than espresso. I could do espresso grind, too, but I've found it's difficult to knock out the puck without damaging the thinner tray compared to a real espresso machine where each handle has significant heft to it.
Just the viscosity alone in two mugs I made is very different. I, of course, didn't waste the first wrong grind mug. I poured it into cube trays for some iced coffee over the weekend. I've got some minor DIY to do.
I was tempted to make Cuban coffee after the grind correction, but I don't need that much sugar that early in the day. Or at any time.
Just the viscosity alone in two mugs I made is very different. I, of course, didn't waste the first wrong grind mug. I poured it into cube trays for some iced coffee over the weekend. I've got some minor DIY to do.
I was tempted to make Cuban coffee after the grind correction, but I don't need that much sugar that early in the day. Or at any time.
An unusually coffee free day for me, today; for once, I didn't feel the need for a cup of coffee.
Well, I wasn't working today, and though to enjoy a respite from even a relaxing (rather than an energising) cup of coffee and/or espresso.
But, yes, that has happened to me, too.
Yesterday's coffee drought has come to an end; for breakfast, I had quite a lovely cappuccino, made with TLC (though not by me).
And that, in turn, was followed by another cappuccino at lunch time; quite delicious.
Having trouble sleeping. Hot green tea with lemon and a shot of brandy. Itchy throat and feeling quite nauseous. I'll round it off with a double pour of brandy. Trying to avoid taking an antiemetic. I'd prefer not being a zombie in 8 hours. It's the damn weather.
Try some ginger in that hot tea, it can be rather good if you are not feeling terribly well.
Must say that I enjoyed my coffee this morning.
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Odd throat feeling. Might be something, might have been my snoring. Who knows. I'm going to stick with cappuccinos and hot tea for the next few weeks.
Cappuccino with cinnamon for now.
Cappuccino with cinnamon for now.
I hadn't thought of that.
Very hot - that is, scalding hot - tea, ginger, honey, - and, perhaps - some lemon. Very tasty, and strangely soothing for a sore throat.
You know how I feel about honey... Speaking of sweet and warm things, did you know that Lit and Latte are updating their software to version 3 come this winter? Someone posted a blog post by their developers in the Ulysses thread a few days ago. There's a preview for both macOS and Windows. Apparently their plan is to keep the feature set the same between both versions from now on instead of one being years behind. It looks very chic and simpler to use.
Granted we use it for different purposes, the news is fantastic. Though, unless I misread, the new version will include a new file structure. Which means a file conversion. Definitely worth making several backups in case the conversion corrupts itself.
Half shot of espresso, 1 cup of whole milk, 1 tbsp of that nice honey I mentioned weeks ago. As I didn't want to make a mess using two large cups, I took two shot glasses (liquor) and had the shots go there. Placed the other half in the refrigerator and will think of something to do with it in the morning.
Need to collect a thousand or more pucks in the next few months.
Need to collect a thousand or more pucks in the next few months.
No, @Zenithal, I do not know (or remember) how you feel about honey. You may have to remind us.
There are things I cannot abide (ice-cream is one, milk chocolates are another) but I do not assume that anyone other than close family and friends may choose to remember this fact.
But, try jam instead in tea - that's what the Russians used to do, especially during shortages of sugar. I've done it - and it can be very tasty.
Triple shot flat white using Ethiopian Yirgacheff; a blend of both caffeine and decaffeinated beans, from our local third wave roaster. The decaf beans contain at max 50% of the caffeine content. Tried it on its own at their store. Can't tell the difference. These beans were roasted by my request to a city roast (very light). Packed tightly and delivers a very fruity cup. Marvelous.
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Keeping it short, I don't like honey. Though, as I stated in the past, there are a few organic honey farms out in the country that I'll order from. There's a few good German imports that are scrumptious. There is one company, whose name I can't remember, but their honey is almost creamed due to their harvesting style (organic to boot), and I believe when I spoke with them over the phone, they keep the bees fed for their blossom honey with citrus fruits in addition to regular flowers. The end result is a creamy honey that cools the tongue and delivers a very, very light citrus flavor.
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Ah, must say that the idea of a citrus honey appeals very strongly to me; I have had citrus honey from Italy and it was delicious.
I like citrus profiles in a lot of things. It makes sweets less sweet, it makes food brighter, plus it smells good. Initially, I thought it was a 'fake' product. If they used essence of honey in it. You can test these out by dropping a dollop into warmed cup of milk. It should curdle if it's a 'fake' product. Reminds me of the time I kept trying to put raspberry puree I'd made a day earlier into warm milk and muscovado as a hot dessert drink. Wondering why the milk kept curdling. I had no idea raspberries could curdle milk
Anyway, on jam: Jam is my usual go to. Unfortunately, we're out and have been out for a while. We tend to buy organic and enjoy trying new products. You do get tired of the same jam or preserve very quickly. Late last December and much through the winter, my favorite super grocer in the world, kept a steady supply of amazing organic preserves that were fantastic. Like many good things in life, the supply dropped off as the farms' ran out of fruit, I imagine. I've been bitter about this for several months, often complaining in this thread.
I've grown quite fond of some of the overseas jams and preserves. Often scoping out ethnic stores for my dirty fix. Last year, one of my big clients from the UK brought a large case of Duchy Originals preserves and jams, after I'd made an offhand remark of how much I enjoyed them a few years ago after picking up a jar at Waitrose when I was in the UK for business.
You can bet your espresso beans I kept it all to myself.
Fruit chutneys are good, too. I love to have them with toasted whole meal bread and Scandinavian cod liver. Fabulous.On tea: Yes, Russian tea, quite delicious. Though, much like coffee in that part of the world, prep is dependent on the creator's skill and taste. I've had lovely tea in Russia and I've had what would be classified as straight zavarka times twenty. Good and utter swill is all too common.
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