Leah is quite right about being able to get good-tasting results from small, stove-top espresso pots. I've used one for years with very satisfying results while camping. However, it is much more difficult to control quality using this method - hard to get that nice aromatic crema if you like your shot straight, and you have to carefully supervise the amount of heat and time you give the process. As for Martha Stewart's television coffee experts - I was initially spoiled by an extended stay in France and Italy when I didn't have a bad cup in six weeks. When I came back from a second visit, I had to buy a machine - couldn't stand the local stuff anymore, even when I brewed it myself. I would suggest that the little pots are still used in Italy the way we still have cheap stove-top perks for sale at Wal-Mart - every cafe, bar, or middle-class home that I saw in the Northern Mediterranean area used some sort of machine.
David Dornian
ddornian@xxxxxxx
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From: Leah Hockenbrouch[SMTP:lvh@xxxxxxx]
Sent: Friday, December 19, 1997 10:36 AM
To: David Arthur Dornian
Cc: fatfree@xxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: espresso coffee
Nancy and David,
I got a little stove-top espresso maker at a coffee shop for about 11
dollars. It makes 2 servings (shots) of espresso, to which you can add
soy or rice milk or whatever you want. The expensive ones are the
espresso/cappuccino combo machines or an electrical espresso machine. I
saw the one I bought on Martha STewart or some other similar show and
the "coffee expert" she had on there said that they still use this type
quite frequently in Italy. The expensive electric ones are mainly for
the amusement of us Americans. anyway, it all screws together and you
put water to just below a little steam valve in the bottom portion, then
put your coffee grounds into a little strainer thing that sits between
the top and bottom portions. As the water heats, it gets forced up
through the grounds and stays in the top portion, then you serve. Hope
it helps.
Leah
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