espresso: pump vs steam

[RobertN]

We have two machines. One is an older Krups steam machine. The other is a Starbucks brand pump machine. It's funny, as my wife likes the simplicity of the steam machine, while I like the function of the pump machine.

I've mostly been using the pump machine for a long time now. Yesterday, I made some in the steam machine. Even though I like LOTS of chocolate in my mocha, I could tell a very distinct difference in espresso, even though we used the same coffee beans.

I had never thought about it before. There does seem to be a big difference in the extraction using steam compared to pumping the hot water through the ground coffee.

I like the flavor I get out of the pump better. It seems richer and creamier.

 

[Boondox]

<font color=blue>There does seem to be a big difference in the extraction </font color=blue>

That's it in a nutshell. The goal in making great espresso is to provide just enough pressure to make sure the hot water passes thru all the grounds. Pumps are very good at keeping the pressure consistent and low, but the steam units try to ram it thru quickly. If the grounds are not properly tamped down a pump will be forgiving whereas a steam unit will find the path of least resistance, which often leaves dry spots in your grounds basket.

Pete

 

[Steven]

I have a Briel pump machine and it works fine. use star bucks coffee ground for a pump machine.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I just gotta ask, Why don't ya just boil it in a percolator for about 20 minutes with some chicory added in and have a full cup of coffy instead of them little tiny cups of whatever ya call it?

 

[Boondox]

<font color=blue>use star bucks coffee ground for a pump machine</font color=blue>

Any darker roast will do fine, regardless of brand. The one caveat is you want to use fresh coffee for espresso. There is more oil in dark roasts, and oils quickly go rancid. Finding fresh stuff is pretty easy. First, make sure the package has a pressure-relief valve on it; without a valve the coffee must be staled before packaging or the bag will rupture from gasses given off by the fresh beans. Secondly, a puffy bag is always your best bet; this means it was packaged so fresh the coffee was still degassing. If the bag is limp or (worse) hard as a brick, it was allowed to go absolutely stale before going into the package. And if you see "vacuum packed" coffee, run the other way. It has to be practically rotten before it can be vacuum packed

Pete
Green Mountain Coffee in Waterbury, VT

 

[Steven]

I have them grind it fresh at the star bucks down the road. not store bought already packaged.

 

[RobertN]

To answer your question, because that's what my grandparents used to do/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif My Grandma made "Cow Poke" coffee, in one of those big commercial 20 cup pots. She used Folgers, and added it by the pound. A spoon would stand up in the cup until it dissolved... My Grandpa would drink it all night long while talking on the Ham radio's.

I like my espresso much better/w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif.

 

[Boondox]

Steven -- Just don't fall for that bulk bin trap. Here's how that happens. The coffee is packaged fresh from the roaster in nitrogen-flushed five pound bags. The coffee is sent to the retail outlets in those bags, perfectly protected from exposure to evil oxygen. The store staff rip open the bags and dump the coffee into open bins where it is exposed to air and begins to oxidize immediately. Customers see the beans and think "fresh" when what they are getting is all too often old and stale. Buy only what you can use in one week, and make sure it's sealed, nitro flushed, and vented. In most cases the 10-12 oz packages are by far your best coffee.

Pete

 

[Steven]

Thanks I'll rember that the next time I get more ground.

 

[Boondox]

Steven -- If you like espresso that much you might think of getting a grinder. The finer the grind the faster it goes stale (greater surface area exposed to air), and espresso grind is about as fine as it gets. You can pick up a cheapy for about $15 and it really does make a difference. Coffee's what I do for a living; sure like to see each cup or shot be all it can be. /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

Pete

 

[RobS]

Hey Pete (aka "The Coffee Guru"), I recently received an offer in the mail for Gevalia (sp?) coffee. It seems to be a club type offer, they tempt you with a free coffee maker and some beans then send you beans every month that you have to either buy or pay to send back. Is it any good? How does it compare to what I can get at my local grocery... or Starbucks... or GMC? What's the most economical way to get the freshest coffee beans for strictly weekend use? TIA /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Boondox]

Gevalia = good coffee allowed to go stale before packaging. Save your money and try Dunkin Donuts coffee. Pretty much the same beans, but fresher. Eight O'Clock blend is at the same level of taste and quality as Dunkin Donuts. Starbucks = good non-blended coffee (some are great), okay dark roasted coffee, good packaging. Brilliant marketing. Their blends are okay, but nothing special.

Dark roasting burns the beans and negates much of the coffee's distinctiveness, so it allows you to use less expensive beans to get the same result. If you're a French Roast sort of person, avoid paying extra for FR made from exotic, expensive beans. Once burned, they pretty much all taste the same.

Naturally I'm partial to Green Mountain because of the way we roast, blend and package the stuff, but there are several others out there as good as us. Maine Roasters out of Portland ME is very good. Caribou Coffee down south is excellent. Peet's out west has great quality control but only offers darker roasts. Whatever you get, I'd recommend buying 1/2 to 1 pound nitrogen-flushed valved packages of whole bean coffee. As long as the package is sealed keep it at room temp, but the moment you open the package it should be frozen. Grind the beans just before using; no need to thaw them if they came from the freezer. Never buy from those open bins in the store, especially if you want dark roasts. Oxygen is the worst thing coffee beans can be exposed to.

Hope this helps. Pete

 

[RobertN]

I like either French Roast or Espresso roast for my espresso. What are the differences, in general?

It is hard to say sometimes, because I make mocha's, with lots of chocolate. I can tell some flavors though; I have expierimented with different beans. A coffee shop in Placerville, not far from here, has the best beans in my area. I do not know who they get them from though.

 

[Boondox]

French Roast is the darkest roast, Espresso Roast is one notch below that in darkness. Not much difference, really, since when you roast them that dark all the sugars in the bean are burned away and most of the "coffee" taste is gone. Also, most of the caffeine is gone; the darker the roast the less caffeine survives.

Experiment a bit with lighter roasts when you make espresso. It doesn't have to be burned to be used in espresso. Try a Mocha Java bean -- it's a type of bean, not a flavor -- if you want a hint of chocolate in your espresso drink. I prefer a medium dark roast for my espresso as it doesn't smother the coffee taste and has a lot more caffeine. Generally terms like French, Espresso, or Turkish Roast mean the beans are burned to little lumps of charcoal with very little coffee taste remaining. If you want a bit of coffee taste in your espresso look for terms like Dark or Vienna Roast. Good examples of the latter would be our La Minita Dark or Colombian Popayan Dark. Now and then the roasters make a mistake and overroast a nice Guatamalan or Indonesian and I get lucky. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Just remember that the darker the roast, the faster the beans go rancid...so insist on the freshest beans you can find. Enjoy your experiments!

Pete

 

[RobS]

Thanks for the info Pete. I had suspected Gevalia was more of a marketing thing than anything else. Funny you should mention eight o'clock. I'm thinking of trying my next batch from them now that I have a grinder. I tried some of the grind-in-the-store a while back and liked it. Starbucks does have that burned taste but I've only tried the French Roast in whole bean. I guess I'll just have to order more GMC /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif