Injoke

Coffee Makes It Possible for Me To Love

Prior to my arrival in Seattle 12 years ago, I was not a coffee snob–but this place has a way of changing you. At first Seattle changes you in subtle ways.

You no longer mind walking in the rain without an umbrella. When the ‘Don’t Walk’ hand flashes you will actually wait until the ‘Walk’ sign pops up again.

And coffee.

Not even drip coffee is enough anymore. I want rich strong espresso with good crema, but I’d rather not pay the hundreds of dollars for a good espresso machine.

A few years ago, I happened upon the Bialetti stovetop espresso maker, and haven’t looked back. For about $20.00, it makes a fantastic cup of espresso, is easy to use and to clean up.

The one tricky part is to avoid a long pull which can cause the espresso to taste bitter and destroys the oils in the coffee. What I do is watch the espresso as it is percolating out of the water reservoir.

At first, it is a slow trickle, then a steady stream. At some point nearing the end, that stream will begin to bubble as the reservoir runs out of water.

At that point I take the espresso maker off the burner and to cool base in a bowl of cool water for a few seconds. This step stops the percolating process, and the coffee retains a rich sweet flavor.