I have never had much success with stovetop espresso although I own about 4 variations of the caffetiera - all of them in stainless steel.
A friend gave me a Bialetti for my birthday and I read up on the process of making stovetop at a number of different web sites. The advice had some common points, and and some conflicting ideas so I combined these and with a little trial and error got a great tasting espresso from my new allow friend.
I'm not saying that this is THE way to make a good stovetop - it is more a video about how I used it to make mine. All I can recommend is that if you own one and have been frustrated by it - persist, read and experiment.
Also buy a Bialetti 'cause they are cool!
Great tute. The other thing I always tell people is make sure its dry after washing. I've seen them go mouldy inside if you put them back together after washing and they're not properly dry. I always suggest putting the bottom part on the stove and turning it on for a few moments after washing to ensure its dry. This also seems to slow down the formation of the the scale that the aluminium ones always get.
ReplyDeleteThat is good advice Tracy - the Bialetti booklet actually says similar - ie it must be absolutely dry before you put it back together.
ReplyDeleteI cheat a little by leaving it dissassembled on my coffee rack at home.
I always get better coffee from the alloy versions. It must be the way the metal transmits the heat.
ReplyDeleteKam