Sunday, April 11, 2010

Stovetop Espresso

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!

3 comments:

  1. 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.

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  2. That is good advice Tracy - the Bialetti booklet actually says similar - ie it must be absolutely dry before you put it back together.

    I cheat a little by leaving it dissassembled on my coffee rack at home.

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  3. I always get better coffee from the alloy versions. It must be the way the metal transmits the heat.

    Kam

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