Comment by realo
20 hours ago
I used to have a decent espresso machine at home, and try , from time to time, supposedly "barista quality" espressos from cafes around here.
I agree wholeheartedly with those who say the coffee beans, the grinder and the barista are more important than the machine.
Nowadays at home I use a very simple Bialetti Brikka with exactly 200 ml of water and 20 g of coffee. God shots every single time.
That's not espresso though. It makes good coffee, sure, but so does an Aeropress, they're not really comparable when one wants a true espresso.
Interesting, IME it's all beans. At my go-to place, the baristas are pretty bad but the two owners are super dedicated to roasting their own beans, you can always see them putting a lot of time and effort into it. Result is much better than places where the baristas are skilled but they use cheap pre-roasted bulk beans.
To take it to an extreme, I doubt the best barista in the world is going to get a good shot out of the default Starbucks beans. But maybe I'm wrong!
You're not wrong, bad beans are bad beans. But on the other hand, no matter how fancy single origin perfectly roasted beans you have, a crappy barista will most likely pull a terrible shot.
Beans can't compensate for the lack of skill.
That can't really be called a shot anymore tho, you're not even in a lungo territory if you're pulling a 200ml shot.
Or do you mean an Americano? Are you adding water afterwards?
> 200ml shot
It's not an espresso.
Americano? I would not touch that with a ten-foot pole.
No... no water. The Brikka has a pressure valve and the 200 ml of water yield about 125-150 ml of coffee.
You might call it a double lungo, but with a bit of crema (yep) and no acidity or sour taste. Just sweet coffee with nice chocolate notes.
I use coffee beans from Papua New Guinea, roasted locally at the coffee shop.
I’ve used cafetière off-and-on in the past but felt that I could never get the pressure high enough and the amount short enough. You’re saying that the Brikka produces enough pressure for an espresso? Is this something specific to the Brikka or will any Bialetti stovetop do? Can I use half or 1/3 as much water as you? Cafetière seem to have a minimum lower bound but I like it short short.
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How do you like the brikka vs the classic?
Two different machines, they make very different coffee.
The brikka is exceptional, if you like espresso.
I have a Brikka "Induction" with a stainless steel machined bottom part. Today I looked and apparently they decided to skimp and only offer the aluminum (non induction compatible) version. Pity.