Espresso Talk

[isaluba]

I am curious to know what kinds of home espresso machines people in finland use. I have a love affair with my Rancillio Silvia machine ( a birthday gift from my husband who would get so angry every time I spent 4 euros on a latte). Does anyone out there have a Silvia ? If so, have you ever tried to backflush? The manufacture doesn't reccomend it but I know plenty of people do. What have been your experiences?

[karel]

Philips Senseo.

Not a typical Espresso machine, but it makes great coffee. Much much better than the Finnish dishwasher water...

[raamv]

Hmm an espresso machine..so you are in the category of RIch coffee brat!!
I had one from the US that I just recently gave to a friend who visited me from there..
As SO wouldnt allow use of 110V in the kitchen..

[raamv]

and I m rooting for the mocca master..in Red!!

[suomineito]

i have original italian saeco magic cappuccino (makes espresso and cappuccino) and a couple of different size traditional italian bialetti moka pots as well... my half-automatic saeco is very easy and fast, and the taste of my "il caffé" is perfect, so my bialettis are not so much in use anymore...

[ajdias]

Hmm an espresso machine..so you are in the category of RIch coffee brat!!

rich.. 100 euros? KRUPS XP4000 (OnOFF)


I've had one for 2/½ years (and the price remains the same) and has served me well. Takes a bit of work, though.

[isaluba]

[quote="raamv"]Hmm an espresso machine..so you are in the category of RIch coffee brat!!
[/quote]

Call me what you like. I save plenty of money making my espresso at home and not paying 4 euros for stale crap!

[Silly]

Silvia... such a great name...

anyway dunno, I've a Swiss machine forgot the name....

The only important thing is that you taste the coffee properly. Concentrate, and taste, Either is good or not. There's not much you can do about it. Usually I:

1. use my trusted "Illy" coffee-that's nice

2. wash the machine thouroughly

3. in other countries you may want to try the bottled water, but here it seems the tap water is just "too good to be true" - I mean is just fine

4. try various "pressing levels" for the coffee (e.g, do not press, press a bit, press more, then compare)

Usually, IF, after all this, it still tastes like **** I just give up and change machine.

OR... invite an Italian for coffee and let them taste it!

[Rosamunda]

...and since this thread has got going again, I would add that if you keep your coffee in the fridge or in the freezer once you have opened the pack, the flavour lasts longer.

I also have the Krups machine and it works fine. I use filtered water from the Brita, as the tap water in Espoo is chlorinated.

[isaluba]

Yes, putting espresso in the fridge or freezer will make the espresso last longer but , if you are a regular user you should keep it tightly sealed at room temp in order to not loose taste.

Having good espresso is essential! But if you have a bad machine no espresso in the world will make it good. Also one can have a great machine but if the espresso your using is bad then you might as well be going to Wayne's and paying 4euros for a luke warm stale tasting latte! This is the problem I have been having in Finland. Where to find a good espresso for my machine. I recentlly tried this cafetoria place one of the board (cory I think?) members reccomended. The espresso I got was ok. I think I will get a different one next time as I didn't like the after taste. As you can see I am a little obsessive about my espresso

[isaluba]

Yes, putting espresso in the fridge or freezer will make the espresso last longer but , if you are a regular user you should keep it tightly sealed at room temp in order to not loose taste.

Having good espresso is essential! But if you have a bad machine no espresso in the world will make it good. Also one can have a great machine but if the espresso your using is bad then you might as well be going to Wayne's and paying 4euros for a luke warm stale tasting latte! This is the problem I have been having in Finland. Where to find a good espresso for my machine. I recentlly tried this cafetoria place one of the board (cory I think?) members reccomended. The espresso I got was ok. I think I will get a different one next time as I didn't like the after taste. As you can see I am a little obsessive about my espresso

[EP]

And I just have a battered little kettle that I bought some 20 years ago from some marketplace in Morocco

[Cloudberry]

As you can see I am a little obsessive about my espresso

me too!

I just found this thread when I was wondering if I would be able to buy an espresso machine in Finland. I just don't know how we will survive without regular access to decent cappuccinos and figured we will have to buy a machine there (ours will obviously be too heavy to transport, not to mention the power difference). But where do you buy a good espresso machine from in Finland? What will we have to pay for one there? This is what we have now http://www.toasters.com.au/products/pro ... 0&sec_id=2