Which Latte Machine is the Best for in Home Use?

 

In recent years, I managed to make a purchase of a budget home espresso machine, called the  

"Laekerrt Retro Home Expresso Coffee Machine" for Cappuccino and Latte with a Milk Frother and Steam Wand, 

This allows me to save money by making a great tasting coffee at home, and I am able to make a good cappuccino or caffe latte every morning for breakfast.

So,  I will share my tips below :

• The espresso grinder must be separate from the machine. Why is that? Minimize the possibility of engine malfunction, affecting both the grinder and espresso machine, simultaneously.
• There is a pressure gauge and timer (timer is optional). While studying the fundamentals of making espresso, we can estimate how much pressure is exerted by the machine (Minimum Pressure is around 9 - 10 bars).
• The machine should have unpressurized portafilter (58 mm universal portafilter is highly recommended). Because it’s important that espresso has a good extraction process, it’s also important that you understand how to achieve that with the different portafilter types. Non-pressurized portafilters work better with a finer grind and a good tamp so that you can get the proper amount of pressure needed in the non-pressurized basket. This thing allows you to not only adjust the pressure, but also the water temperature, tamp pressure, grind size, and more.
• The separate grinder you obtain should be a proper espresso grinder. When it comes to making the good coffee, the grind plays a pivotal role. In fact, many say that a good grinder is the most important piece of equipment there is and sure enough, if you try to get away with a low-quality grinder, even the cheapest of espresso machines will ruin your day. You simply can’t make a proper espresso unless you have a good quality grinder, churning out a consistently even grind. A good grinder ensures the ground coffee doesn’t clump together, keeps the beans cool while grinding and helps evenly distribute coffee in the basket. Uneven grinds, on the other hand, cause all sorts of problems.
• When making espresso, a very fine and consistent grind is essential. How fine? An easy test is, try pinching the grinds between your thumb and forefinger. Where the pressure is greatest, in the center of the pinch, the coffee should clump a little. If it doesn’t clump at all, it’s too coarse and will make a weak shot. If it clumps excessively, it’s too fine and will produce over extraction.

Then, what makes the perfect espresso shots? A great shot of espresso should have a top of brown foam called crema. This foam is a must because it contains aromatic oils, and it enhances the espresso taste.

It’s hard to describe in words, but the best approximation is that it should taste like coffee smells. Many find it gross, just because it is too intense, or because they down it all at once. You know how great drip coffee smells sometimes. Yet when you drink it, it doesn’t resemble at all the smell. Take that drip coffee smell, and think about an enhanced version of it. Think about a flavor twice or three times more intense than that. That’s how espresso tastes.

In reality, espresso is bitter. All coffee is bitter, but you get used to it. Once you got used to the bitterness, you start to detect floral notes, caramel, and other tones that the experts talk about. A bad shot, however, can be exceptionally bitter, if you brew it incorrectly. 

The perfect shot should be again an experience. The second the shot starts to flow, the room will be filled with an intense coffee aroma. Espresso smells like coffee, basically, but more intense. Immediately after brewing, all of the volatile oils are in your cup. The brewing method ensures no aromas are lost during the preparation. With other methods, most of the aroma is lost. Smell your espresso, is part of the ritual. If your shot doesn’t smell great, it’s probably the beans or the brewing parameters.

Medium-dark and dark roasts tend to taste the same no matter the origin of the beans. If you want an analogy, the dark beans are similar to comfort food. Everybody loves them, but they are just common. There is nothing special about them.

A special note on the dark roasts: darker roasts tend to become oily faster than medium roasts. This, in itself, is not a bad thing. Oily coffee tastes great. If you are using a semiautomatic and a good grinder, you should be fine. However, many super-automatic espresso machines and some grinders cannot handle oily beans.

No matter what your taste is, make sure you follow the general rules of buying beans.

• Freshness, buy freshly roasted coffee beans, if buying from a small roaster. If you buy from a larger roaster, make sure you understand how they package the coffee. Look for a far expiration date. Even if the coffee was flushed with nitrogen or vacuum packed, you don’t want to buy a coffee that’s been on the shelf for a year.
• Get your coffee in small quantities. If you buy too much coffee it will go stale in your pantry.
• Buy only quality coffee, don’t buy average. Poor quality coffee will taste bad. Good coffee is picked when it’s fully ripened, and manually sorted to eliminate bad beans.
• Always buy whole beans. If you don’t own a good coffee grinder, your espresso is doomed to be lifeless after your first few days into your pack of ground coffee.
• Make sure you know who your roaster is. There is nothing wrong to test a new roaster, but at least get some references from the local coffee lovers, if you do.
• For small local roasters, it is wise to look at how they store their roasted beans. Even if the roast date says 7 days ago, if coffee is stored improperly, is almost stale.
• Avoid coffee that is untraceable. If you can’t know where the coffee comes from, then it’s probably poor quality.
• Arabica is the best coffee and espressos made from Arabica beans are delicious. However, 5% to 15% Robusta beans in a blend will give your shot more crema.

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