Espresso Specialties

The Return of Ice Coffee drinks

I love coffee as I’m sure you do. I really for the most part love any coffee drink imaginable, however I especially love ice coffee drinks. As you can imagine every winter I kind of miss my ice coffee drinks, in fact with each passing snow covered month I miss them more.

At this time of year when it isn’t quite so cold and I can even enjoy a few sunny days I get to re-experience drinking iced coffees. In a way it’s my favorite time of year as far as my coffee drinking goes. This is primarily a result of going so long without any iced coffees; it’s almost as if they become a treat that is until they become an everyday drink.

The thing about ice coffee drinks that make me like them so much is that I get to experience an refreshing ice drink while also getting the benefits of caffeine and that rich, bold coffee flavor. I don’t know if it’s the same for everyone, though that’s exactly what it is for me. I also tend to be more experimentative with iced coffee drinks.

When I drink hot coffee it’s usually just standard whereas I’m more likely to add flavoring to my iced drinks. Not only do I get a chance to add flavor, I tend to be more willing to combine flavors such as caramel and chocolate or vanilla, coconut and chocolate. Now that the weather has warmed up I’ll have to go pick up some more coffee flavors so that I can experiment to my heart’s content.

The espresso story that won a teenage battle

Rarely does espresso come into winning teenage battles, however earlier this week it did for me. It wasn’t so much a battle, though it did give me a certain level of peace. I have a great teenage niece, though lately she has developed the desire to get pierced, specifically her tongue.

Anyways, she was going on and on about how she wanted her tongue pierced and no one would sign for her. I recalled a rather painful experience that I had following my tongue piercing. I had to go out and I was just exhausted so I had naturally stopped at the Purple Onion in Mpls to order a Latte.

I drank my latte and about an hour later my tongue starting hurting and as time went on it continued to get worse. It became so painful that I finally decided I should see what the problem was and went to look in the bathroom mirror. To my horror, my tongue had swollen to the full length of the piercing barbell.

Everything turned out ok and the swelling went down within a few days. I did have to only drink frozen coffees during that time and continued drinking only frozen coffees until my tongue was completely healed, however I left that part of the story out intentionally. My niece, after hearing this story had stopped pleading for a tongue ring. I don’t know if this will remain permanent or not, though for now I’m content that I have momentarily settled the latest desire of a teenager.

Espresso machines that Scream Personality

Espresso machines have always had a similar look. It’s true that each one might be a little different from one brand to the next, though all in all they all look alike. That is no longer the case, for now you can pick up an espresso machine that is 100% all personality.

The Saeco Etienne Louis Espresso machine that was designed by Carlos Borer has a unique futuristic design with a slight piece of medieval life mixed in. I think this particular machine is bold and very interesting. I’m not exactly sure where the water goes, though that’s probably covered in the user manual.

My favorite design in espresso machines is the Helium Espresso machine that was designed by Hugh Thomas. Talk about giving your espresso machine personality, this machine almost looks like it can jump up and talk to you. The cups sit perfectly to make little eyes and the drip tray juts out to look like part of a mouth. This style also comes in multiple colors, adding to its persona.

If you like robots then you’re going to love the Cellini Red Maranello Espresso Machine. This little guy looks like a little miniature robot. Only really it’s the perfect robot, considering that you get a nice hot espresso anytime you want it.

What kind of espresso would you want? You can have futuristic, cute or robotic. There are many other options as well, certain to please anyone or if you just don’t want that much out of your espresso machine you can certainly find a long stream of silver or black standard espresso machines.

The World of Espresso Cups

A Choice for Every Design Idea

Any avid espresso drinker knows that sometimes you just need the right espresso cup. You can certainly drink your espresso drink in any cup, however it just seems to taste better in your own personal design. The espresso cup designs available today come in every style and fashion.

Some companies will create patterns that have an artistic design on each espresso cup. This is ideal for anyone who wants a little individuality on each cup. It also makes it so that each espresso cup is different and unique, this can be fun when company is over.

One type of design that is popular among a lot of people is what I like to call the contemporary design. It’s the standard espresso cup in a solid color. Usually this option comes in plain white or a dark bold color such as dark mahogany, navy blue or traditional black.

A style that has been growing in popularity is the Asian or oriental style. These are unique in that each espresso cup is a different oriental scene. The individual scenes on each cup seem to have delicate colors.

The design that I’m leaning towards buying to replace my old cups is vibrant yet still solid. Each espresso cup has a different bright color and each color is deep and rich. What I really like about this new style is the functionality of it. Each espresso cup is stackable and comes with a holder, just in case. This will provide color and space saving benefits.

Espresso Desserts using Espresso Extract

Incredibly Delicious

I have once again been playing around in my kitchen and in the process have managed to tweak my old standard bread pudding recipe to give it that extra kick. This recipe overall is easy to prepare and the finished product is absolutely delicious. One mentionable however is that the sauce I use is rum based, although you can probably substitute the rum if you need to.

Dry Ingredient List:

1 16 oz. package of Hawaiian Bread

2 T Dark Brown Sugar, packed

1 cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips

Wet Ingredients:

10 T Butter, melted

2 ½ Cups Half N Half

6 Eggs

4 Egg Yolks

2/3 cup Agave Sugar

2 T Vanilla Extract

Rum Sauce Ingredients:

1 cup Dark Brown Sugar, packed

1 cup Butter, unsalted

1 t Espresso Extract

1 t Vanilla

¼ cup Dark Rum

Bread Pudding Instructions:

Before you begin you’ll want to preheat your oven and butter the bottom and sides of one 13X9X2 inch pan. Metal pans work great however you can also use a glass pan if you prefer. Combine bread pieces and chocolate chips in your prepared pan and then top bread mixture with 8 T of melted butter.

Mix your Liquids:

Combine remaining eggs, agave, half n half and vanilla extract together, mix slightly with a hand whisk. Pour liquid mixture over prepared breading, you’ll want to press the bread mixture down so that all of the liquid gets soaked up by the bread. Allow bread to soak in liquid ingredients for approximately 30-35 minutes.

Ready to Bake:

Before you place the bread pudding into the oven you’ll want to drizzle the pudding with the remaining 2 T of melted butter. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the top and place the bread pudding into the oven. Bake for 50 minutes.

Rum Sauce Instructions:

Melt butter in a pan and then dissolve the brown sugar into the melted butter. Stir constantly as you simmer your sugar/butter mixture for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the remaining ingredients, dark rum, espresso and vanilla extracts. Stir slightly to combine added ingredients.

Put it All Together:

Pour a generous amount of Espresso Rum Sauce over warm bread Pudding and enjoy with a warm hot beverage such as a macchiato.

This dessert is great as a personal treat or to serve when your old friends have come to visit.

Do Espresso Machines Quality Match Their Price?

Sometimes yet often not so much

Have you ever wonder if the high priced espresso machines are worth the extra cost? The answer is yes and no. Let me explain.

A nice espresso machine such as the DeLonghi Machine that generally around $150 makes a richer shot of espresso, has an easier cleanup, tends to steam milk better and has a longer lifespan than a Mr. Coffee with a price tag of $30. A more expensive machine such as the Breville with a general price tag of $500 will give you the results you want each time. Having a premium espresso machine, is nice yet the functionality isn’t much better than a more moderate priced machine. Another consideration is that these high priced machines tend to behave different heating mechanisms and can be more difficult to manage.

I once had a Gaggia, it was a great espresso machine that made an incredible shot of espresso. The heating mechanism on the Gaggia that I had took longer to heat up between each cup of coffee. When I had company over and was making several drinks at a time, it would take forever waiting between each cup and I wasn’t able to bring out everyone’s drink at once, due to the fact that some would be hot while others would have had time to cool off.

When my Gaggia finally started to wear out I was actually relieved to go back to a standard machine that works perfect every time. There is a part of me that will always miss my Gaggia, however I know that’s only the pride I felt having a premium espresso machine. In the end convenience and practicality tops vanity and pride.

Easy to Make: Chocolate Covered Coffee Beans

Easy, affordable, and delicious when combined.

When I was still in college and in need of that extra boost whether I was having a sluggish day or in study mode as I prepared for upcoming final exams I would often look for alternatives to drinking coffee. One particular choice that I commonly reached for was chocolate covered coffee beans. The only problem was that they could be consumed rather quickly and were expensive when considering the amount in a package compared to the price of the package.

Even though my college days are far behind me, I still sometimes want a small handful of chocolate covered coffee beans. With the price of everything going up simultaneously with my ever declining budget, my favorite chocolate covered coffee bean treat is a luxury that I usually can’t waste money on. Fortunately, I have played around in my kitchen with a few different recipes found at Taste of Home and manipulated the one I like the most, all in all they’re pretty easy to make and cost considerably less than I would pay for them at my nearest coffee shop. Try out the below recipe and let me know what you think.

Start out by microwaving 2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips with 1 ½ teaspoons of butter. Microwave in 30 second intervals, make sure that you continue to stir the chocolate mixture between intervals. Chocolate will be completely smooth when it’s ready for the coffee beans.

Once the chocolate is smooth you can begin adding coffee beans. The next step is to dip coffee beans into the chocolate, I use a utensil made to skim stocks. Simply throw a small handful of coffee beans onto the skimmer and dip it into the chocolate, when you lift the coffee beans out of the chocolate hold the utensil over the chocolate and make sure that any excess has drip back into the bowl. Scatter the dipped coffee beans onto wax paper and let them dry.

Just like that you have a delicious chocolate covered coffee bean treat at your fingertips. This recipe is very affordable and you can increase or decrease the recipe to make as little or as much as you want. If you have any extra that wasn't eaten then you can keep them in an airtight container.

The Difference Between a Coffee Drinker and a Coffee Lover

It's all about the beans

Do you know the difference between a coffee drinker and a coffee/espresso lover? It really comes down to just a few simple points. The strange thing is that even though the differences are simple, the outlooks are extreme opposites.

Coffee drinkers is a vast description of anyone who drinks coffee, the difference is that for the most part a true coffee lover would never consider a coffee drinkers choice in coffee to actually be coffee. This is simply because of the lack of flavor and the more often than not staleness of their choice. It really goes beyond that, most coffee drinkers can’t quite grasp the reasoning behind a coffee lover’s choice to pay more, substantially more for their coffee that is what really draws a line between them.

In contrast a true coffee lover would go without before they drank that dark colored water that average coffee drinkers call coffee. To them price isn’t an issue, after all it’s better to pay more for quality than to pay less for nastiness that can barely be drank. Many coffee lovers will gladly skip on other things to ensure that they have a true bold cup of steaming hot coffee.

Some would argue that a coffee lovers demand for a quality cup of coffee borders conceitedness. I beg to differ, it’s more on long the lines of demanding that only the best passes through the body. Really it came from our upbringing, after all how many commercials did we watch that continuously told us that we were what we ate?

An Improved Valencia Mocha inspired by Starbucks

They had it almost perfect yet not quite

Have you ever just wanted to play around with a coffee shop drink? I have wanted to make the Starbuck’s Mocha Valencia better for a while now. In fact I believe that this drink isn’t even on their menu anymore, and I just might know why.

Whenever I would get brave enough to order one from Starbucks I had the same experience, of like and dislike all wrapped up together. I loved the combination of the orange and chocolate, however it was just too concentrated and rich to enjoy. So I’ve been playing with it and I think I have perfected their drink.

To begin with, they used a very rich dark chocolate and let’s be honest most of the time dark chocolate is just a little too much and in fact in some cases can ruin a drink. So to combat this, I tossed the dark chocolate to the side and went with just a traditional chocolate syrup that is normally used to make a standard mocha. This did help however the orange still seemed a little bit too rich so back to the drawing board or in this case the espresso machine I went.

Originally I had used Monins Blood Orange syrup, though since that seemed to still be a little too rich I tried out candied orange instead. That led to the perfect flavor. The exact combination I used was one part orange to two parts chocolate and of course the regular espresso and milk. If you’ve always loved, yet also hated the Starbucks Valencia Mocha then try out this variation and let me know whether it works for you or not.

5 Steps to a Froth perfection

Follow and practice these steps and you'll be a natural in no time.

Do you seem to have a different consistency every time that you froth milk? Believe me you’re not alone, It took me what seemed like ages to finally get it down, all in all the entire learning process was frustrating to say the least. So whether you’ve been struggling or you just opened espresso machine for Christmas this step by step process should breakdown the often elusive secret to frothing milk.

Step One:

Use a metal cup, you can buy one that’s relatively inexpensive in most kitchen stores or online. The frothing process seems to react better in metal. One other thing I’ve noticed is that the milk froths up even better if the milk is really cold, so I tend to keep my frothing cup in the fridge so that the metal is always cold and it doesn’t end up raising the milk’s temp.

Step Two:

Connect a thermometer to your metal cup so that you can know when your temp reaches 65-70 degrees Celsius, you want to be within that range not under or over.

Step Three:

Begin frothing your milk. In order to get the best froth, you want to keep the nozzle in the top portion of your milk. You should see your milk begin to expand. In the case that your milk is actually bubbling, you’re going to need to reduce your steam pressure.

Step Four:

Once your milk has doubled with your froth, you’ll want to place your nozzle further into the cup so that your milk can be heated to the correct temperature. Sometimes, your milk will already be at the right temperature. In this case you can simple turn off your stem and power down your espresso maker.

Step Five:

Make sure that you fully clean your machine and all of its parts after you have finished. This will lengthen the lifetime of your espresso machine.

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