I was up at Walmart buying a new microwave oven, picked up a cheap GE $46 model, and saw they were stocking some espresso makers for $29.92, so bought one. Mr. Coffee model #ECM250.
I started roasting my own coffee about a year ago, and make some pretty good coffee. Been curious about espresso, but machines were kind of spendy, and I didn't need a lot of the features to make latte or crappuccino. I like strong, straight, black coffee. At home I use an automatic drip coffee maker, at work I make it cowboy style (dump the grounds into boiling water (microwaved). The work coffee has a much better flavor.
Having had no previous experience with espresso, I'm impressed. The only downside is this machine only makes 4 x 2 oz servings, or one normal sized cup at a time. There several things I'm unsure about, and figure I'll get it figured out eventually. First is the roast. When I was studying roasting techniques, espresso was always refered to as a very dark roast, almost burnt. Seemed kind of destructive of the coffee flavor, and would expect it to be bitter. Will try a batch next time I roast. The second is packing the grounds in the filter. The machine came with sort of a multi-tool. My first pot I used the scoop as a measure, and packed it down. Didn't seem like a lot of grounds for 8 ounces of coffee, but what did I know. The coffee came out with good flavor, and about the same strength as what I make at work. Definately stronger then the drip. Always thought espresso was very strong, so next pot I filled the filter full, then packed it down. It came out about 2/3rds full. It turned out stronger, little bitter. This last one, I packed the filter full to almost the top. Very strong and bitter. I think half full packed will give a good result. Have no idea how tightly compressed the grounds should be packed, been going for good enough to hold together.
Anyway, hope to hear from anybody with experience in make espresso, just to see if I'm doing right or wrong, and what is the best roast. Also kind of though it was worth pointing out the $30 machine. It's seems pretty well constructed for what is normally expect in low priced machines.
I started roasting my own coffee about a year ago, and make some pretty good coffee. Been curious about espresso, but machines were kind of spendy, and I didn't need a lot of the features to make latte or crappuccino. I like strong, straight, black coffee. At home I use an automatic drip coffee maker, at work I make it cowboy style (dump the grounds into boiling water (microwaved). The work coffee has a much better flavor.
Having had no previous experience with espresso, I'm impressed. The only downside is this machine only makes 4 x 2 oz servings, or one normal sized cup at a time. There several things I'm unsure about, and figure I'll get it figured out eventually. First is the roast. When I was studying roasting techniques, espresso was always refered to as a very dark roast, almost burnt. Seemed kind of destructive of the coffee flavor, and would expect it to be bitter. Will try a batch next time I roast. The second is packing the grounds in the filter. The machine came with sort of a multi-tool. My first pot I used the scoop as a measure, and packed it down. Didn't seem like a lot of grounds for 8 ounces of coffee, but what did I know. The coffee came out with good flavor, and about the same strength as what I make at work. Definately stronger then the drip. Always thought espresso was very strong, so next pot I filled the filter full, then packed it down. It came out about 2/3rds full. It turned out stronger, little bitter. This last one, I packed the filter full to almost the top. Very strong and bitter. I think half full packed will give a good result. Have no idea how tightly compressed the grounds should be packed, been going for good enough to hold together.
Anyway, hope to hear from anybody with experience in make espresso, just to see if I'm doing right or wrong, and what is the best roast. Also kind of though it was worth pointing out the $30 machine. It's seems pretty well constructed for what is normally expect in low priced machines.