Make the Best Espresso Without Any Expensive Electric Devices

All you need to make the best espresso at home is shown in the picture. A very small cast iron skillet, a very small stove top espresso maker, raw green coffee beans, and a hand powered coffee mill. I imagine some of you may have never seen that coffee mill-the brass long thing on the top of the picture. It's a Turkish coffee mill, but we'll get to that later.

The Beans.

First, in order to make the best espresso, you need to buy green coffee beans. The taste of freshly ground beans is vastly finer than store bought roasted beans. I consider this to be the number 1 most important factor in making the best espresso. Green beans are also cheaper than any roasted beans and are becoming more widely available. If you live in NYC, you can find them all over, such as Fairway and Zabars. If you live near a Whole Foods Market, you can find them there. Many coffee bean sellers stock them now, so ask around where you live or just get them online.

Cookware-Skillet and Espresso Maker.

Your little skillet can be purchased anywhere cast ironware is sold, basically any kitchen supply store. It doesn't have to be exactly like the one in the picture-just small. Most of the cast ironware today is pre-seasoned, so you just use it as is.

The next key component is the little espresso maker, the Bialetti Mini Express 2. There may be other brands too. I don't have the one cup stove top Mini because I never have that little espresso. I bought mine on sale for $20, it should not cost more than 25. It is also sold in an espresso set with cups and saucers which is a good deal. Read the instructions on the care and use of the espresso maker.

The Coffee Mill and where to get it.

Now for the coffee mill. You're probably wondering why you can't just use your little electric grinder. You can, but the coffee will be inferior. Excellent espresso must be made from milled beans-as in burrs. Electric grinders can never get the beans to the powdery consistency needed for espresso, and they chop up the bean, they don't release the flavor of the bean as burr milling will.

These are made in Turkey, Greece, and some other countries and are available online. I got mine on Ebay for only $20. There are different sizes, you could get a smaller one. The larger sizes-like mine, have a removable bottom half which hold the grounds. A screw or nut on the bottom of the mill regulates the size of the grounds, it should be made tight enough for the grounds to come out like powder.

The Espresso Process.

If you have a stove exhaust fan, turn it on high, otherwise open a window. Take about 2 Tablespoons of green coffee beans and put them in the skillet. Heat up, and lower flame or temp when there's either a pop or smoke. Roast gently until there are more pops and the beans are browning, push them around a little with a wood spoon or very lightly with a metal spoon-you don't want to scratch the cast iron. The beans should be uniform in color, at this point you can roast them until they are a rich oily brown for deep, rich espresso, or leave them dark but not oily for a more mild espresso. Whichever you choose, take them off the fire immediately when they reach the color you want. Don't forget to use an oven mitt -cast iron handles are as hot as the rest of the pan. Pour the beans on to a plate-I use paper plates, to cool. There will be some chaff, gently blow it off near the sink or garbage can-you don't need to eradicate it, just blow off what you can. When the beans are warm but not hot put them into the mill. To do this, you remove the top of the mill and just pour them in on the sides of the milling part. Then put the cover back and if you have the large mill, put the 2 parts together. Make sure the screw is set for a fine grind and start cranking. If you have the short mill with no grounds collector, do it over a plate.

After you've finished milling the beans, open the mini espresso maker, add water until the release valve-as per the instructions, put the coffee powder into the basket and close the espresso maker tightly. Place on the stove-right in the middle of the grate or ceramic disk and put a little espresso cup on either side of the spout. Put the stove on very low, and watch. Soon the espresso will start spouting out into the cups, when it's done and is just hissing and spitting, turn off the stove. Using a pot holder, carefully lift the espresso maker with the cups and move slowly off the stove to a flat surface. The cup handles may be hot, so either wait half a minute or use the pot holder to remove the cups of espresso. Add a teaspoon of sugar to each, or to taste, or leave it straight for extreme espresso. Personally, I think the sugar brings out the nuances of flavor, and straight is way too strong for me. Drink immediately. You can also use this to make a latte, just heat up a cup of milk and add the espresso.

Now, compare the amount of $ you spent on supplies to even the cheapest electric espresso machine and it will be much less. But that's even secondary to the incredible quality of your home created espresso. The ease of clean up can't be matched either, as well as the space you save in your kitchen-no bulky machine sitting on your counter. The skillet and grinder will last forever, and the Mini Espresso maker probably will too, so your small investment will keep you drinking the absolute best espresso for a long time to come.