Anyone used this espresso gizmo?

[ldamelio]

This one has a pressure control valve so that the entire mass of grounds is subjected to a uniformly higher pressure than applied by regular moka pots.

Bialetti : brikka

I recently fell off the no-coffee wagon. Life, and early morning drives, are just too difficult without it. I might have to give the Brikka a try.

I've been using a Brikka for about 6 months now after wearing out a traditional Bialetti Moka pot. It's great, and makes a reliable crema compared to the standard Moka Express. It's sensitive to grind (slightly coarser than traditonal espresso grind), density (light tamp or just tap to settle grounds) and water level (fill to exact line in pot). First couple of weeks I hated it as results seemed random and often crappy. Then I found a short YouTube video explaining the above. Superb since.

And everybody take a deep breath with the ethnic/American/cultural appropriation/cultural dilution stuff. The great thing about our country is that it's a melting pot and we have access/exposure to the best of everything (including food and drink) from the entire planet. Doesn't mean that any of it is superior or that you have to like it all. Play nice, it's a New Year.

[j44ke]

Amen.

[froze]

So becoming an American is to become a diluted form of some other culture. Great. Thanks for sharing.

If you go back to the 17th and 18th century in America, coffee was stronger flavored because crappy drip makers weren't made yet, so along came the convenience of percolator coffee which essentially ruined coffee because the rich flavor of coffee was vaporized away during the brewing; when the drip maker came along Americans embraced it because it was fast and easy but it also made watery coffee as witnessed by those today that still use drip or buy restaurant coffee. So yes, Americans slowly diluted their coffee flavor over time, the same thing happened to beer over the same length of time the coffee did. Lately, in the last 10 years there has been sort of swing back to stronger brews, but then along came the nasty coffee that a Keurig machine, and the less popular Nespresso, makes which has taken America by storm, so the majority of Americans still haven't gotten fully back to traditional European and Asian coffee that our roots were founded on. Beer wise IPA's are starting to bring back what was lost when these huge beer companies made weak crappy light beer that is consumed by the majority of Americans, it was those huge beer companies that ran IPA's out of business after prohibition, IPA's back then and now were home brewed, it wasn't uncommon for the average homey to brew their own beer, but that was outlawed during the prohibition, but today it's making a huge comeback. You need to do some research on this stuff before you go off half cocked.

Coffee History 19's, Melitta, Starbucks, Peet's, Espresso

Cowboy Coffee - True West Magazine

[WayneJ]

An Americano is diluted espresso

I see a strong desire in my America to experience many things - traditionally and otherwise. Both can be good, if the ingredients and preparation are done right.

[Too Tall]

An Americano is diluted espresso

I see a strong desire in my America to experience many things - traditionally and otherwise. Both can be good, if the ingredients and preparation are done right.

Amen and pass the dark chocolate.

Purely for contrast two years ago I was walking around Paris and stumbled on a Starbucks. Really?

[j44ke]

You need to do some research on this stuff before you go off half cocked.

Thanks. I am obviously completely ignorant, so your admonishment is fully appreciated for its value.