Not many who are not from Italy know much about making the perfect espresso. With the advent of coffee pods and espresso machines however, just about anyone can now prepare the perfect espresso.
There really is nothing like the perfect espresso. Roasted and ground to espresso perfection, that potent aroma of coffee awakens your senses and truly perks up your day. A cup of coffee equates to a cup of espresso in the Italian regions. Locals would stop by a sidewalk cafe or a coffee bar once or twice a day for their espresso cup. In America, it’s not quite as easy to find that true espresso. But with the advent of bean-to-cup automatic espresso coffee machines, you can have real Italian style espresso anytime from home.
Most Italians are not familiar with what we would call a coffee maker. They use a “machinetta” which looks sort of like a metal pitcher that has two sections. Coffee and water go into the bottom section. Then the machinetta is placed on the stove where water is brought to brisk boiling. Water then percolates towards the top section, pressing through the coffee grinds. The word espresso means “expressed” and the pressure between the two sections presses the coffee to get as much flavor from the grinds as possible. In a separate procedure, milk is heated and whipped to top the espresso. With manual preparation, it’s easy to make a mistake. You can use the wrong amount of water or coffee, turn the heat on too strong or just not get the right timing.
Espresso popularity is growing significantly and this means that people want a simpler way to make it at home. For a simple yet perfect espresso anytime of the day, you may want to consider a machine that uses coffee pods. Pods are pre-measured coffee grinds packed into filters or capsules. They come in different sizes, including single-serve capsules manufactured specially for espresso types. You put the pod in its place, close it, and start the machine. No need to clean up messy grinds afterwards as you simply dispose of the pod when the espresso is done. No mistakes, too, on getting the correct amount of grinds needed for a cup.
If you get a machine that uses coffee pods, you may also want to consider whether or not it accepts other brand’s coffee pods or ground coffee. Some machines will, but many work only with the coffee pods that the same company produces. The flexibility to use either pods or loose coffee edges out all others since you can use it even if you don’t have access to a steady supply of pods. It’s likely that the pods will need to be specially ordered until these machines become more popular. A more versatile model which accepts takes in other pod brands or loose grinds will give you better accessibility and performance.