My Morning Americano
Coffee is my beverage of choice.
ENJOY THE MORNING
Coffee is my beverage of choice.
If we are talking about photos, and still life, this is one of my favourite shots. Probably because it incorporates three of my favourite things.
First, there is photography. Next is coffee. Finally, there is my Cattle Dog. Well, Liddy is represented by the mug and the dog treats.
The dog treats are important as they are Liddy’s reward for alerting me to the kettle coming up to boil. I can’t hear those noises so she helps me with these things.
At the time I shot this, I was making my morning coffee using an AeroPress. It is quite effective for making one or two cups at a time. I can get the quality and taste just about perfect with this setup. It works really well when travelling.
The Espresso Quest
On our recent trip to Europe, I was reintroduced to good cappuccino and café lattes. All of the cafes do it so well.
Returning home, I found my son had gifted me an espresso accessory kit for Christmas. It turned out to be an expensive gift as I was prompted to buy an espresso machine. An inexpensive Solaris from Italy.
So, I began my quest for my perfect espresso.
The Beans
As you might expect, the beans make a huge difference. The ones I prefer in my AeroPress were not at all suited for espresso. Some pro baristas might be able to make them work, but me… Not so much.
When I purchased my espresso machine from Seattle Coffee Gear, they were more than happy to provide a number of different roasts.
And you thought fine wine is expensive…
It’s all in the grind.
You can have the most sophisticated espresso machine in the world, but if you can’t get a good grind, your result will be less than meh.
When grinding coffee for a French Press, I set the scale to forty. The coarsest it will go. This, to me, makes a good pot of coffee.
For espresso, I start dialling it in with a setting of around ten. Varying the setting by as little as one point makes a big difference to the flavour of the extracted elixir.
Tamping the coffee powder into the filter cup doesn’t seem to make much difference. The amount of water forced through it, however, is a variable to watch.
The Winning Formula
This morning was Pacific North Wet Gray. I considered going for a bike ride but was inspired to tweak my espresso formula a bit more instead. Finer grind bit more extraction.
Wow. The results — so much smoother.
No, I’m not using Kona Coffee. My pension can’t afford more than one or two cups of that in a year. The mug was purchased at the Coffee Festival in Kona a few years ago. What I am using is Kirkland House Blend from Costco. This is a medium blend they have Starbucks roast and package for them. It is also one of the cheapest whole-bean coffees on their shelf.
No Lattes Yet
While the European lattes are marvellous, mine…. Not so much.
Now that I have the Americano dialled in, perhaps I will begin to experiment with cappuccinos and lattes. Who knows, I might even take up coffee art.
Think of it as a jellyfish or a mushroom cloud. Yeah, that’s what I was going for.
About Rover Dave
Dave Scott is a travel and nature photographer who loves to explore. Or is that an explorer who loves to do travel and nature photography?
I squandered my youth providing for my family. Now, I have recused myself from the rat race and now invest my time in finding those places that inspire me. The Pacific Northwest provides many opportunities that are close to home.
Follow my journeys. I hope to engage you and inspire you to get out and begin your journey.
The world is a beautiful place. Share the beauty. Leave only footsteps.