Espresso -- Stove top or fancy barrista style machine -- which is best?

[Doc226]

I’m Cuban, my first taste of espresso came from from grandmother dunking my pacifier in a the coffee and repeating.

I just upgraded my espresso machine to a Breville infuser, yes it does make a difference from coffee made from a Moka pot (the Cuban way of making it for 99%).

Now I get very nice tasting coffee using Bustelo or Pilón but if you want to grind your own (as I often do). You will need a very good grinder, not a descent or good, you need very good.

I’ve used the Baratza Virtuoso for drip and that’s great, it falls short for espresso.

I just ordered a Baratza Sette 270 Wi, waiting on arrival.

I really wanted the Niche Zero, but I haven’t found it anywhere.


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[Lefonque]

The best is the one I get in downtown Melbourne. Cafe Latte.

 

[Tirvine]

I agree that stovetop and real espresso are altogether different things and one is not better than the other. Someone said that if you want lattes and cappuccinos you need to get a real espresso machine. I think you can make a terrific milk-based drink with a stove top. Heat your milk in a microwave or pan and froth it with an under $20 Aerolatte or the like. Add the hot nectar from the Moka pot. Is it as good as a capp made with my ancient Elektra lever machine? Well, it is different. I will, however, say that the moka pot latte made this way is a very easy and quick drink to make (under five minutes) and is definitely better than a cafe latte from *$ at a fraction of the cost.

 

[TexLaw]

I agree that stovetop and real espresso are altogether different things and one is not better than the other.

That's really what it's all about. They are different products, and you use different tools to get them. If you want one, the tool to make the other will leave you disappointed.

If you want to hit a home run, you don't take a pitching wedge to the plate. Likewise, you don't grab your Louisville Slugger for a chip shot. I don't care how skilled you are with either tool, you will not get your desired result.

 

[Doc4]

I’m Cuban, my first taste of espresso came from from grandmother dunking my pacifier in a the coffee and repeating.

"Doctor ... I just can't get my baby to fall asleep ..."

 

[Running With Scissors]

Espresso made in a stove top pot tastes different than made in a machine. I prefer the taste of made on a stove. it is of course subjective, and I don't know the science behind it, but, I find stove made espresso to be less bitter, and yet, still bitter enough.

 

[Tirvine]

Espresso made in a stove top pot tastes different than made in a machine. I prefer the taste of made on a stove. it is of course subjective, and I don't know the science behind it, but, I find stove made espresso to be less bitter, and yet, still bitter enough.

I think of stovetop as percolated coffee where a single serving of water is percolated only one time but through enough coffee for a whole pot.

 

[Running With Scissors]

I think of stovetop as percolated coffee where a single serving of water is percolated only one time but through enough coffee for a whole pot.

Using an old fashoined stove top espresso pot , it seems very different than reg. coffee, could be the dark roast, could be I load the pot with coffee, and it could be it percolates through more than once. My personal preferred method now, is an Aeropress, you can vary everything, and anything, and once you have it down, it's easy to repeat.

 

[Bosh Hog]

It’s old school for me. Stove top. I like it fancy once in a while but for that I just go to a coffee shop. In the end it’s cheaper than going crazy on the latest do everything machine.

 

[Tirvine]

Using an old fashoined stove top espresso pot , it seems very different than reg. coffee, could be the dark roast, could be I load the pot with coffee, and it could be it percolates through more than once. My personal preferred method now, is an Aeropress, you can vary everything, and anything, and once you have it down, it's easy to repeat.

It can't percolate through more than once in something like a Bialetti. It collects in the top chamber rather than running down through a perforated basket. Aeropress sounds cool.

 

[linty1]

I seem to have settled into americanos as my prefered drink, I kinda sometimes wonder if I should get another setup, but honestly I think it would be a change just to change.

 

[TexLaw]

For those who think the Moka pot is old fashioned or old school, folks were making espresso for decades before the Moka pot came along. The idea behind it was to allow folks to make something along the lines of espresso at home.