Cappuccino

[Sam]

I am not much of a coffee drinker. When I get up first thing in the morning, I cannot drink coffee for some reason. I would be more likely to drink a Diet Coke then coffee. I get to the office and I have a Mr. Coffee automatic drip machine that I use Community coffee or Seattle’s Best. My son-in-law tells me that if I would get a grinder and use whole bean coffee like Black Rifle or Onxy I would appreciate it a lot more. Typically I would use a Sweet-n-Low and one of those little cups of LandOLakes half-and-half. I’m on vacation and I have just been drinking the cappuccinos like nobody’s business. My wife likes those too. I would be more inclined to wake up and grind some beans and make a cup or two for each of us. Now I don’t want to spend a lot but I don’t want to go cheap. What would you suggest that I do for a first time set up to make cappuccino?

[CMur12]

Hi Sam -

Good to see a new post.

I can't offer you an answer to your question, as I make tea at home and I go out for coffee. Common wisdom is that grinding quality coffee beans fresh is better - at least for the coffee cognoscenti. I'm not sure how significant that difference would be for you.

You are enjoying cappuccinos, but that is espresso coffee, which is different from brewed coffee.

If you have any family or friends who grind their own coffee, you could try it to see if it makes a difference to you. An added complication is that different coffees vary significantly in their flavor, so you might need to find the right coffee, too. In fact, the right coffee might even be more important that grinding it yourself.

Good luck!

- Murray

[drmoss_ca]

If you want to combine freshness with ease of use, you should look at a "superautomatica" type of machine. I've worn out two Saeco/Philips Vienna machines over the years and I'm now working on a Philips 2200 as the Vienna is no longer made. They don't cost much more than a manual machine, but they save a lot of faffing around. After the Viennas and before the 2200 I used a Breville manual machine, but it was a chore and frankly I'm not a very good barista.
A superautomatica means just pouring in beans, filling the tank, and pushing a button. You'll have to endure some caffeine overdoses until you get the settings as you like them, but it means you can turn out espresso, lungo or americano on demand. Yes, you'll still have to have cold whole milk, a jug, and learn to use the steam wand, but that part is quite easy (start with the wand at the bottom to heat the milk, and as the jug starts to feel hot, lift the wand to just under the surface to make foam). A little sprinkle of nutmeg and cocoa and you're away.
Double-walled steel demi-tasse, tasse and mugs are worth buying, as otherwise the coffee goes cold very quickly, especially espresso which is such a small volume. Go watch a bunch of videos from the Seattle Coffee Gear channel on youtube, they review all sorts of machines.
A word on beans. Freshness is important, but perhaps not in the way you think. Some people say you shouldn't use very dark roasts in a superautomatica (the oils will clog the mechanism), but others say if really fresh it doesn't matter. I use an espresso roast with no problems. One difference for certain is that fresh beans will give you crema, and old beans don't. I went as far as roasting my own beans, but apart from the satisfaction it didn't really make much difference. Slightly cheaper. I buy fresh roasted beans 10lb at a time online (free shipping) for $14.22CDN/lb. Can't get them for twice that in the shops.

C.

[Sam]

Thank you for the suggestions and then the YouTube reviewer