Square Espresso Cups

Espresso cups are always a matter of taste - classic, or new age, colorful or refined and assured. I saw these and thought I would pass them along; they are white porcelain with "a softly rounded square shape in a geometric take on the coffee-bar classic." 2"sq.x3"H cup, 4" sq. saucer.

All that and only $3.95 each - at Crate and Barrel

Luigi Bormioli Duo 10-Ounce Coffee/Latte Glasses

I saw these and had to pass them along. Loyal readers know that I love my Bodum Pavina Espresso glasses not just for the cool look, but for the double walled thermo-insulated glass that keeps the espresso hot and your fingers cool. These Luigi Bormioli coffee latte glasses are similar in that they are going to keep the coffee/latte hot and still give you a glimpse of that great looking coffee you just created. The suspension in space of your latte is just a fantastic look. It's like an insider's view on making a latte in the right proportions.

Dishwasher safe, set of four.

Luigi Bormioli Duo Coffee/Latte glasses at Amazon

Breville BCG450XL Ikon Conical Burr Grinder

Breville makes some impressive looking appliances, and the Breville Ikon Conical Grinder is no different. Conical burr grinders are different from those cheap-o blade grinders that can deliver inconsistent results. I have been using a rather inexpensive burr grinder for a long time on my drip coffee set up because I like the convenience and the quality that a burr grider delivers. Turn the dial, let it rip and then pull out the hopper when it's done to make coffee. No measuring, no timing, etc. With the 1/2 pound whole bean hopper this should last you a while if you are making espresso or rip coffee.

The Breville Ikon Burr Grinder has grind settings to create ultra fine to coarse coffee. Measures 5-1/4 by 7 by 11-1/4 inches, and is made of stainless and "polymer"; er, um plastic in the base.

Available at Breville BCG450XL Ikon Conical Burr Grinder

Designer Coffee Cup Jacket

Been throwing away all of those extra cup jackets along with the cups? Well, a few million of those hit landfills every day, so why not try out something that adds a bit of fashion to the coffee shop experience while saving trees?

These Cup Sleeves are reusable, washable, and fit most 12, 16 & 20 ounce cups. They fold flat to stow away in your purse, briefcase or backpack, and they only cost about $12.

Coffee Couture Cup Sleeves at Amazon

Espresso Spoons

When serving espresso to guests I always like to serve things up with a cup and saucer, and a small espresso spoon to match the size of the espresso demitasse cup. I happen to have some inexpensive ones that I picked up on a trip a long time ago, and they work pretty well. They allow you to add a little bit of sugar and stir. Definitely caps off the experience for your guests.

Henckels Cottage Stainless-Steel Espresso Spoon – set of 8 at Amazon

Aerolatte To Go - Latte and Cappuccino while you Travel

This little wonder is great to take on the road to vacation or anywhere away from home; a battery operated frother. In just a few seconds the thing can whip milk into a decent froth to top off your espresso to make a cappuccino style drink when you can't steam the milk for a proper one. It works on 2 "AA" batteries, and has a stainless steel shaft that makes cleanup easy. It's lightweight, is about 9 inches long and comes with its own cover/travel container.

Aerolatte To Go at Amazon

Americano/Iced Coffee Glasses - Bodum Pavnia

Recently I put up a simple recipe for Americanos and I have been enjoying them quite a bit. I have noticed that while I like a bit of robusta in my espresso, I don't like to use robusta based espresso in my Americanos. I have been really enjoying the Compagnia dell'Arabica Colombia ESE Pods for their sharp, clean full bodied taste. The lingering robusta flavor that I like in my hot espresso, just tastes not to good and dirty when cold.

I have also ordered up some of these for enjoying more cold coffee and cold espresso drinks this summer. I LOVE my smaller Bodum Pavina glasses for espresso, and am looking forward to the cool enjoyment of these larger ones all summer long.

Bodum Pavnia 12 ounce Glasses at Amazon

Manual Milk Frother

So a lot of people have been writing in asking about what’s a good way to froth milk when you don’t have a steam wand or use a Bialetti style espresso pot. I got one of these frothers a while ago and it really is pretty easy to use, and a cinch to clean up.

Add a few ounces of milk, microwave for 30-60 seconds, and pump about 5-10 times to make a pretty fluffy frothed milk. It’s not a fine steamed milk character that you get with a steam wand, but it will certainly top a cappuccino in style; for not very much money.

At Amazon

Steamed Milk with a Pitcher and a Thermometer

A lot of people have been writing in about how to froth and steam milk for their cappuccinos and lattes. A couple of essential tools that can really help you get going are a frothing pitcher and a thermometer. You want to get the milk to the right temperature maximizing its ability to hold air, without cooking the milk and ruining it. Typically there is a nice range of 140F to about 160F between which the milk will be hot enough to keep your drink at a nice temperature overall, while also giving you that aeration that you want. I like the upper end of this range in the low 150's for a good sweetspot.

Steaming milk requires that you get the milk into a nice pitcher that will allow you to get your steaming wand well into the milk. Turn on your steam nozzle and keep the tip submerged below the milk's surface. The milk will develop a nice finely aerated feel and look as it heats and grows in the pitcher. Use a dial thermometer to help you determine when to stop.

If your machine comes with an attachment that has an air tube that stick up and sucks air in while it steams, you are going to get frothy milk to make a cappuccino using the same technique mentioned above. If this is what you want, then you are good to go. If not, check the manual to see if the tip can be removed to get a bare metal spout that will give you less aeration and more of a latte type steamed milk.

Remember always wipe up and clean off the steam spout soon after use before the milk dries on in a perma-crud crust that is hard to get off. A wet towel can do this right after you are done steaming.

Capresso FrothXpress Automatic Milk Frother

So, if you can't afford to get that $1,000 superauto that brews and froths milk for you, here's the shortcut if you hate frothing milk. The Capresso FrothXpress Automatic Milk Frother is the shortcut to frothed milk in short order. The unit heats up in a couple of minutes, and after you hook up the milk container, the unit is ready to froth. The unit will produce up to 30 ounces of frothed milk. Clean up is fairly easy as you can run some steam through after shutting off the milk to steam clean the parts before popping the milk pitcher back in the 'frige.

The I-Roast 2 Home Coffee Roaster arrives for Review at SingleServeEspresso.com

We recently received our I-Roast 2 home roaster and I am looking forward to roasting up some coffee to try out in the Jura Capresso E8 Super Automatic Espresso Machine that we have in for review also. (I’ll be writing up a review of the Impressa E8 in the coming days, but will be keeping it on to try out our home roasted coffee.)

A lot of people are fanatics about fresh coffee, and go to great lengths to make sure that their coffee is fresh. When properly stored, green coffee is good for a long time, and with a home roaster, we’re hoping that it’s easy to whip up a few batches of coffee to use in our espresso machine. So while you can get espresso coffee in whole bean or ground at many coffee shops, and stores, you may wonder, where to get green coffee. It’s not hard. We strolled over to Sweet Maria’s and there is lot’s of variety and lot’s of pre-blended options, even some for espresso. (I already have some on the way.) So it’s not an issue. I have also seen some available at some local cafes and Whole Foods stores.

Over the coming weeks, I’ll be learning a bit more about home roasting and I’ll see what I can do in the way of creativeness and excellence in fresh coffee. I know from my experience already that coffee changes for the first few days after roasting, and there is nothing like freshly roasted coffee. Used over the first few days, you can see flavors develop and wonderful flavors change. The I-Roast 2 has built in programs that allow you to start out with training wheels at first. You can then alter how you roast the beans based on your taste and own experiments. Sweet Maria’s has recommendations and extensive reading on how to roast; I’ll be studying up before roasting.

The i-Roast 2 is available at the i-Roast Home page. They are offering a special through the end of November: Buy an i-Roast 2 for $169 and get 2 pounds of Organic Bolivian green coffee for Free.

Review: Aeroccino Automatic Milk Frother from Nespresso

Thought we would highlight this over at SingleServeCoffee.com - our sister site. They reviewed a new way to froth milk for your coffee/espresso drinks - The Aeroccino Automatic Milk Frother from Nespresso.

The Aeroccino is a new, automatic and simple way of creating light, creamy milk froth. You just pour in some cold or hot, fresh skim milk and press the button.

ReadMore at SingleServeCoffee.com

Summer's Here: Iced Espresso is Too!

Summer is definitely here, and I don’t know about you, but I’ve been pouring a few iced coffees recently – or I should say iced espressos. I usually do them into the Bodum Pavina Double-Wall Thermo-Glass 15 ounce glasses that stand up to the heat and the cold.

I pull two espresso shots and dump them into the Bodum glasses, add sugar, milk, then ice and stir. I usually add 2 parts espresso, one part milk, add sugar to taste and ice it until it’s cold. Yum! With an ESE machine, it’s easy, and it takes about 2 minutes. The flavor is impressive, and it's easy to do in the morning for yourself, or for guests.

While I tend to like a bit of espresso/robusta bite to my hot espresso, I tend to like cleaner 100% Arabica coffee for my iced espressos. For this I use something like either Illy Medium Roast Espresso Pods or BioAroma ESE Pods from Miami Espresso.

Enjoy the summer!

Frothing Pitcher and Termometer Set

Besides the coffee, the brewer and the cups, what’s needed for a nice cappuccino or a latte? The frothing pitcher. Well, we found a frothing pitcher and thermometer set that can help you make better capp’s in no time. The thermometer is a key part of getting he milk just right – if you don’t steam the milk long enough you get a cold cappuccino, if you froth too long, you get funky ruined milk. We recently posted a story about some great tutorials from Gimme! Coffee of Ithaca, NY that tells you how to get great textured milk with little designs on top. The key is to get the milk between 140F and 150F – so go out and get a thermometer! If you already have a pitcher and need a thermometer – take a look at this frothing thermometer set with a nice big readout and a clip to grab onto the side of your frothing pitcher.