Re: [Leica] Cappuccino makers

["Joseph Codispoti" <joecodi@clearsightusa.com>]

From: "Tim Atherton" <tim@KairosPhoto.com>


> yess, but the Italians only seem to make sissy looking cappuccino makers,
> whereas my Krups not only looks great in it's all M6 black chrome look, it
> also makes better cappuccino than all my friends machines who have fancy
> Italian ones... :-)
>
> tim a


Sorry Tim but you are threading on thin ice.

The Krups machine is a not a full fledged cappuccino maker. For that it
would need to have a boiler (it does) and a *heat exchanger* (it does not).

You see, the heat exchanger is held within the boiler and it hold the water
(about 2-3 ounces) that makes the coffee and is heated by the boiler water
which is used just for the steam.
The water temperature within the exchanger hovers at around 200F, while the
steam water is held under pressure at just under boiling point. If the
exchanger water is too hot, the coffee will be "scorched".

The Italian espresso industry started with Desidero Pavoni who acquired the
patent for his machine from Bezzera in 1903. As for "sissy Italian
cappuccino makers", you should look into the myriad brands available from
Italy. My Cappuccino maker is made in Solvang, California by Salvatore, an
immigrant tool and die maker. Take a look at his site:
http://www.salvatore-espresso.com/  Salvatore has just finished a
one-of-a-kind machine for the head of an e-trade company in San Josè in
gold-plated hammered copper.

Aside of the popular brand of home machines such as Pavoni (Peacock), Gaggia
has an excellent all-metal model called Coffee Gaggia, it "brews circles"
around Krups (eh eh).
The top Italian coffee brands are Illy and Lavazza, both available in North
America.
Lavazza http://www.lavazza.com/ is all organic including the decaf which
uses the Swiss water process.
Illy www.illyusa.com uses nitrogen charged containers to keep the ground
coffee fresh for up to three years or until opened.

Some espresso terminology:
  a.. Espresso: Coffee that is extracted through high pressure
  b.. Cappuccino: (literally "little cap"): espresso with foamed milk cap
  c.. Caffè latte: espresso with foamed milk
  d.. Latte (US term): espresso with lots of foamed milk
  e.. Ristretto: reduced portion (about 1/2 ounce) for intravenous
consumption
  f.. Normale: regular portion (1 ounce)
  g.. Lungo: diluted portion (about 1-1/2 ounce) for the wimpy
  h.. Corretto: fortified with liqueur (grappa, cognac, schnapps)
  i.. Crema: the layer of orange/tan foam topping the espresso
  j.. Salute: here is to you (but you drink it yourself)
In Italy a latte and cappuccino are the same thing.
Good coffees are those that do not have oil traces on the surface of the
bean. The oil is suposed to remain within the bean.

Joe Codispoti





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