I love my coffee. Years ago, I walked around Boeing with a 10oz cup that was filled with coffee all day long. I'd stop wherever there was a coffee pot, drop in a dime (in those days) and fill my cup. I might as well have had a caffeine drip line in my arm and pulled an IV bag of coffee around with me.
These days, I don't drink that much coffee, but when I do, I want to taste coffee, so it's my moring double espresso made on my DeLONGHI EC680 Dedica 15-Bar Pump Espresso Machine with Cappuccino System using ESE pods.
I've tried a lot of home machines, and this is my favorite. I've also done the bean grind and tamp routine, and yes, it will give you a better cuppa than the ESE pod, but not by much. Your beans have to be fresh - espresso beans typically last up to two weeks, depending on the roast. Once the beans are roasted, they start to lose flavor and aroma over time, and should be used within a few days of opening the bag. Unless you're going to drink a pound of beans in a couple of days, they're going to lose flavor. Beans in the store? Foggetaboutit! You have no idea how long they've been sitting there in the bin or bag. If you want to get a vacuum sealed container, they can last a couple of weeks.
Or, you get the ESE pods that are sealed in a kind of mylar pouch that will stay fresh much longer. And, you don't have to grind and tamp - tamping is an art and it depends on the temperature and humidity on a given day. Seriously, the aficionados get a little freaky about this shit.
By now, you're wondering WTF this hack is about. It's about using ESE pods. You see the pod above - it goes into the little basket. I have a love-hate relationship with that little tab. It gets in the way of having a good seal when you but the basket in the machine. I've trimmed them off before, but now you have nothing to grip to get the damn pod out after making coffee and the sucker is hot. You machine should be making espresso around 180℉. So, I carefully fold it over and I use a shot glass (perfect size) to seal the pod in the basket.
This machine, and most I suspect, do this thing that wets the pod when you hit the start button, or they should. It hums for a couple of seconds, then stops, then starts again. If the water hits that dry pod it can run around the pod instead of through the coffee and dilute your espresso. I take an extra step. I push the start button, let it run for about three seconds, then turn it off for 10-15 seconds. a tiny bit of brown liquid dribbles into the cup, assuring me that the pod is wet. Then I hit the button again and let it do its thing.
I did read someone online suggesting you don't need to use the pressurized basket like the one above, but just use the single shot basket with many holes in the bottom. I tried that and it works just fine, but the coffee isn't as strong as an espresso shot. It's more like a coffee you might make with a Moka Pot, which is also a good cup of coffee, but not as strong as a pure espresso.
My only other thing is that water from the tap, even in Seattle where we have some of the freshest water this side of Rome, is that it still has some chemicals in it. I don't want to spend the money or got through the hassel of buying DI water, so I have a large carafe that I fill with water and let it stand so the chemicals sort of evaporate out while I'm using the water in the machine reservoir. I haven't scientifically proven that it's better tasting water, but I believe it, and that's all that matters.
However you like you coffee, enjoy it to the max. I do.
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