"RancilioSilvia" news and stories

A Rancilio Silvia home espresso machine. Photo: Jay Ritmista, Flickr

Erin Meister trains baristas for North Carolina-based Counter Culture Coffee and sporadically maintains the blog Meet the Press Pot from her home in New York City. This is part of a series of tips for the caffeine-addicted.

Hooked on espresso? Yeah, me too. But not because we need it, right? It's because we love it. It isn't just a caffeine fix -- it's an act of passion. It's a foodie's delight.

Brewing espresso at home is a luxury enjoyed by few but might be more accessible than you think: Decent equipment starts at a basic splurge level before moving into "coffee has taken control of my life" exorbitance -- I swear!

Here's a guide to finding a machine that fits your needs (and your bank account).

Ahhh, crema. The coffee shop on my corner won't serve espresso without its perfect crown of crema (a good way to determine if your coffee shop is worth its beans). There's even a site with amazingly sexy photos of crema dripping from the espresso maker. Yum. Mark Frauenfelder of BoingBoing chronicles his quest to create crema from his Rancilio Silvia espresso machine. According to one of the many coffee geeks who help on his quest, "Properly made espresso from fresh beans, ground, tamped, and brewed properly, will make plenty of its own crema." A couple of must-haves for good crema: a burr grinder for your beans; hot tools; proper tamping; and freshly roasted coffee.

Source