Of course, you can make a cup of coffee with an espresso maker… or can you?
These weeks and weeks of isolation, stir-craziness, and holed up insanity have been good for two things.
1) Finding the glaring weak spots in our methods, and
2) Coming up with clever ways to make do with what you’ve got.
Let’s start with something basic, like say coffee.
Can we all agree (oh those evil words) that a properly brewed pot of coffee in the morning is the best? And at least ten times better than anything that comes from one of those nifty pod machines that produce a cup in mere nanoseconds.
No this isn’t going to be one of my tech-bashing montages about how slowing down a little is better just about any way you look at it. Instead, I’m sharing a sort of quirky example that might spur some creativity and possibly some real innovation.
Like with everything else, Covid-19 is very good at finding the weak spots in our game, and zapping them with painful, laser-like precision.”
—gapingvoid Culture Design Group
I’m going with gapingvoid on this one. We are finding all sorts of weak spots. And with it comes room for newfound creativity.
So, what does brewing coffee have to do with this discussion? Let’s just say the overthinking that comes with just about anything while stuck at home is one of those weak spots.
With all our human cleverness in creating devices, apps, and smart what-have-ya’s, we’re losing our ability to connect some fairly obvious dots.
This is my recent coffee experience…
You see, I love a big mug of freshly brewed coffee in the morning to start my day. Truth is, I’d like to have multiple mugs of said java.
Here’s the catch, my cardiovascular system has issues with the fully leaded stuff. One mug… great, no problem. More than a mug… it’s all thumpa-thumpa-thumpa!
Here’s a second catch, If you happen to agree that nano coffee isn’t the best option, well I’m here to tell you that nano decaf just plain bites. I’ve tried all kinds. Not-having-it. It’s awful. Period.
A solution was calling my name.
- Brewing a pot of decaf was out because it takes too long and seems wasteful for just a mug
- Nano decaf is definitely not-an-option
- We have a nifty espresso maker that I remember being fairly quick and easy to use
- We don’t have decaf espresso in hand
- But we do have ground decaf coffee in the pantry
iPad in hand, I google those fateful keywords: making coffee with an espresso maker
I could not believe this. The meta description for the top hit asserts making coffee with an espresso machine IS NOT POSSIBLE. Another declares blasphemy at the very thought. Geeze—get a life.
Espresso is e-s-p-r-e-s-s-o! Not c-o-f-f-e-e.
Please don’t insult the purists, my friends. Some feelings might get hurt.
If we bought into half the stuff people say can’t be done, we’d never get anything useful accomplished. And if you can’t make a cup of coffee with an espresso machine, well then—Houston, we have a problem.
To believe a thing impossible is to make it so.”
—French Proverb
So, how does my coffee-making journey turn out? Fortunately for me, I kept reading and found some can-do people.
Making coffee with an espresso maker is really quite simple.
A drip grind works fine. I use about a scoop and a half of grounds with nine ounces of water (you’ll lose ~ 10% to steam) for a rather robust brew.
Pack the grounds just like you would when making actual espresso. Experiment with the grounds-to-water ratio until you find your sweet spot.
Presto-Change-O… coffee from an espresso maker! Who said it couldn’t be done?
I’m throwing down the glove. Here’s a fun challenge to try before this whole mess is over—Figure out how to do one new thing with what you’ve got while you’re stuck at home staring at those freakin’ walls.
Any takers?
Be untucked.
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Copyright © 2020 Jeff Meister – All Rights Reserved
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