Morning coffee
Grinding a fresh batch of Arabica and brewing it in the Bialetti Moka Pot essentially sums up a splendid beginning to a glorious day.
I was happy with the French Press all this while until I discovered the fun of Moka Pot and the sinful art of optimum extraction. The initial lazy oozing out of the coffee decoction through the pores soon turns into a frenzied rush of frothing and foaming caffeine lava as it collects into a handsome pool in the pot leaving me and Cinder enthralled in an unblinking stupor for a while.
As I pour the espresso into the cup with the aroma wafting across the living room, Cinder would turn her neck, purr in approval, and walk away letting me indulge in such small luxuries as I slip into the couch with the morning newspaper
Today's tip for a fine brew
Never tamp the coffee , just tap the side of the filter basket
Use a coarser ground coffee than that of an espresso. A fine grind will is a hinderance to proper extraction
Always pour hot water in the lower pot to reduce the brewing time and not toast the coffee grind in the metal pot while waiting for the water to reach the temperature
Keep a towel handy
Place the Moka Pot on cold water to stop the brewing process . I use a saucer filled with water and it works
Lastly , go for a 3 cup Moka Pot . 1 Cup is never enough .
Not a recipe for disaster
The Espresso Martini is nothing short of a destiny's child. The legendary cocktail was born out of necessity when a scantily used espresso machine, a tired supermodel, and a lazy bartender found their path crossing each other in the Soho Brasserie way back in 1983. When the model slinked up to the bartender and asked for a drink to " wake me up", Bradsell drew a stiff espresso from the newly installed machine which saw very little use in the pub. He added a jigger of vodka and topped it with Kahlua, and a generous dose of sugar syrup before shaking it with ice and straining it through a Hawthorne strainer into a Martini glass that was standing right in front of him. Had it been a whisky glass it might have been called by some other name for sure ...but then what's in a name. Dick Bradsell went on to create several popular cocktails; however, nothing seems to surpass or replicate the edginess that the story helped create for The Espresso Martini .
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