My wife wants an espresso machine to make lattes and things, I quite like espresso but normally prefer a larger mug of a lighter roasted coffee from a Cafetiere.

Anyway my question is, if I use lighter roasts in the espresso machine and use this to make a mug filling Americano, would it taste similar to a Cafetiere coffee? I know it’s a different flavour extraction method that’s why I’m wondering what it would be like

If you use cafetiere coffee you wont be able to tamp down the coffee tight enough and the water will run through it too fast and it’d be weak watery minging horribleness. I’ve tried cafetiere coffee in an espresso machine before and it doesn’t work.

Single shot (double if you want some pep) of your preferred roast in espresson machine grind in the mug and top up with boiled water will give what you require in an Americano. No need to muck about with different grinds. If you’re grinding your own beans then you’ll need to agree a bean that you both like (or buy two grinders).

I drink americano in cafes and use a stove top at home. Half fill with decent coffee for a decent half cup of coffee. I have tried a few machines at home and reverted to a decent stove top.

we have used stove pots for years – love them.

But, just got an AeroPress – amazing
best home coffee I’ve ever had.

First class STW advice thread! 🙂

“My wife wants an espresso machine…”

As soon as post 4, it’s “no she doesn’t, she wants this other thing entirely”

Didn’t you hear him? His wife wants an espresso machine! Is he now going to go and tell her she doesn’t?

(FWIW I’m with MadBill, aeropress every time)

I don’t drink americanos, but the general rule of thumb is that cafetieres produce a ‘muddier’, potentially stronger/harsher brew compared to the ‘cleaner’ cup from filter coffee, and I would expect an americano to be more like filter coffee than cafetiere. The fact that you like a lighter roast, makes me think that you should try it filtered, because I think the flavours of a light roast stand out better in filter coffee.

A few points you might want to consider:

– Filters and cafetieres are reliable, easy, inexpensive and fuss free methods for consistently producing good long black coffee. They are hard to get wrong, and are also a good way of experiencing the benefit from spending money on a grinder and freshly roasted beans.

– In contrast, espresso can be difficult to get right, sometimes very difficult. Dialling in the grinder for a different blend (or simply a new batch) as well as getting the dose and tamp right can be difficult enough on their own (and waste a lot of coffee in the process), but sometimes even when you think you’ve everything right you still get a bad (disgusting) shot. In other words, there are a lot of variables which make espresso a poor choice if you want a long black. The only reason why shops sell americanos rather than filter is because they already have an expensive espresso machine and grinder dialled in for espresso, to which they can add water to produce an americano very quickly compared with filter.

– If you prefer lighter roasts but your wife wants a dark roast (not uncommon, since milk is used to dilute/mask the bitter taste of many dark roasts and bad espresso shots) then that is going to be even trickier to do with an espresso machine. Bear in mind that when a shop offers a choice of espresso blends they will have a separate grinder for each. When I’ve ordered the guest blend in a good shop, I’ve seen the barista have to make multiple shots and threw them away to dial in the grinder of the (less frequently ordered) guest blend, before they were satisfied with the result and served it to me.

– If your wife likes drinks with large ratios of milk, like latte, then I would suggest an Aeropress or moka pot and a milk frothing device, and spending the bulk of your money on a good grinder and fresh beans. For filter, Aeropress and cafetiere, it’s fairly easy to adjust a grinder to give the preferred/necessary variation in coarseness and to swap between different blends.

You can use an espresso machine to make a really nice long espresso (lungo) – like an Americano strength-wise but crema-y and less hot-watery in taste.

if you prefer to use a press, why not carry on using it, enjoying the occasional espresso now and again.

I have an aero-press, press and stove top, all have their pros and cons tbh, but I wouldn’t want to limit myself to just one method of making coffee

Not a fan of those ‘pod’ espresso machines. Stick to your cafetière, if it’s what you like. You are allowed to own both.

actually not just an espresso machine she wants, its one of those de longhi bean to cup things that were on offer a bit ago on amazon black friday, but have now gone up again, and my wife has only now just mentioned she wants one, but hey ho thats women for you.

Anyway she wants ‘frothy lattes / cappuchinos and the ability to make frothy hot chocolates and none of this faffing round with seperate grinders and stuff’ so nothing else will do, although anyone is welcome to come round and try and tell her otherwise!

as i said i dont mind espressos, just prefer a bigger cup of something so maybe a lungo is the one for me. I just wondered if milder roasts gave acceptable coffee when put through an espresso machine.

I just wondered if milder roasts gave acceptable coffee when put through an espresso machine

Yes, they do, but as said above a few times the grind needs to be right. With a bean to cup, you’re pretty much stuck with whatever is in the machine, so unless you can find a bean you both like you’ve got a problem.

Anyway she wants ‘frothy lattes / cappuchinos and the ability to make frothy hot chocolates and none of this faffing round with seperate grinders and stuff’ so nothing else will do, although anyone is welcome to come round and try and tell her otherwise!

How far is Costa from you? 😉

We have a Delonghi bean to cup machine. It’s brilliant. Espresso without the mess.

Anyway, it has a “long coffee” function which (I think) grinds half as much as an espresso (based on time the grinder is on for) pours hot water through it, gets rid of the puck, grinds another puck and then puts more hot water through it. Makes about 300 ml of coffee, I think.

It also does lungo – 120ml of coffee with one espresso dose, espresso (40ml) and doubles of both of these.
My favourite program is Doppio+ – basically a triple espresso!

So – get a Delonghi with “long coffee” function.

^^^ which model is that one

Delonghi Autentica

We paid £300 for it from John Lewis a couple of months ago. They had an offer with a voucher code.

Edit: forum software doesn’t like apostrophes in urls! Soz.

My local bean shop use a bean-to-cup for their in-store samples and it makes a great brew, even with the lighter roast beans.

You probably won’t get your coffee tasting exactly the same as you currently like it with the cafetiere, but you’ll certainly be able to make something that you like if you experiment with a few different beans.