Hasta La Ideas

All the tools you need to pull the best shot at home every time

Whether you’re a daily dripper or a post-dinner sipper, your preferred roast does play an important role in the espresso. But in the end the most important key to a great shot is the consistency. How do you maintain a perfect balance every time? The short answer is solid gear and attention to detail—good coffee is a science after all.

I recently set out to source the top gear for making the perfect shot of espresso, soon realizing the daunting variety of machines, tampers and grinders on the market, so I turned to Chris Nachtrieb of Chris Coffee for help. Over the past 30 years, Nachtrieb has cultivated relationships with some of the industry’s best espresso machine producers and has become known for his extensive mechanical knowledge about how machines work. A huge proponent for improving espresso, Nachtrieb happily customizes machines to customer specifications.

I was first drawn to the good looks of Quick Mill’s Vetrano machine, and after a few pulls was very pleased with the results. With further research, I realized in many high-end home espresso makers—the Vetrano included—a single boiler both heats the steam for milk and the water for espresso. These machines use heat exchange, meaning that inside the boiler 255° water surrounds a chamber and when water passes through this chamber it is flash heated before being run through the coffee grounds. While this is an acceptable system, it can’t guarantee proper temperature control. If the machine sits idle for awhile, the water stagnates inside the heated chamber and becomes too hot, corrupting the flavor of the espresso.

Based on this slight frustration with the Vetrano, Nachtrieb told me about Izzo’s Duetto II (above), a dual-boiler machine that has a smaller boiler for heating water for coffee and a larger boiler dedicated to producing steam. Ideally coffee should be brewed between 199° and 205° and the Duetto II has built-in digital controls that allow you to set exact temperatures. This also means true coffee nerds can experiment with developing different temperatures for particular blends to achieve the most desirable taste.

Beyond its ability to provide consistent results, the Duetto II also contains an E61 commercial set up, a 15 or 20 amp circuit (allowing you to choose between running both boilers simultaneously or individually to save energy), the option for direct or indirect plumbing and the ability to install a drain into the drip tray. This machine is extremely versatile and provides what is most important, according to Nachtrieb, repeatability.

Armed with a machine that can press out some of the tastiest espresso this side of Naples, now you need the right accessories to compliment your consistent flavor. Second in hierarchical importance to the machine is the grinder. As with temperature preference, the grind is all about the user’s desires and prosumer tools allow for a totally customizable experience. The Baratza Vario is a commercial grinder that packs tons of features into a small package, making it a great choice for home use. This powerful grinder has 54mm ceramic flat burrs and a throughput of 1.9 grams per second. There are also over 230 programmable grind settings and three grind time buttons, so you can calibrate it once and it will deliver the same results every time.

Finally every set-up needs a solid knock box, tamper, tamping stand and porta filter. One of Italy’s premier stainless steel manufacturers, Motta’s knock box is stamped out of 18/10 stainless and has no welds for a completely smooth interior. Reinforced on the bottom with durable rubber, this knock box can absorb shock while appearing sleek and elegant. Espro produces a calibrated tamper that looks ordinary but actually gives you a feedback click when you have reached the optimum 30 pounds of pressure.To prevent stray grounds from ending up in your coffee, try Cafelat‘s beautiful tamping stand, a stainless steel frame coated in durable food grade rubber.

Another essential for making sure you maintain a perfect shot is a bottomless portafilter. These resemble a classic portafilter but without the spout-like protrusion, revealing the flat underside where the coffee will emerge. The bottomless portafilters are handy for anyone, ranging from barista trainees to at home professionals. By removing the spout you can watch exactly how the coffee emerges, letting you watch for channeling (when water sneaks through cracks or inconsistencies in the tamped coffee). This gives insight into the quality of your grind, the evenness of your tamp or if you used the right amount of coffee. Nachtrieb recommends the Rancilio Bottomless Portafilter since it works with all E61 set ups, including the Duetto II.

The tools for making great coffee are like any other, and need to be properly maintained. Full Circle offers a comprehensive line of cleaning products for your machine, counter surface and any other accessories you use.

Consistent, delicious espresso requires extreme attention to detail, an experimental spirit and the right tools. Once you lock your sights on the perfect combination of temperature, grind and tamp, the machines above will help you reproduce the perfect shot every time.

Food-focused highlights from our holiday gift guide and an event in NYC

Among the food-focused items in out 2010 Holiday Gift Guide we’ve selected ten stand-outs including some highlights from the Cool Hunting for Gap Pop Up shop—where we’re having an event dedicated to this favorite topic. For those in NYC, stop by the store from 12-2pm Saturday, 4 December 2011 to snap up products launching that day—including a chocolate bar collaboration we facilitated between Brooklyn’s Mast Brothers and Berkley’s June Taylor as well the deliciously addictive Happy Goat caramel sauce infused with Macallan whisky—and meet your favorite cookbook author while sampling goods from local artisans like Brooklyn Salsa Company.

The Essential New York Times Cookbook

The The Essential New York Times Cookbook contains over 1,000 recipes compiled by former NYT columnist Amanda Hesser. Dishes span Caesar to Fava Bean Salad to a 19th-century Raspberry Granita—all fully explained in a simple format.

State-by-Food Tote Bag

Shop your local green market with the State-by-Food Tote Bag, featuring illustrations of popular foods from each of the 50 states. No matter where you go, you will always have some inspiration to draw from.

Nudo’s Quattro Stagione

Olive oil for every season, Nudo spices up any salad, sandwich or pasta with four delicious flavors, all made from 100% hand-picked olives that go straight from the grove to pressing.

Tartine Bread

Nothing beats perfectly baked bread, especially when it’s baked using a recipe from Chad Robertson’s Tartine Bread, a James Beard award-winner and arguably the best bread maker in the United States.

Sing Sing Dinner Tray

The Sing Sing Dinner Tray is a refined replica of the trays used in New York’s infamous prison. Perfect for portion control, dinner in front of the TV or as a distinct tray for serving guests at your holiday party.

OXO Four-Piece Grill Set

For the BBQ ace with discerning tastes in and out of the kitchen, the OXO 4-Piece Grill Set comes with an attractive set of essential grilling utensils, each with retractable hooks and a patented design for the silicone basting brush, which keeps marinades from sliding off its bristles.

DeLonghi Gran Dama

Used daily by CH founder Josh Rubin, with the touch of a button the DeLonghi Gran Dama creates espressos, lattes, cappuccinos and macchiatos—each with programmable amounts of coffee and milk, as will as adjustable cup sizes. The convenience is well worth the price.

Damn Good Cookies

While most of us are dreaming of dessert before our meal even starts, these cookies are worth the wait. Chocolate Gourmet’s “Damn Good Cookies” definitely live up to their name. Our mouths are watering just thinking about the delicious treats.

Avocado Salt and Pepper Shaker

The uniquely designed Avocado Salt and Pepper Shaker by Brooklyn-based ceramicist Daina Platais is cast from an actual avocado, her personal food favorite.

Brooklyn Salsa

Brooklyn Salsa engages us with its quirky names that represent the different boroughs of NYC. With flavors such as The Hot, The Pure, The Green, The Tropical and The Burnt, there are no shortage of options on how to spice up your next snack attack.

With gourmet popsicle brands all over Manhattan touting newfangled flavor combos (see Popbar, People’s Pops and La Newyorkina), the Zoku Quick Pop Maker steps in with a DIY way to concoct your own—three at a time—in less than 10 minutes.

Fun to use and loved by kids, you can keep it simple or (with patience) you can make pretty pops by pouring in one liquid, letting it sit for a few minutes and then adding another layer or two of a different juice. Tipping the machine leads to wavy lines, and experiments with fruits and yogurts, or even more adventurous fixings like carrots and beets, present limitless options for creativity.

The only downfall is that you have to freeze the Zoku for 24 hours before you can start to make your own personally-designed chilly pops. Pick it up from Zoku or Williams Sonoma for $50.

Providing consistently even heat throughout the entire cooking process, the Panasonic inverter microwave oven closely replicates the technology of a traditional oven resulting in better controlled cooking and tastier food.

While most microwaves repeatedly turn a high temperature on and off when reheating or cooking food at low temperatures, the Panasonic inverter delivers a constant flow of energy. This keeps from overcooking the edges and enables the simmering of stews or poaching foods such as fish or chicken.

The 1300-watt high powered microwave is equipped with a one-touch sensor button that intuitively calculates cooking time and adjusts the power levels automatically. Ensuring accurate cooking time helps with healthier cooking—foods like broccoli actually retain a higher amount of Vitamin C when cooked faster, compared to steaming or boiling.

CH recently put the Panasonic NN-SD688S to the test and found its unique technology really does provide a better cooking experience. This model ($180) along with other inverter microwaves sell online from Panasonic.