Coffee can be an addiction in more ways than one. Not simply based upon the need to drink it daily in copious amounts. It can also hold addictive fascination in brewing the perfect cup.

For myself? Recently, coffee drinking can be the simplicity of an instant ‘out of a strange cardboard tube’ choice. Born from finding a lovely little powdered Nescafe Azero Americano Intense on the supermarket shelf. It is a blend of Robusta and Arabica coffee beans. It is a combination of instant and finely ground roasted coffee and has an intense and unusual olfactory addictive aromatic quality. With two small spoonfuls of coarse earthy dark caramelised Demerara sugar it produces a fairly full-bodied drink. It also produces a small layer of crema.

Please tap on all the smaller photographs below in the blog to enlarge them.

Mostly though, the day is best served with longer planned processes in the making. Two or three Americanos borne from Gaggia made espresso bases. With an additional couple of strong double espressos over the daytime. Never a cow’s milk based recipe of cappuccino or latte. I don’t drink cow’s milk and only take milk alternatives like oat or nut based choices. And only in cooking or on cereals. Nothing really works for hot drinks for my own palate. Tea, coffee or chocolate. Even the much recommended Barista Oatly is not for my own personal taste when married to coffee. My wife sells lots of it in her Wholefood shop. Barista Oatly is great on cornflakes though.

Must admit that the Gaggia is performing nicely presently. Way back when I first owned it, I used to turn it on and as soon as the light to say ‘ready’ lit up, the starter button was pressed to make an espresso. Usually after a couple of minutes. Thing is. It always produced lukewarm espresso. I quickly learned that if you switch the machine on and wait 15 to 25 minutes, then the whole system gets warmed up nicely and produces a nice hot espresso. Electric energy usage is the eco friendly contraindication though. A bit of an ethical challenge. So it’s good to make a double espresso or, if we have a visitor or visitors, I ask if anyone else wants a shot too. My wife’s liking for coffee disappeared after she caught Covid. Never drinks it now! The crema on top of an espresso comes, for myself, from having the right basket design. A simple small hole in the coffee holding basket forcing up the back pressure.

If you are interested in owning a Gaggia it would be a good idea to check out their positives and negatives. There is a lot written about how to achieve a decent cup of coffee with one. A plethora of advice exists on the internet and YouTube re: Gaggia Classic coffee machines and how to get the best out of them. But it can get complicated. I have looked at tips and tricks regards this Gaggia classic, but after a few past experimental failures….I mostly ignore. There are very many considerations from getting the exact weight of beans for your own preferences, the way it is tamped down, the mix of coffee beans chosen, when and how to grind them and many more considerations. So much to consider that it is virtually a science. Maintenance is important too. Back flushing and descaling to keep them internally clean.

Grinding beans. I do own a couple of hand grinding vintage Spong machines. A #2 and the larger #4. Also an electric grinder too. The Spong is better for producing beans with nicer flavour. No heat produced and affecting the beans like the electric grinder. The electric grinder is a decent make however. So grind desired coarseness consistency is always achieved. It’s just that my wife has commandeered the heavy wooden butcher’s block station that housed the heavyweight Spong. It is now in her shop. So I currently have no place to clamp down the #4 beast permanently. It will almost certainly find a place soon though! The kitchen is due a DIY overhaul. The #2 is a permanent in the VeeDub.

The Gaggia Classic? Apparently not quite the Royal Demitasse set up which is seen in the film ‘The Bucket List’. And my favourite Musetti Espresso Paradiso, which is 80% Arabica and 20% Robusta, is probably not quite the Kopi Luwak coffee bean choice in the film either. I would like to try the Kopi Luwak, but I feel that coffee bean production with use of the Asian palm civet (an animal) linked process could well be an unethical challenge in the ways it could be farmed.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopi_luwak

My simple routines in making cups of espresso or Americano provide a decent and satisfying start, middle-middle and end to the day. And a quick need for a coffee is now found in an instant choice too.