While coffee-based beverages remain as popular as ever, more Americans are looking for a do-it-yourself way to enjoy high-end coffee bar style cappuccino and espresso drinks at home. Fortunately, there are many affordable products on the market to assist the home brewing enthusiast in their quest for the ultimate coffee concoction. Regardless of which product you choose, there are endless recipes and combinations of ingredients to literally spice up your daily infusion.

First you need choose the basis of your beverage: coffee or espresso. Coffee can be drip-brewed, percolated, instant or cold-pressed. Any of these methods are very inexpensive. An espresso-based beverage is more likely to satisfy the sophisticated palette of the coffee connoisseur. To do this at home however, requires more of an investment in the brewing equipment. Real espresso machines cost upwards of $1,000. An affordable and popular alternative are the single-serving type of machines such as the Tassimo, where you invest in the machine and purchase pre-portioned packages of espresso varieties to brew a serving at a time.

Still confused about the difference between coffee and espresso? Espresso is a method, first originated in Italy, of extracting flavor from the heart of the coffee bean. The technique employs a pump-driven machine to force hot water through the ground coffee beans at high pressure in a short time frame — usually between 20 and 35 seconds. The amount of water used is only about ¾ of an ounce, and the resulting taste is described as smooth, thick, rich or sweet. So the obvious differences between coffee and espresso are 1) the amount of water used and 2) brewing or pressing time. Coffee is generally brewed for 4 to 6 minutes depending on the method and individual preferences.

Cappuccino is espresso mixed with equal parts of steamed and frothed milk. If you don’t purchase an espresso machine with milk-steaming capabilities, you will have to steam and froth your milk the old-fashioned way — on a stove. The frothing process involves skimming and stirring the hot milk. To layer the milk and espresso, allow the freshly frothed milk a moment to rest and separate (foam on top and milk on the bottom). Pour the steamed milk into your cup first, then pour in the espresso, and top it with the frothed milk using a spoon.

The creative possibilities go on from there. One of the most popular twists on the cappuccino is adding a sprinkle of powdered cocoa or cinnamon. Other combinations take their inspiration from favorite foods such as traditional desserts or candy bars. Try these super-easy recipes or experiment with making your own!

Milky Way Cappuccino– 2 shots espresso, 1 shot chocolate syrup, 1 shot caramel

Java Chai Espresso — 1 shot espresso, prepared chai concentrate, steamed milk, ½ ounce almond syrup

Cafe Corretto — 2 shots espresso, 1 shot brandy, cognac or flavored liqueur

Cafe Romano– 1 shot espresso, served with a twist of lemon or lemon peel

Rocky Road Cappuccino — 1 serving of your prepared cappuccino, 1 tablespoon hazelnut liqueur, 1 tablespoon chocolate sauce, 1 teaspoon of marshmallow crème and ¼ teaspoon finely chopped nuts

Butterscotch Creme Cafe — 1 serving coffee, 3 tablespoons butterscotch syrup, 2 tablespoons of half-and-half cream

Ginger Spiced Coffee — 1 serving coffee, 1 small piece finely chopped crystallized ginger, 1 cinnamon stick

Cafe Borgia — 1 cup coffee, 1 cup hot chocolate, 1 shot cream, sprinkle of grated orange peels

Chocolate Mint Truffle(for the non-coffee drinker) – 1 cup hot chocolate, 2 chocolate coated mint candies topped with 1 tablespoon whipped topping and 1 fresh mint sprig

Espresso Martini — 1 shot espresso cooled to room temperature, 1 shot premium vodka, 1 splash liqueur in flavor of your choice (try amaretto, Irish creme, Godiva chocolate or any favorite), garnish with 3 whole espresso beans

Mexican Coffee — your favorite brewed coffee, 2 cups whipped topping gently mixed with ¼ teaspoon nutmeg and ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

French Vanilla Coffee– your favorite brewed coffee, equal portion of milk heated to scalding temperature, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 cinnamon stick, sweetener to taste

If you are hosting a winter party and feeling a little adventurous, you may want to try a festive twist on the usual coffee and eggnog choices. Try this Betty Crocker recipe for 16 servings of Cappuccino Eggnog:

Ingredients — 6 eggs, slightly beaten; 2/3 cup table sugar; 1/8 teaspoon salt; 5 cups milk; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 2 cups hot espresso; 1 cup coffee liqueur or brandy; 2 cups heavy whipped cream; 2 tablespoons brown sugar; ground cinnamon

Directions — Stir together eggs, granulated sugar and salt in a Dutch oven pan. Gradually stir in milk. Cook over low heat 15 to 20 minutes, stirring constantly, just until mixture coats a metal spoon; remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Stir together coffee and liqueur. Gradually stir coffee mixture into egg mixture; keep warm. Just before serving, beat whipping cream and brown sugar in chilled large bowl with electric mixer on high speed until stiff. Gently stir 2 cups of the whipped cream into egg mixture. Pour into mugs. Top with dollops of remaining whipped cream. Sprinkle with cinnamon and serve immediately!



Thanks to Lisa Parker for contributing this article to our Coffee blog:

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Can you answer Jason K’s question about Coffee?:

I just got back from my bank where they have a self serve, Starbucks branded coffee machine that allows you to select 1.) Size of cup (Gallon, Carafe, Tall, Small) 2.) Type of Coffee (regular, etc.) and then you hit the start button and it grinds and brews a cup of coffee for you that tastes EXACTLY like the drip brew coffee at a real Starbucks. I am looking into what the name of this machine is, and where I can get one.

Thanks!

Coffee Green Beans

Do you grind your own coffee beans? Maybe next time you would want to try a manual coffee mill to enjoy hand crafted ground coffee.

Even if you like your current electric grinder here are some reasons to try out a a manual coffee grinder? Probably for the same reason that some people enjoy working with old fashioned hand tools instead of the latest high tech electric version. It is great to feel like an old fashioned craftsman.

If the idea of actually feeling the beans being ground appeals to you, read on. If you prefer to buy ground coffee, you will still find this enjoyable to think about how coffee used to be made.

This of this as a way to transport yourself back to a simpler time, when the only way to grind coffee was with a manual coffee mill. What should you look for in a manual coffee grinder today?

How to buy a manual coffee grinder

First, be sure to buy a new grinder. Don’t mistake a decorative grinder for one that will do the job for you reliably and consistently. Many coffee grinders are just decorations. They were never meant to be used to grind coffee, and they may even be contaminated with who knows what if they are vintage grinders.

Second, avoid inexpensive grinders. A manual coffee is a precision instrument, with a hardened steel grinding mechanism designed to crush and grind coffee beans consistently and reliably. You should look for a coffee grinder with a five or ten year warranty. You can plan to spend between $50 to $75 for a mill that will last years, if not a lifetime.

Grinding your coffee by hand

With your quality mill, you will quickly grind coffee for about six cups of brew in just a couple of minutes. You will vary the grind based on how you plan to brew your coffee: coarse for a French press, fine for espresso, and in between for a drip brewer. The finer the grind, the longer it will take you but it this is easy and fulfilling work as you feel the beans being crushed and releasing the fresh coffee fragrance to enjoy.

A special mill for Turkish coffee

If you make Turkish coffee on your stove top, you need extremely finely ground beans, almost powdered.

Regular hand coffee mills won’t grind beans finely enough. You will need a special Turkish coffee mill. You can expect to pay a bit more for a quality manual mill for Turkish coffee, probably around $75 to $100.

Should you buy a manual coffee grinder?

If you are deciding between an electric coffee grinder and a manual coffee mill, which should you buy? That depends on you. I would buy the electric one first, but make sure it is a quality mill that uses the burr style instead of blade style grinder. Also, buy one that grinds at a lower speed to avoid building up static electricity that makes the coffee stick everywhere. We have more ideas for choosing the right electric grinder on our site at Coffee Daydreams Best Coffee Grinders

Then I would buy a manual grinder. Use it for the days when you feel like enjoying simpler pleasures in life. When you want to add to the coffee experience and the hands-on feel of taking whole beans and applying some of yourself to the coffee making process.

When you relax and enjoy the results of your hand ground coffee beans, you will experience a bit of the ongoing adventure through the years, enjoying different coffees and trying different techniques, always learning, always growing in your coffee skills and appreciation.

For more about coffee and how to choose the best coffee makers, you can visit CoffeeDaydreams.com



Thanks to Coffee Daydreams for contributing this article to our Coffee blog:

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