These machines are easy and convenient to use. They are great if you drink a lot of coffee or will be serving a crowd. You can brew a pot at a time, rather than just a cup or two.
Specialty Machines
If you love the specialty drinks at your local caf and want to make them at home, an espresso maker may be for you. These machines are more expensive, but make a superior drink. You need to be willing to spend some more time in preparation and these machines only make one or two cups at a time. If you will be serving a crowd, that may not be practical. The most common machines are semi automatic, automatic and super automatics.
Automatic
With automatic machines, you load the portafilter with ground beans. You set the water level, depending on the drink you are making. Once everything is set, the machine does the rest. A milk frother attachment is included for making cappuccinos and lattes. Some automatics come with a built in grinder, but many do not. Many espresso lovers prefer a separate grinder for quality grinds. Adjustable coffee grinders allow you to set the consistency of the beans. Automatic machines are pod compatible, if you want to skip the grinding altogether. Opinions differ regarding pods, with some people loving the convenience and others thinking the taste is weak or bitter.
Super Automatic
Super automatics are the most expensive home machines. They also make drinks of superior quality, which makes them worth the expense. These machines do the whole job for you. Add some beans and the machine will grind the beans, tamp them into the filter and prepare your drink. Super automatics are fully programmable. You set the machine for strength, texture of the beans, water level, temperature and quantity. The size of the reservoir varies by brand, but you will need to refill it regularly. Distilled water is the best choice for keeping your machine clean and your drinks tasting their best. You will need to empty the waste box frequently. This is where the machine dumps the used grinds. Additional features like cup warmers and hot water dispensers are convenient.
Cleaning and Maintaining Your Coffee Maker
Whether you have a standard or specialty machine, you will need to clean it regularly to keep it in good working order. Build up from your water can cause scaling inside, which can shorten the life of the appliance. Vinegar is helpful for removing deposits inside the machine. If you have hard water, consider using distilled water. Because the water doesnt contain impurities, it wont leave scales behind. More cleaning is involved with semi automatic and automatic makers. You need to clean all areas of the machine regularly. The specifics vary by model, so read the directions for how to clean yours properly. If your model has a removable brew group, you will need to take it out and rinse it at least once a week. Non removable models are self cleaning.
Some automatics and all super automatic expresso machines are self cleaning. You program the cleaner for how often you want the machine cleaned. These are the most convenient for both making drinks and cleaning up.
About the author:
J. Beker is an experienced contributor to http://www.coffee-espresso-maker-tips.com a free website with resources and infos on. Robert is working on topics like coffee grinder and provides information on espresso maker.
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The Coffee Trader: A Novel (Ballantine Reader's Circle)
The Edgar Award–winning novel A Conspiracy of Paper was one of the most acclaimed debuts of 2000. In his richly suspenseful second novel, author David Liss once again travels back in time to a crucial moment in cultural and financial history. His destination: Amsterdam, 1659—a mysterious world of trade populated by schemers and rogues, where deception rules the day.
On the world's first commodities exchange, fortunes are won and lost in an instant. Miguel Lienzo, a sharp-witted trader in the city's close-knit community of Portuguese Jews, knows this only too well. Once among the city's most envied merchants, Miguel has lost everything in a sudden shift in the sugar markets. Now, impoverished and humiliated, living on the charity of his petty younger brother, Miguel must find a way to restore his wealth and reputation.
Miguel enters into a partnership with a seductive Dutchwoman who offers him one last chance at success -- a daring plot to corner the market of an astonishing new commodity called "coffee." To succeed, Miguel must risk everything he values and test the limits of his commercial guile, facing not only the chaos of the markets and the greed of his competitors, but also a powerful enemy who will stop at nothing to see him ruined. Miguel will learn that among Amsterdam's ruthless businessmen, betrayal lurks everywhere, and even friends hide secret agendas.
With humor, imagination, and mystery, David Liss depicts a world of subterfuge, danger, and repressed longing, where religious and cultural traditions clash with the demands of a new and exciting way of doing business. Readers of historical suspense and lovers of coffee (even decaf) will be up all night with this beguiling novel.
“A novel overflowing with intrigue and duplicity... Once you’ve wandered the back alleys of Amsterdam with David Liss, you’ll never look at your morning cup of coffee the same way again!”
SHERI HOLMAN, AUTHOR OF THE DRESS LODGER AND THE MAMMOTH CHEESE
“In his second novel, David Liss creates his own genre: the historical noir. The seventeenth-century Amsterdam he depicts is a wonderfully dark city of secrets, roiling with deceitful maneuverings and caffeine-fueled perils. The Coffee Trader is vivid, utterly absorbing, and more than a little relevant to our current age of financial skulduggery.”
GARY KRIST, AUTHOR OF EXTRAVAGANCE
“It feels as if David Liss has traveled through time to the stock exchange of seventeenth-century Amsterdam and the immigrant society of Dutch Jews who were forced to reinvent their religion after the ravages of the Inquisition. The Coffee Trader is riveting as a historical re-creation, compelling as a tale, and relevant both about the morality of community—in this case, Jewish community—and about the ethical corruptions of an economy where value is a function of perception, competition, and, above all, manipulation.”
NEIL GORDON, AUTHOR OF SACRIFICE OF ISAAC AND SEA OF GREEN
“Masterfully plotted, brilliantly imagined, The Coffee Trader brims with intelligence, intrigue, and suspense. David Liss has written a riveting novel about commerce and faith, loyalty and greed.”
TOVA MIRVIS, AUTHOR OF THE LADIES AUXILIARY
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