Morning is a time when a lot of people enjoy a cup of coffee.
(Title trans. Morning Joe in Our Villa) So… after mastering the arts/sciences of home barista-ing back in the ‘Ville, searching out that ‘perfect’ brew whilst out of town can be difficult and discouraging. Even in a caffe-centric culture such as Italy, convenience breeds a contemptible compromise. Hence, the utter disappointment seeing that in our villa – a beautiful abode practically pre-dating the Turkish invasion of Vienna (where sacks of coffee were abandoned in retreat) – we are presented with this sorry little capsulized coffee machine. Somehow, if we are going to make it through to April, this needs a solution.
If we were visiting a country without taste, someplace like Schaumburg … this machine would make a sufficiently good cup of coffee.
So, after a week of trial and error in our Villa… where the nearest Cafe is 1km away (too far to walk before we have coffee) we have adapted using an Italian Moka Pot and the Not-spresso machine. 😉. If this post seems a little weird, then I suggest that you need a good cup of Espresso!!
Use hot tap water to pre-heat the coffee cup… it makes a difference. Leave the hot water in the cup until the coffee is ready.Unscrew the water reservoir from the pot and remove the filter basket (not visible, but trust us, it’s nested in there).Fill the water reservoir with… water. Hot tap water shortens the brew time.I like to scoop the coffee into the filter basket over the sink. It keeps the countertop free of coffee grounds.Add your ground-up beans to the filter basket about 2/3 full – don’t tamp the grounds 😩 – then place the basket in the reservoir. Re-attach the pot (screw it) to the reservoir/basket and heat… on high. BTW – if you like your milk pre-warmed, you can add it to the pot before percolating.Percolating Moka Pot coffee. It’s not espresso, but it’s better than Starbucks.You got this.This adds some froth, and caffeine.Now use cold tap water to cool the base before you unscrew it from the pot. Surely, omitting this step will happen to you only once.Empty the grounds into the waste basket. If you noticed I improperly used the PAPER recyclables bin, you’d be right. Italy uses four different types of waste cans and, well… we can’t get everything right. We’ve only been here a week and we’re just confused Americans.
The Brandt Blog 
January 27, 2022 at 13:07
I’LL BET YOU MISS YOUR KITCHEN!
January 29, 2022 at 11:42
The kitchen, yes… but like you told me years ago. It’s all about location!