The automatic espresso machines that are available today makes things easy for us. It takes out all the work on your part and the biggest trouble that you have to do in order to enjoy a great cup is to walk over to where the machine is, get your cup of drink, and sit back and enjoy its taste. Because everything is done automatically now it does not mean that you cannot do things manually. If you do not have an automatic espresso machine at home you can still enjoy a cup of espresso. The fact that you do not have an espresso machine only means that you need to do a lot more work, but with the aim of getting a great tasting cup of your favourite drink that price is really worth paying.
For espresso lovers out there, here are some steps on how to make espresso without a machine. You can just use a stove-top espresso maker:
1. You need ground coffee beans so if you do not have a grinder then you better buy ground beans. The quality of the beans can also determine the quality of the drink so be careful with how you use your grinder or the quality of the beans that you are going to buy.
2. There are many stove top espresso makers that are available online now. They can be bought for about 10 to 15 dollars which is just a fraction of the cost of an automatic espresso machine. Make sure that you pick one that is stable and will not wobble so there is no chance of it falling down once you place it on the stove.
3. Before you use the espresso maker make sure that you clean it with soap and plenty of water.
4. Fill the espresso maker with water. It should have a marker for the right level of water to use, but to be on the safe side fill it below the marker.
5. The espresso maker has a receptacle that is to be filled with the ground coffee beans. Fill this vessel with the coffee beans that you have, but do not pack them in. Make sure that they are still loose so that the water can penetrate to the centre.
6. Place the bean holder inside the espresso maker and make sure that the lids are closed securely. Place the espresso maker on the stove and set the heat to medium. You should hear a faint whistle once the brewing process is complete.
7. Serve the drink with chocolate syrup and milk.
Remember that real espresso machines forces hot water through the coffee beans at a very high pressure that cannot be achieved with a stove top espresso maker, so the drink that you can produce with it might be lacking in taste and in flavour. Unfortunately there is no way to duplicate the high pressurized process of the automatic espresso machines manually, but the drink that you can produce with a stove top espresso maker can come close to the real thing.