When I started working here I was surprised to find out that Steve, the founder here at Liquid Hardware, and myself make our coffee the same way, stovetop espresso. So I thought it would be fun to share our techniques for making coffee using stovetop espresso makers.
I had never heard of stovetop espresso until I read an article about ultrarunner Anton Krupicka. Anton is famous for being a "dirtbag runner" as he spends months at a time living out of his truck running and climbing. In the article, they asked Anton how he prefers to make coffee while camping and he mentioned his Bialetti, a brand that manufactures the best selling stovetop espresso makers.
I was intrigued to try making coffee this way and ordered my first Bialetti (I now have 3 in different sizes) to try it out. Making coffee, in general, isn't tough and stovetop espresso is no different. Fill the lower chamber with water, add coffee to the cup, make it boil, pour and enjoy.
Here are a few pointers:
- Fresh ground beans always taste the best
- Use clean or purify your water
- Make sure you screw the top chamber to the bottom chamber tightly
- Use medium heat
- Here's a "How To" on Youtube (I could listen to the British accent all day)
How to drink it:
Here's where I might get in trouble. If I'm making coffee just for myself I brew a 3 cup Bialetti, pour the entire pot into my 16 oz Aurora mug, I add a few ounces of hot water and top it off with heavy cream. It's delicious! I generally try to eat a low-carb/ high-fat diet so the heavy cream is fuel. But feel free to "roast" me in the comments below hahaha.
Steve also takes his stovetop espresso with cream, albeit just 1/2 and 1/2, but he prefers not to add any hot water.
Have you tried stovetop espresso, how do you take it?
