FOUR Coffee Delights in ONE

OK coffee is for sure a form of cooking and over the years I have accumulated a host of coffee making machines, mostly very cheap from the local op-shop, but this one just sort of happened for free - a Nespresso one of unknown vintage and hardly working so first job was to apply the tooth brush and bingo it is cleaned out and no longer leaks, but I need to use Moccona capsules as the pump does not seem to have enough pressure to break the seal on the Lavazzo ones.

But what am I to DO with this amazing new (to me) gadget?

Being happy with my morning coffee habits I decided to set this one outside for an afternoon happening/event and I broke out my old Mr Cuppacino steam machine from the op-shop at $6 to give some versatility.

SHORT BLACK

So first of all I use one press of the right button to get the first concentrated shot of coffee which just fills the tiny cup made for this purpose as you can see
and I can enjoy a few sips of the lovely thick black coffee as some would say is the only way to drink it.

LONG BLACK

I then hit the button 3 more times to get all the coffee from the capsule, pour that from the brown jar to the green mug along with the rest of the short black, so we have
ie about half a cup of coffee of similar strength to what I have in the morning, and having Mr Cuppacino at the ready means I can heat it up if needed and give it a frothy "head".

CUPPACINO

It is now time to froth up the skim milk in the stainless steel cup (came with an old steam type non capsule machine that blew up long ago) and spoon some froth into the green cup, with a liberal shake of the Lamb Herbs bottle (which contains some Vittoria Dark Chocolate granules)
and we have my version of "barista" coffee - more like a big mess but it tastes good and I can keep adding froth and chocolate and even apply the steam directly into the green cup to heat it up and revive the head.  And after drinking enough of this format I of course use the spoon to eat the last of the froth with chocolate.

CAFE LATTE

Now I pour the rest of the milk into what is left of the coffee in the green mug and we have
this milky mix that I would not normally drink but it is really not too bad.

Remembering to turn both machines off I then cover them with a box to keep out any rain and put a plant on top in case of wind, and back again the next day.
STOP PRESS

And during my recent trip to Greek Islands I found a new way to "take George (Clooney) with me, ie use the same Nespresso Capsules but without the machine.

There are times when you feel like a cup of coffee in your room but I just can't hack instant coffee but I noticed at the supermarkets they have the identical capsules at a similar price and all hotels in Greece have that coffee pot thing seen here
and some even have a tiny cute heat ring on the stove top just the right size, but my method was to use the electric jug to heat water and operate on the capsule with a knife depositing the grains into the pot.  Then cover with hot water, stir and leave for 30 seconds to let the nasties settle before pouring the coffee into a cute cup like the one shown here at Studio Betty (Betty was really nice).

Makes a really decent cup of coffee for when there is no coffee shop etc handy, but if there is I found that the closest version to what I drink at home is called "American" which is double espresso (about quarter full in cup) topped up with hot water, whereas "filter" is sort of McDonalds tasting and usually stale.







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