This afternoon I got the urge to make the family a round of Cappuccinos. A couple years ago, an errant Christmas present from my wife caused my chronic addiction to coffee to shift into overdrive as I dove down the rabbit hole of espresso. What started as a curiosity with this coffee drink I had heard of but never tried to make myself has culminated in where I am today: brewing up espresso drinks at the house that some say rival any they've had in coffee shops at retail prices. And that got me wondering....am I actually saving any money doing the work myself. Calculator time.
In the beginning, there was curiosity. The Nanopresso, conveniently sold on Amazon, is marketed as a a travel-ready but full featured espresso brewer. I started out reading instructions, learning about pre-heating the brew chamber and playing with different grind sizes to try and find the magical combination that gave me the same taste of cafe quality espresso I hoped for. What I got was certainly coffee, but left me wanting. What I learned over time was that the Nanopresso uses a "pressurized portafilter", being a brew chamber with an orifice to create pressure when used with grinders that lack sufficient granularity to grind as fine as espresso typically requires. What I was getting was more akin to VERY strong coffee, certainly ready to add to a latte or cappuccino, but nowhere near tolerable to drink straight like the good stuff would be. This has since been relegated to my camping box, where it stands ready with my camp grinder should we feel the urge to be the fanciest coffee dorks at any particular campsite. But for a hopeful home barrista, this was just the start.
Then, there was the fall down the rabbit hole. I made the jump into the Flair Espresso ecosystem of fully manual lever espresso machines. And yes, calling what is not dissimilar from an old school mechanical press a machine feels a bit generous, but stick with me here. The Flair Neo, as delivered, also uses pressurized portafilters like the Nanopresso, albeit with much higher quality build and the ability to generate MUCH higher and more repeatable pressure. I was still using my old camp grinder, later to be upgraded to a Timemore C2 (https://amzn.to/3A8KqgN), and the quality and taste of my espresso was improving. I attribute this to using better equipment and my skill at using it in equal parts, but after about a year of happily making really good lattes and cappuccinos at home, I got bit by the bug again to push for more. What I wanted, was to jump over that last hurdle and make espresso that would stand toe to toe with espresso in any cafe. So, I ordered more parts from Flair, ordered a BUNCH of Bunker Beans from Disaster Coffee, and waited for the guys in the brown shorts to show up.
Perfection. After starting with the Flair Neo, and slowly upgrading with parts to the point I SHOULD have just bought a Flair Classic with the pressure gauge kit, I have finally achieved what I set out to. The addition of an electric gooseneck kettle from the shelf of the local Aldi has simplified my workflow (no babysitting a kettle on the burner), the "real"/unpressurized portfafilters for the Flair have unlocked a new level to my espresso making. From the start, I had almost exclusively used Disaster Coffee Bunker Beans and roasted them myself (https://www.mofpodcast.com/post/down-the-coffee-nerd-rabbit-hole) to guarantee my efforts would not be wasted with stale, old coffee. I had all the pieces, I just needed to put them together.
Over the next several weeks, I wasted a LOT of coffee. I scorched batches with my new roasting pot. My once consistent medium-light roasts were everywhere from light roast to medium dark. When I finally figured that roaster out, I started brewing some of the most abominable espresso my kitchen had ever seen, with every mix of sour and bitter one could imagine. You see, that last upgrade of portafilter away from pressurized portafilters took the training wheels off of my espresso brewing. Suddenly, a little too coarse or fine of a grind and my shots were ruined. Water a little too cold, the espresso was awful. I had to literally get a notebook and start taking notes day to day, making small changes over time. Sometimes, I would end up with four cups of espresso on the counter, tasting each with a sip of water between them to clean my palate. And slowly, the amount of espresso going down the sink shrank until it was actually acceptable. A few more small changes, and I found the magic combination that made my equipment sing. The rabbit hole had a bottom.
Now, after five paragraphs of boring coffee dork nonsense, we come to the question I mused. My final espresso setup can be reproduced for about $300 give or take. Bunker beans are about $8 per pound. The secret sauce that makes my espresso press work is 16 grams of roasted beans. Rough math on the back of a napkin says each espresso shot is costing me $0.36 each, compared to $2-$4 each at most specialty coffee shops. Assuming the low end....I only have to brew 180 or so shots of espresso until the cost savings pays back my investment. So yes, this entire article was an effort to convince myself you can save money making your own espresso. For my next magic trick....I'll prove you can save money reloading your own ammo.
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