It was late afternoon and I had got myself in a huff after doing some chores. My mind was scattered and I needed an outlet. Without hesitation I realised I had not had a decent coffee today and, like many things, a decent coffee is the answer to anything.
My Breville coffee machine lit up at the switch of a button. I got the scales out, weighed the coffee grounds - 19g exactly. When the machine was heated up and ready, I extracted the espresso shot - 41mls in 25 seconds... slightly more than the 38mls that would have been ideal but we move on.
Next up, perhaps the hardest part of making a good coffee - the steaming of the milk. Adding the air, then incorporating it is an art form in itself. Too much air and your coffee becomes a frothing mess, not enough and you may as well have just added heated milk from a microwave. But today, after some eight or nine months of owning the coffee machine I somehow got it right. The temperature was spot on. The milk had a silk-like texture with a shiny glaze to indicate that it had indeed been perfectly steamed.
I pour into the shot of espresso and I begin my coffee art. I create the shape of a heart... or is it an onion? Either way, I am quite impressed with myself. You can't create the art without the perfectly steamed milk. Maybe now I am finally graduating into the skill of latte art instead of just milk steaming. I'll find out when I make my coffee tomorrow.
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