When you have a really great espresso pulled by an experienced barista, you will know the answer to that question.  Done well, the flavor is exactly like coffee smells, and it’s exactly how coffee should taste.  It’s coffee heaven.  I know it seems like I’m just discovering something everyone else has known about for years.  That’s exactly what has happened.

Initially, the real driving motivation beyind my DIY espresso was that I could not afford to love hand-crafted espresso from the local vendor at street prices.  And here’s a tip:  if you want a GREAT shot of espresso, go to a Satellite or Valhalla or someplace like that where they are passionate about coffee, and order a macchiato.  Don’t even think about asking for a macchiato at Starbucks; you will get a caramel candy drink, not a true macchiato.  Most Starbucks baristas are good sports, and if you tell them you want a double shot and 2 oz of milk (or half-half, even better), they’ll happily make it for you.  I’ve about got the starbucks guy in my building trained.  I walk in, and he says, “you ready?” and he sits down and has one with me.  It’s the only way he drinks shots now.

We’ve really been around the block on expensive hot beverages.  This week, we hit a wall with the cost of buying local roaster beans, at $12/lb.  Thankfully, the “San Francisco” brand at Costco is virtually indistinguishable at 3 lbs/$13.50. It’s a little more robust, but it tastes awesome.

When I quit coffee a few years ago due to acid reflux, we switched to tea in a big way, and we were spending a small fortune on really nice stuff from the tea man downtown.  I miss it, it was good.  But you can’t sustain those costs.  So we dropped down to the .02 cents / bag Tetley, which we love.

But the pendulum swang (swinged, has swung), and I am back to coffee after a couple of years as a tea drinker.  Where’s the acid reflux?  I have learned that by brewing a shot of espresso in under 30 seconds, the more acidic, bitter components get left behind.  Done correctly, one just gets the concentrated intense coffee flavor in about 2 oz.  When I was drinking brewed and french press pots of coffee , I was drinking a LOT of full cups of coffee, which means a LOT more acid.

So one of the bigger reasons to land on espresso almost exclusively is the enjoyment of coffee without the acid reflux. And now that the spending has calmed down – I have a machine, grinder, and cheaper coffee from costco, my cups are costing about 25 cents.  Compare that to the retail macchiatto, or the high-end beans, and we couldn’t be happier with the outcome.