[geeks] Barbeque Geekery

[Sheldon T. Hall]

 Dan Sikorski silently intones ...
[he said I said ...]
> > 
> > On the third hand, the excess heat it [my La Marzocco 
> > espresso machine] threw off, along with the heat from
> > the SGI Challenge, meant the furnace didn't have much 
> > to do in the winter.
> >   
> Yeah, not quite the machine that would work well for me then. :)

Not to mention the thing is huge, a rectangular solid (and I do mean solid)
about 18" x 18" x 30".  

> > After you fill the moka pot and put it on the fire,
> > put a couple of teaspons of cold water in the upper
> > chamber.  I think this keeps the coffee from tasting
> > burnt, as it serves to keep the bottom of the upper 
> > chamber cooler.  Also, don't tamp the ground coffee
> > in the moka pot, or use too fine a grind; either will
> > require increased pressure to force the water through
> > it, and, since that's steam pressure, not pump pressure,
> > the water will be too hot.  
>    
> I think I'll make myself some moka pot coffee right now, and 
> see what i get.  One of the other things that I do is first
> boil my water in a kettle, then put it in the moka pot.  That
> way the ground coffee doesn't get heated as much.  That made
> a big difference in taste.  

Probably more in a Stainless steel pot than in an aluminum one, since the
aluminum pots really transmit the heat all over.  Still, I've done that
sometimes myself, if only to reduce the time required to produce some
coffee.  It does mean a more complex process, though, and more chances to
pour scalding water in your crotch at oh-dark-thirty.  Maybe I'd save the
pre-heat for the second pot.

> Hmm...  this coffee is a bit better than what I remember from
> the moka pot in the past. 

Heh.  50 million Italians can't be wrong.  The moka pot is pretty much the
standard in-home coffee appliance in much of Europe, and absolutely
ubiquitous in coffee-crazed Italy.

Next, the Turkish sort ...

-Shel