coffee, espresso, cappachino blah blah blah

[bbird]

My head hurts! ;D Okay, a couple years ago I got a coffee maker/espresso/cappachino machine as a gift. Called a 3 in 1 or some such. I am not a coffee drinker, but dh is.....big time, lol. Our coffee maker bit the dust this morning, so I got out this machine from the closet. I can make coffee with it because it's separate from the espresso thingie.

I am so clueless on the espresso and cappachino drinks. I thought there would be a recipe book inside but there isn't. Looking online I think I figured out that espresso's are just coffee that is fast brewed, and then you add steamed milk with froth. Seems to me cappachino's are the same thing except with more milk.

Oh man, I went to experiment with it and yowza! It's a dangerous machine. Don't open the pressure water tank...it burns. Don't let frothing milk splatter your hand...it hurts. I made what I call espresso (don't know if that was it though, lol) Dh hated it, and he likes his coffee strong and black. Okay...no problem I said to myself, because you see....I also got some bottles of flavoring that came with the gift I have never used. So I tried Caramel with it. Then tried Vanilla syrup with it. Dh hated it all. I tried it and ack! I still don't like coffee.

So I need to know what am I doing wrong that my dh wouldn't like them? From what I hear everyone likes these kinds of drinks. Is there a secret to them?

I have to admit, I thought it would be cool to put frothing milk on hot chocolate, but from what I can tell it's just warm milk that looks like someone blew bubbles in! I had this vision of it frothing it so much it was like whip cream, lol.

[starfire]

I would LOVE one of those machines! I hope you really enjoy it when you learn how to use the thing. LOl

[bbird]

Dh joked that I should set the motorhome up at the end of the driveway, and open a espresso shop, lol. Around here I don't think you can go a mile without seeing a little trailer that has drive thru window selling the drinks.

Of course, I would have to figure out if they are suppose to taste good first, lol.

The cool thing out of this whole experience is when I got the machine out of the back of the closet I found the George Foreman Grill my mom also bought me, lol. I tried some lean pork chops in it, and they turned out really good. I was really impressed. I really need to do better about trying new things out. My Mom overwhelms me at holidays, and bdays and I end up sticking things in the closet so they are not laying around and then I forget about them. Hmmm, maybe I will drag everything out of the closet and see if I have any other things I haven' t tried. Might as well, can't do anything with all this raining we are having.

[Kathy]

Deb, drag out everything and it will be like an early Christmas!

I'm not much for expresso, cappachino, mochachino or anything other than strong black coffee.

But from what I know, expresso is like double or triple strength.
I tried Turkish Coffee at a Middle eastern cafe and my gosh, that was slam your eyeballs out of your head strong!

I like going to this little Java Cafe near me here; I get the black coffee and a muffin but I love watching them make those fancy coffee drinks. It doesn't take much to amuse me.

I'll look at my cookbook collection, there might be some coffee drink recipes in this one cookbook I have called Scones and Other Afternoon Delicacies. ;D

[Deleted]

I really like espresso and take mine without milk or sugar. It's a nice way to finish off an evening meal.

I had a cappuccino machine once upon a time but I can't recall exactly how I made the coffee part. What I do remember is the drink I used to make that was really yummy and might convert you (although your DH probably wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole):

Make cappuccino (once you figure out how ). Place a mini peppermint pattie in a mug and pour the coffee over it. Add a big dollop of Cool-Whip on top and sprinkle with mini chocolate chips.

The Cool Whip will kind of melt and make it milky and the peppermint pattie will also melt and make it kind of minty.

As you may have guessed, this is not a drink for coffee aficionados but it looks pretty and tastes good!

/VM

[bbird]

That actually sounds good VM, maybe I will have to try that. I've googled a bit, and it looks like I have the basic way to make things down, lol. Might have to save it for when I have company and impress them with my talents! ;-)