The Daily Grind and the Quest For Crema

Its been less than a month into my home brewing journey.

It has now become more of a ritual than just a cup of coffee.

Bean an Espresso and Americano enthusiast for years, and this sub taught me everything I needed to start bean to cup at home.

Months of reading, youtube and actual observations at coffee shops, I realised I was ready to take the plunge.

I was sure I wanted to start with an all manual setup, so that I could go through the learning curve of home coffee brewing.

So I began with an AeroPress Clear, I just love the aesthetic of the Clear and the genius of the AeroPress

I got a basic Sipologie weighing balance with timer, as weight and timings were important and its a mandatory piece of kit.

AeroPress got me the Americano I wanted, and i played around to get a stronger cup, but the crema was missing.

When someone on this sub was selling a Picopresso, I immediately jumped on the opportunity and being in the same city, I had it in my hands in the evening.

The original owner was a true coffee enthusiast himself and taught me everything I needed to know to get a good espresso from the Picopresso.

With freshly ground coffee being a basic requirement for good espresso, I got the Timemore C3 from Amazon, with delivery the next day. Got BT Silver Oak Cafe Blend roasted 2 weeks prior as Id liked the Americano and Espresso I had at the cafe.

And finally my basic setup is complete, I think.

I can now make yummy Espresso and Americano, anywhere (carrying hot water in a flask).

As a beginner, I feel this is the minimum one needs to brew cafe style coffee at home, or anywhere.

Portability was a requirement, for a home setup I would choose the Flair lever type espresso machine paired with a DF64 gen2 or similar grinder.

So post breakfast, I make my first shot of espresso. And at around 1 pm, I have my last coffee of the day, and AeroPress Americano.

It takes about 10 mins max each, and I really look forward to making myself that cup each day. Like a ritual.

Attached pic of my coffee corner for now, and my first ever espresso shot pulled with the Picopresso.