| I understand that the space between the portofilter and the tray on
| Carezza is too small to fit a larger cup. Is it the same on other
| models (baby or coffee or espresso) or is it the same?
On the Coffee at least the drip tray grid can be reversed, making a bit more
room. However, there's really no point in using a larger cup, since you
should not be extracting more than 3-4 ounces from a double shot.
| At the moment I am making espressos in a percolator (by steam)
Do you mean a moka pot?
| still it is reasonable. However, I make a whole quite a large cup of
| this coffee/espresso in the morning and enjoy drinking it all. I just
| don't see how to make something similar on a Gaggia.
Or any espresso machine. You can make an Americano (add hot water to the
espresso). On some machines - including commercials - you can make a
Swiss-style caffe creme, by extracting more water through more
coarsely-ground coffee, but this is hit-and-miss on Gaggias The danger is
that if you extract too long from the given amount of coffee you start
extracting undesirable flavors from the coffee.
There's nothing wrong with starting the morning with a mug of moka coffee,
as you have been doing; most Italians do this very thing (though with milk).
| double shots, it's too much work and too much coffeine. If I just add
| hot water to a double shot line an americano what the taste will really
| be?
Like a strong brewed coffee, or a weak caffe creme.
| I find americanos at Starbucks taste terrible.
The blend and roast thet Starbucks uses does not lend itself to Americanos.
- David R.
--
Less information than you ever thought possible:
http://www.demitasse.net