Respect the Levels
For Christmas, 2007, Chad received a Moka Express coffee pot, aka stovetop espresso maker. It makes lovely coffee. Truly. Shortly after discovering the joys of the Moka Pot, I learned of an item made by Bialetti called the Muuka Express. It makes lattes and cappuccinos. And I've wanted one ever since seeing its listing in the Williams Sonoma catalog.
This year, for my cumpleaños, in addition to receiving a really pretty bouquet from Chad and Iris, a plush monkey from Iris, and a nice dinner out with the family, I received a Muuka pot. And this morning we stopped in at Anderson's to buy some decaf beans so that I could try it out before Baby arrives.
The instructions on the Muuka admonish us to "respect the levels" for how much water and how much milk we add. We respected the levels, and are glad we did. Things get very exciting when the little Muuka is done brewing espresso and ready to steam the milk. Suddenly it goes, "kshooooo!" and the milk very quickly froths up. We were a little worried it might overflow, but the milk stopped right at the top of the pot just before things reached an emergency state.
I'm drinking my cappuccino now, and I must say it's pretty tasty. It's not as gorgeous as it might have been if the milk and espresso had been kept completely separate until after the frothing, but I've gotta give Bialetti some props for managing to keep them separate enough that the milk gets a legitimate froth and it all tastes pretty nice. According to the instructions, the more pots we brew, the better the quality. I suppose there's a seasoning factor, and probably we'll improve our technique a bit, too. But for the first time out, it's not too shabby!
Plus, the pot comes with cow spots! What more could I ask for in a birthday present?
P.S. I returned from the Tx Library Association conference yesterday, and I now have a fancy pin to add to my name badges for the July meetings and next year's conference, declaring me the "Children's Round Table Chair-Elect." Next year I'll get a pin that says I'm the "Children's Round Table Chair." Still feeling more daunted than celebratory about this, as it means I have some massive conference-planning obligations (among other things!) headed my way, but I'm sure it'll all work out well in the end.
This year, for my cumpleaños, in addition to receiving a really pretty bouquet from Chad and Iris, a plush monkey from Iris, and a nice dinner out with the family, I received a Muuka pot. And this morning we stopped in at Anderson's to buy some decaf beans so that I could try it out before Baby arrives.
The instructions on the Muuka admonish us to "respect the levels" for how much water and how much milk we add. We respected the levels, and are glad we did. Things get very exciting when the little Muuka is done brewing espresso and ready to steam the milk. Suddenly it goes, "kshooooo!" and the milk very quickly froths up. We were a little worried it might overflow, but the milk stopped right at the top of the pot just before things reached an emergency state.
I'm drinking my cappuccino now, and I must say it's pretty tasty. It's not as gorgeous as it might have been if the milk and espresso had been kept completely separate until after the frothing, but I've gotta give Bialetti some props for managing to keep them separate enough that the milk gets a legitimate froth and it all tastes pretty nice. According to the instructions, the more pots we brew, the better the quality. I suppose there's a seasoning factor, and probably we'll improve our technique a bit, too. But for the first time out, it's not too shabby!
Plus, the pot comes with cow spots! What more could I ask for in a birthday present?
P.S. I returned from the Tx Library Association conference yesterday, and I now have a fancy pin to add to my name badges for the July meetings and next year's conference, declaring me the "Children's Round Table Chair-Elect." Next year I'll get a pin that says I'm the "Children's Round Table Chair." Still feeling more daunted than celebratory about this, as it means I have some massive conference-planning obligations (among other things!) headed my way, but I'm sure it'll all work out well in the end.