Eggnog Chai Tea Latte

I’ve had my Presso for two months. While I have enjoyed every delicious espresso and Americano I’ve made with it, I wanted to experiment a little bit and try something different.

With that in mind I picked up a bag of loose leaf Chai Tea from a local tea shop, keen to put the Presso to a new test…

I’m no barista and certainly have never made tea any way outside of the usual steeping a bag in a cup. When I use the steeping method I either remove the bag too soon and get weak tea or I forget the bag in the cup and end up with bitter tea. It occurred to me that if I ground up the loose leaf tea with a coffee grinder just like I would with espresso beans, I might just be able to press out Concentrated Chai from the Presso and add hot water for a good flavoured cup of tea. I’m happy to say that after some trial and error, I managed to do just that.

Now as I never like to do anything “ordinary” if there’s possibly a more exciting way, I thought I’d take it a step further and introduce some egg nog into the mix to add a little flavour and holiday spirit. So, if you’re an egg nog fan like I am, you’ll love this. If you’re not, well, I am sure you could do similar using milk or just add hot water to your chai for regular tea.

How To:

1) Find a good quality loose leaf chai tea blend. I like the Yerba Mate for it’s lack of caffeine. I also find it less bitter than black tea.

2) Grind up your tea in a conventional coffee grinder. This was one of the original attempts. I later found that a more concentrated flavour could be achieved with a finer grind (just like coffee), but this still made for a tasty drink.

3) fill the portafilter to the “single shot” line and pack it down with the tamper. Don’t pack it down too hard though as that just causes water absorption and seals the portafilter basket, causing a big mess when you remove it. Just make it flat and even. The top should sit just below the single shot line.

4) Time for the eggnog! I filled my cup about 1/3 before pressing the shot of chai.

5) Now time to add some hot water. I filled it to about here:

6) Operate the Presso like you would for an espresso. Slowly lift the arms up and when the water is released from the top resevoir, start pressing down with even pressure on both arms. I have found with tea that you need to press for a bit, then release some air by letting go and then press again. Repeat until all the water has filtered through the grounds. You’ll want to wait a little bit and then do one last press to get the extra moisture (and the most concentrated mix) out.
What you get as a result is a very pretty layer of chai on top of the egg nog as shown:

7) I think that much concentrated egg nog and chai would be a good recipe for a stomach ache, so I top the cup up to almost the top with boiling water to lighten it up a bit (also keeps the drink hot).

Now just stir with a spoon and voila! A delicious and spicy egg nog chai latte made in your own home with your Presso.

For a spicier and less of a thick drink, fill the cup 1/4 full with egg nog and grind your chai almost to powder, then top up with hot water to the 3/4 mark.

This was so fun and with such a good result that I can’t wait to try other tea and mix combinations.

Our friend Jake has another insight into the pleasures of owning a Presso Espresso maker.

A few mornings ago, I discovered yet another reason why my Presso is superior to a coffee maker–one that seems obvious to me now, but that I hadn’t thought of before. The discovery came about when my roommate, bleary-eyed, told me that we were out of coffee filters. What good is all this coffee, she said, if we can’t make anything with it? I briefly entertained the idea of using a sock, before remembering that we could easily make Americanos for ourselves in the Presso and–because the Presso doesn’t need them–having no coffee filters wouldn’t present a challenge. I mean, people go out of their way to pay up to $20 for reusable metal filters for their drip machines, so obviously I’m not the one who is annoyed with paper filters that end up in the trash afterward. Five minutes later we were both sipping Americanos and I had another reason to appreciate the non-disposible nature of my Presso espresso maker.

On 03/12/2009, at 3:26 PM, Y MX wrote:

Thank you Greg, this is really appreciated.

I’m glad to see the commitment behind the product.

No problem I will return my unit as per your instructions.

Regarding the o-ring, I was surprised too but I have a quite elaborate process;

My Presso is extracting the finest blends and mostly single origins (George Howell and cup of excellence…) so I proceed with care!

I take preheating and temperature control very seriously, for each extraction I go through 3-4 preheat cycles re-boiling water each time (97 down to 85, 97 to 90 etc. – just before pulling my shot the body of the Presso is as hot as it can be (note this is done with the portafilter on without the basket, I found that this helps to conduct heat to the frame of the Presso, improving the overall thermodynamic of the extraction thereafter)

Temperature is crutial in espresso preparation so I use a digital thermometer during the procedure – when enough heat is accumulated the temperature will lower slowly, from 97′C to the desired extraction temperature (91-95′C).

While the Presso is preheating there is plenty of time to carefully prepare the basket…

I’m using a hand Zassenhaus Havanna mocca mill (very precise grind adjustment).

I’m weighting 20g of the finest coffee, precisely dialed-in grind. Taking care of tamping tight at 3 different levels, creating a very uniform puck and avoiding channeling.

I weight my empty preheated glass shot.

Remove the portafilter, wipe dry and load the basket.

Start to apply a low pressure (3-5 sec.) to pre-infuse then steady push down.

Wonderful rich and heavy extraction… 25-35 seconds.

I then weight my shot, 20g of grinds producing 20g of espresso = nice ristreto,
a longer shot producing 40g of espresso = what the Italians call a “normale”, I don’t ever extract more than 40g…  over-extraction is releasing cafeine and bitterness.

Enjoy an amazing coffee…

Then I purge the remaining water through the used puck until its dry.

Finally I remove and clean the filter seal.

I will soon get a new camcorder, I have the intention create and post my technique on the web.

So for every shot there are 5-6 pressured movements, this machinery is very capable but is working hard believe me!

While I’m at it, why not also take the opportunity to share my wild Presso feature wish list:

Dual o-ring allowing higher pressure
Stronger teeth-hindges
Improved filter seal – increased number of perforations, stainless mesh, angle?
Brass or alloy piston and sleeve – for temperature stability
Some form of a pressure gauge, and why not a temperature gauge too!
Naked portafilter would be great – would help to better assess pre-infusion and basket distribution.

Thank you

Yvan

This year, get the Presso Green Christmas Special and give a little back.

The coffee maker was the most used appliance in our kitchen, but now it sits like a neglected older brother after the new baby is brought home. My roommate uses the Presso every morning, instead of brewing a pot for herself. It’s faster, better, and more tasty than drip coffee. And it’s oh-so-satisfying to push down on those arms and see the espresso shoot out the bottom.

The Presso looks better, too. Its sleek metal build, its small footprint on the counter, its shortness. Next to the Presso, my coffee maker, bulky and dirty, looms over—an awkward looking older brother complete with headgear and too-short pants.

So I feel bad for my coffee maker. But I don’t feel bad enough to stop using the Presso, so I just keep my coffee maker out on the counter with the intention of using it. That’s almost the same thing, right?

I’ve been using Lavazza but I’m wondering if anyone has suggestions of other great brands to try?

Espresso on the deck

Unlike conventional espresso machines, the Presso won’t tell you what time it is. Or, if you’re like me, not necessarily what time it is right now, but what time it could be if you finally programmed the thing to stop flashing “12:00”. That’s because there is no electricity to power a clock, either flashing or correct.

I have so many machines and gadgets plugged in my kitchen that I use a splitter so two outlets turn into six. There is a guilt associated with having so many electronic gadgets plugged in all the time with their clocks flashing—I know they are drawing electricity when I’m not using them. My own personal contribution to our inefficient lives. There is also, of course, the fear my house may burn down one day in an electrical fire. But that’s another story.

One thing I love about the Presso is that it doesn’t tell me the time. It doesn’t flash and make me feel guilty for leaving it plugged in and not programming it. There are no buttons to push, no cords trailing along the counter, no fuses blown when I make toast and coffee at the same time and then make the mistake of opening the fridge door.

The only power is my own. And if I need the time, well, there’s always that clock on the wall.

words: Tom Wilmes photography: Adam Voorhes
Take energy savings into your own hands with the Presso Coffee Maker. Unlike electric coffee makers that drain power all day, this sleek, minimalist gadget needs only coffee grounds, hot water, and your own elbow grease to make a café-quality drink. As a bonus, the Presso is completely recyclable. $140, pressousa.com

76 | Spirit
DIY BREW

Not many people love coffee enough to take their espresso machine with them when they go camping. Where the heck would you plug your espresso maker? Luck Sarah and Dan Swan have a presso and they are so darn proud of it they sent us these great pictures from their recent camping adventure outside of Sydney.