We made it!

We arrived at our guest house in Addis Ababa around 4:30 AM, Bagdad, KY time (about 11:30 AM Addis time).  We were both glad to stretch our legs after that last flight – around 16 hours from Dulles to Addis.

 We landed at 8:20 AM and took about two hours to secure our visas, exchange money, get through customs and collect our bags.  We were greeted at the airport by someone from the guest house.  She was a very nice young lady who works at the guest house.  Her mother had tagged along for the ride – I assume to keep her daughter company.  As Divine providence would have it, her mother owns and operates a local coffee and pastry shop.  After they saw our excitement and interest in coffee (and pastries) she insisted that we stop and sample some of their family’s fare.  We, of course, obliged.

 It was amazing!  She brought out a couple of homemade pastries to sample.  One was a light, white cake with a thin, creamy icing sprinkled with cake crumbs.  The other was very similar to the texture and look of tiramisu – a layer of chocolate cake, moist and creamy icing (like Bavarian cream) in the middle and a baklava type crust.  She brought us macchiato to accompany the pastries.  It appeared to be about two espresso shots marked with some frothed milk very, very good!

 We are very tired but think we will try to go do a little shopping and possibly see the Addis Ababa’s Natural History Museum.  This is the museum where the famed “Lucy” fossil is displayed because it was discovered here in Ethiopia.  We are in hopes that a good night’s rest will find us much more alert and ready to tackle the tasks ahead.

 We will try to make contact with the orphanage later today to arrange our first visit – which we assume will be tomorrow.  Stay tuned for updates; we’ll try to post at least once a day.  Love you all and are grateful for the prayers!

 Bert & Michelle (a.k.a. for Autumn & Eli as Dad & Mom)

Bert’s Morning Brew

After recording the Gaggia De-scaling Project, I couldn’t resist the temptation to chronicle my morning java tradition.  The following is not only a peek into my morning routine, but my mind… 

I first have to flip the power switch on my Gaggia Coffee espresso machine.  After a few minutes the green light appears – but that’s not my signal to instigate my morning coffee custom.  When the light comes on, it merely means the boiler has come to temperature.  There are many other parts that can suck the life out of an espresso shot if not allowed to warm up to the task.  Most of those parts are located inside the machine but the top of the Gaggia Coffee actually serves as a stage to preheat your shot glasses as well.

After the warm up, I next grind the beans.  There are three very important factors to consider for creating a fresh espresso with healthy crema.  1) Fresh beans indicated by a bit of oil still present on them.  2) The grind of the beans - which is very fine for espresso.  3) The pressure used to compact the ground beans.

Notice the dots around the top of my grinder?  If it is adjusted just a couple of dots in either direction, the crema representative of a good espresso will disappear.  The next step is to place 2 tablespoons of ground beans into the portafilter per shot.  I brew two shots at a time.

There is a great difference between an automatic portafilter and a manual portafilter.  An automatic has a diaphragm and spring under the portafilter basket to hold the hot water in the grounds until enough pressure builds up to force the diaphragm open.  This is a shortcut around the fragile properties of the grind and the tamping pressure.  The automatic is what you’d need if you desire to use the pre-loaded pucks.  The manual portafilter, however, allows for much more flexibility in arriving at the perfect shot.  You can play with the grind and tamping pressure until you arrive at your personal sweet spot.  I have a manual…

The tamp that I have is actually a bit small for my portafilter.  If anyone is wondering what to get me for my birthday, a real, 58mm tamp would be nice. 

Eli has even mastered the tamping pressure and gets a kick out of helping me in this routine – though he doesn’t yet appreciate the taste.  Actually, I’m okay with that right now.  If you can imagine Eli on espresso… ’nuff said.

I’ve posted a video of the shots being pulled – not my best but it was what the average day brings.

If you are reading this and none of this excites you, I am sorry.  Michelle loves the smell but she and Autumn can’t stand the taste.  I am hopeful that Bethlehem and Theodore will be fond of it.  Ethiopia is known for its fine Arabica coffee beans after all.  The problem is that many of the everyday people in Ethiopia never really feel or see the benefits of this great natural resource.

This is the crema I was talking about earlier.  The body of the espresso will appear almost milky as it is being brewed.  As it sits for a few seconds, the crema begins to collect at the top to form this wonderful sign of a successful shot.

95% of the time I will take these two shots and pour them over a glass of ice and top it off with an ounce or two of skim milk.  Day in and out, that’s Bert’s morning brew.  On an occasional cold winter’s day, I will froth an ounce or two of skim milk and then add the two shots of espresso to that.  Never any sugar and from time to time no milk (if I’m feelin’ real manly).

 

Really, all that is left to do at this point is to clean up.  This is where another evidence of a victorious shot will emerge.  If a proper tamp and grind have been achieved, you’ll knock a puck out of the portafilter that will stay in tact.  Wahla!

There are some great resources out there if you desire to get really serious about espresso and all the science and creativity that goes along with it.  www.coffeegeeks.com is great for facts and www.wholelattelove.com is great for researching and purchasing a new machine.  Of course, I’d love to entertain any conversation about coffee or the making of coffee or the science of coffee or whatever.  And, if none of this interests you, at least make sure you never say, “eXpresso”!!!  That’s a pet peeve…  Have a great day!

Gaggia Coffee De-Scale Maintenance

Where Coffee Happens

 I have owned a Gaggia Coffee espresso machine for about 5 years now.  After about a year, I noticed it gradually began to take longer and longer to pull my shots.  It eventually started burning the shots and ruining the taste.  Being a new espresso machine owner, I read up and found that I was supposed to de-scale on a regular basis.  After trying several batches of different de-scaling brands, my wife found an article that traced a similar problem to a clogged orifice.  I cleaned mine out and it worked a good as new.  I have had to periodically do this.  So, I thought, there must be others out there with the same problem and I might lessen their learning curve by sharing my experience.  So if you are having a similar problem with your Gaggia Coffee espresso machine, try this:

Tools You'll Need

You’ll need a 5mm allen wrench, a Phillips screwdriver, a 12mm socket and a 12mm open end wrench (or a pair of channel locks will do).

Step 0 Safety

Next, unplug the machine and remove the cord from the back.

Step 1 lay machine on back

Now, remove the drip tray, reservoir and cover.  Then, place the machine on its back.

Step 2 brewgroup shower screen

This group of parts is referred to as the brew group.  Remove the Phillips screw from the shower screen.

Step 3 remove shower screen

This will expose the shower holding plate.

Step 4 remove screws from shower holding plate

Use a 5mm allen wrench to remove the two screws holding the shower holding plate in place.  These can be snug.  If you don’t use the correct size wrench, you will strip the heads – very bad!

step 5 remove shower holding plate from brewgroup

You might need to use your allen wrench to help remove/pry the plate from the brew group.

Step 6 inside the brewgroup

You are now inside the brew group.  You’ll probably notice lots of scale here but this isn’t the real problem.  We are after the orifice housing located in the middle of the brew group.

Step 7 Orifice housing

You’ll need your 12mm socket to remove the orifice housing from the center of brew group.

Step 8 Remove orifice housing

This can be snug as well.

Step 9 Orifice housing

This is the culprit – the orifice housing.

Step 10 Open the orifice housing

Use the 12mm socket and 12mm open end wrench to separate the orifice housing into its two parts.  I didn’t have a 12mm wrench handy so I used a pair of channel locks.  However, this could round the corners of the soft metal so be very careful.

Step 11 Unscrew orifice housing

This is where the two halves separate.

Step 12 Orifice housing, spring and seal

Inside here is our problem.  The scale builds up and restricts the water passing through the orifice.

Step 13 Clean parts

Clean the parts with soap and water, vinegar or some citric acid if available.  I use a paper clip to unclog the orifice.

Step 14 Replace orifice housing and Align holes on shower plate

 Now you’ll need to reassemble the orifice housing.  Then replace it and the shower holding plate – be sure to align the holes in the plate to the holes in the brew group.  With all of these items you’ll need to merely snug the pieces back together.  The metals are very soft and will strip easily.  If you over tighten, it will also make it very difficult the next time you have to do this.

Step 15 Replace shower plate screws

Make sure to tighten the shower plate screws gradually working back and forth between the screws so as not to bind the plate into the brew group.

Step 16 Finished and clean!

All done!  Replace your reservoir and drip tray and you back in business!  You should notice a big difference in the flow of your water as you brew espresso.  Enjoy!

Lunch…?

My incredible wife made my day today (as she often does) by rescuing a forgotten piece of protein from our freezer.  When I arrived home for lunch, it found its rightful place on my grill.  While it approached medium rare over an open flame, I sautéed some mushrooms and green onions in butter, olive oil, rosemary and garlic.  In case you want to know, I put a heavy rub of salt and fresh cracked pepper on the filet.  Notice the chocolate covered peanuts in the jar located in the background of the picture.  My mother (a.k.a. Grammie or Dorothy) makes these at home.  Three of them served a pleasant and satisfying chaser to the main course.

Not bad for lunch, wouldn’t you agree…?

Berts Manly Lunch