Forum: cooking.stackexchange.com
Tags: <coffee><espresso>
Title: Make espresso in office kitchen- just have a kettle and microwave?
Question: I'd like to make espressos for lattes in my offices. However we don't have a stove or coffee maker -- just a kettle and a microwave, and that's about it.   Is it possible to make a decent espresso with just these appliances?

Answers:
sents: text: Great espresso requires these things: Proper Coffee Proper Grind Water heated to the proper temperature (boiling is too hot)
text: A method to push water at a specific pressure, through the grinds.
text: You can solve #1 and #2 by buying your coffee
text: already ground.
text: I would suggest you start with Illy espresso or find a local reputable roaster.
text: I would stay with Illy until you feel comfortable with the other variables.
text: You can solve #3 with your current equipment, but you may want a thermometer.
text: You can boil the water, then let it sit for a few minutes and you should be ok.
text: Regarding #4
text: , that is where you are missing the proper equipment.
text: This is where I would suggest an AeroPress or MyPressi.
text: They have been recommended strongly a number of times.
text: Aeropress: http://aerobie.com/products/aeropress.htm
text: MyPressi: http://mypressi.com
text: My suggestion is a "starter" suggestion.
text: You are going to find it difficult to make great espresso when you have so many variables to manage yourself.
text: With the above setup, I believe you can make good espresso and that may be good enough.
text: We have an Rancilio espresso maker at our office and about 10% of the people use it properly.
text: The rest of the people do not make a great espresso, but they make "good enough" and they are happy with it.
text: EDIT:
text: If you want espresso, as officially defined, the Aeropress above won't get you there.
text: This will get you close to it, with the resources you have, plus a minor purchase.
text: If you like it, then it doesn't matter what it is called.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/18458/sleeves
score: 11
sents: text: You can get quite close, actually: Aeropress will give you a decent coffee extraction.
text: Warm up the milk in the microwave, and use a frother like this one made by Bialetti to achieve a really thick and smooth latte foam.
text: Your other option (as SAJ14SAJ suggests ) is an electric Moka maker.
text: I've seen this Bialetti Electric Moka make a decent espresso and last a long time (if instructions are followed).
text: Many Italian households don't own an espresso machine and simply go with a moka maker.
text: Bialetti is very often the moka of choice.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/3649/MandoMando
score: 11
sents: text: True espresso requires special equipment to generate steam and use its pressure to force water through coffee grounds.
text: If you are asking, can you produce espresso strictly with the equipment you already enumerated, the answer is no.
text: Still, short of buying a full espresso maker for your office, there may be an option: Since you have a kettle at your office, you must have a heat source of some type, unless you meant an electric kettle.
text: Even if you only have an electric kettle, now, you could always buy a small electric hot plate.
text: This will let you operate a moka pot , which produces coffee more similar to espresso than standard coffee pots as it generates some steam pressure internally (although not as much as an espresso machine): Evidently, electric moka pots are also available (such as this one ), which might be suitable for your office and would not require a separate heat source, although I cannot speak to their quality or reliability.
text: Of course, depending on what you mean by latte , you may also require steamed milk, which I am not sure how you would generate without an espresso machine.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/14401/SAJ14SAJ
score: 6
sents: text: The point of espresso is that it needs pressure.
text: This is why the different kinds of espresso machines exist - their core functionality is creating this pressure.
text: If you are willing to extend the equipment in your office kitchen, you can create not-quite-espresso fairly cheaply.
text: A portable hob and a Bialetti-style mokka pot together should cost around 50 Euro ($70), maybe more depending on pot size and quality -- a reasonable cost if multiple colleagues chip in.
text: An alternative is to explore coffee options beside lattes.
text: Lattes may be popular at coffee shops which have the proper equipment, but different drinks may be a better solution for your office.
text: You should be able to make cappuccino with drip coffee, and with a portable single-plate stove you can make Turkish coffee and all its derivatives.
text: I have actually boiled coffee in milk instead of water, sticking to the Turkish method in every other detail, and found the result surprisingly good.
text: If you are looking at such hobs, be aware that while induction is convenient (heats up much faster than alternatives), the units on the market often come with a safety feature that prevents you from heating anything with a diameter less than 12 cm, which will rule out moka pots and ibriqs.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/4638/rumtscho
score: 6
sents: text: Assuming, like most of the answers so far, that you want something that is tasty and espresso-like with a minimal investment (e.g., doesn't need to be strictly espresso/latte, or only with what you have), you might consider a "Vietnamese style coffee filter".
text: It's a little metal thing that sits on top of your cup; you put the coffee in, compress it into a puck, and add water.
text: It produces something a bit like if you used a Moka, with the bonus that you don't need a stove (e.g., if you meant that you have an electric kettle) and they are usually cheaper (~ $5).
text: Or you could use a French press - not espresso at all, but also cheap and easy.
text: Sort of between @talon8 and @sleeves on the grounds.
text: I wouldn't buy 'factory-ground' coffee, but if you buy decent beans reasonably often and grind them at the store (or at home), that works out pretty well - and might be preferable to bringing a grinder to work.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/18620/hunter2
score: 6
sents: text: Piamo - a German company - is making a microwaveable espresso machine .
text: It doesn't appear the device is yet for sale.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/18844/sallie
score: 1
sents: text: I'm an italian coffee addicted, the best way to prapare an Espresso at office/home (often better than the one prepared in many italian bar...)
text: is using this device: http://www.bialetti.it/it/catalogue/scheda.asp?id_cat=399
text: I've been using it (in some different evolution release...)
text: more than ten years with great results.
text: Use a good coffee brand (Illy is perfect...) for great success. Gio
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/20726/Gioacchino
score: 0

Summary of the answers:
You cannot produce espresso with only a kettle and microwave, but affordable devices include Aeropress, a Vietnamese coffee filter or an electric Moka maker, which can make espresso or something close to it.
To make a proper expresson, some basic equipment is required. If you do not have the equipment, it may be better to consider different types of coffee.