At ChickAdvisor H.Q we have been test driving the Breville Cafe Roma Espresso Machine.  Long time Krupp devotees, we were curious to see how this handsome new machine stacked up. Could it deliver the perfect latte or is it just another pretty face?



Several bags of beans and heaps of foam later, we have come to the conclusion that our shiny new friend is no slouch. Not only does it deliver lightening speed espressos and frothy foam, it heats your cups while you wait. Good looking and efficient! It also takes Pods if you are feeling lazy.

Here's how to make the perfect latte on any machine:

1. Take fresh Arabica espresso beans and grind until very fine, but not too fine that it becomes powdery. We only brew fair trade beans and love Doi Chaang  and Intellingentsia Black Cat Espresso

2. Fill up and pack the espresso dispenser. You want the grounds tightly packed, not loose. Clean off any extraneous coffee from the sides so it doesn't clog your machine.

3. Turn on the espresso portion of your machine and watch the black gold dripping and foaming into the cup. The Breville Cafe Roma is really fast so don't even think about stepping away for a bathroom break or you will find quite the mess on your return.

4. Observe that your kitchen now smells like a gourmet cafe. Put on some jazzy tunes and pretend you are a Barista at Starbucks. Yes, the espresso looks tempting enough to drink now, but wait! Not yet.


5. Pour cold milk into the frother until it is about half full. If you put too much milk in you won't get a lot of foam as it will all be dribbling down your hand and onto the floor. Trust.

6. Turn on the steam and put the nozzle just below the surface of the milk. Leaving it close to the top allows you to create lots of tight tiny bubbles, which makes for the creamiest foam. Then after a few seconds (say, 20ish?), bring the frother up to warm the milk at the bottom. You will feel the frother get very warm. That's good. You don't want luke warm milk. Once the frother is very warm and you see a lot of foam in it, you're done.

7. You have already poured your espresso into the latte cup. Now carefully add the milk. You will notice it starts to make a bit of a pattern. You can manipulate that if you know what you are doing by gently and slowly shaking the foam in. We don't know how to do it, which is why our milk art is just blobs, but better luck for you?

8. Sprinkle with cinnamon or chocolate shavings and serve.

Hint: A healthy splash of Baileys or Kahlúa is a nice pick me up but be warned it will ruin your foam art so you might want to put that in just after the espresso before you add your foam.

Enjoy!

What are we missing? Do you have any tips on making foam art?