With mountains of whipped cream

I've avoided writing a lengthy post about coffee since October, but I can hold out no more.

I love coffee, I am a coffee addict, and I am a coffee snob. It's only fair you know this about me. The affair began in 2001, with my first timid sips of a Spiced Latte (prepared by the incomparable Holly Higbee.) My devotion has yet to wane.

Most days begin with a mug of coffee with cream as I slide into the control room chair at my radio station. I thank heaven every day that my job, unlike so many office jobs, has good coffee for the office coffee maker. No Riffels Roast could prepare my vocal chords to say "committed to quality craftsmanship" without tripping at 5 am.

Drip coffee is my mainstay for time reasons, but I also enjoy a good latte -- hot or cold -- a café au lait (steamed milk and drip coffee), a chewy French press, percolated coffee, iced coffee, and, or course, espresso.

Espresso isn't something you can chug, like lemonade in July. It's a sipper, something you take in slowly, in layers, with only perhaps a piece of dark chocolate on the side to cut the intensity. In 99% of cafes, espresso is still served in its own special glass, with a petit saucer, because drinking espresso is meant to be an experience.

Espresso is tough stuff. It's the leather jacket-wearing, chain-smoking cousin of the café au lait, and it's too intense for people sometimes. That's why, when I'm feeling like a sissy, I like to soften espresso's edges with mountains of whipped cream.

My Francis! Francis! machine still turns out a good shot.

In italiano, it's called "caffè espresso con panna montata." En français, c'est "un café express avec de la crème fouettée." To me, it's simply espresso con panna. It's been winning the hearts and minds of the espresso newcomers for years.

A Flickr photo I enjoy, captioned
A"La Casa della Panna", dietro Fontana di Trevi.
Straconsigliato a chiunque ami un buon caffé con la panna.

A two-ingredient recipe for espresso con panna

• 2-3 tablespoons of fresh, oily, medium-bodied coffee, ground fine for espresso.
• 2-3 cups of spring water, or water with a low-medium mineral content.
  
• 1 can whipped cream or
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream + 1 oz vanilla or hazelnut syrup, whipped or aerated in one of these

Step 1: Make a shot of espresso, timed from 13-17 seconds, with a smooth body and a creamy, caramel froth/crema on top.

Step 2: Load the shot with heaps of whipped cream and eat your dessert with a spoon.

If you're in a position to make a shot of espresso at home, I'm assuming you own an espresso machine and know how already. If you don't and you just have a fancy coffee maker that also produces espresso, Coffee Geek has a great tutorial on how to make shots.

I like to use the Spice Merchant's espresso, San Fransisco, or Vienna roasts for my espresso; they produce roasty, carmely shots that don't have the Starbucks-y aftertaste of burned sugar.

Walk into the Spice Merchant sometime and tell an employee that you're just fascinated by this coffee stuff and you want to know whether they roast all of their beans right there. They will make you smell their 40+ roasts, all freshly roasted and sitting in giant buckets in the center of the store. If you run into Bob, the owner of the Spice Merchant, he will probably give you a tour of their store room, show you the green, unroasted beans, and tell you about each of the countries where they buy their coffee.

The Spice Merchant blends all of the coffees at the Donut Whole as well, and their espresso blend embodies every quality I enjoy in an espresso. You can find DW beans at the Whole on east Douglas.

Also semi-locally, Corsair Coffee offers a rainbow array of coffees that lend themselves to great espresso. Corsair used to have its HQ in south Wichita, but its owner, Noel, moved the operations back to Florida to be near family. You can still find Corsair coffees at Backwoods, Cafe Posto, and Cocoa Dolce, or online at www.corsaircoffee.com

In the Starbucks line of coffees, I prefer their Cafe Vienna roast for espresso instead of their espresso/burned sugar blend. Also, many of my barista friends enjoy the BUX's house and Mocha Sinani blend for espresso. You can have your friendly Starbucks barista grind the beans for you or, if you find your beans at the grocery store, you can grind your own. Grab measure a small quantity of whole beans, set the grind to "fine" or "espresso," and grind only enough espresso to get you through two weeks.

If you want to go nuts, you could always buy green beans at the Spice Merchant or The Daily Grind and and then roast them at home, in a popcorn maker.

When my espresso begins to go awry, I notice its normally rich scent has flattened out and that increased moisture makes the coffee clump together. Then, I dump the old espresso into a coffee filter, brew a pot of joe, and throw the grounds into the compost heap. Plants love spent grounds. Instead of drinking the brew, I use it in cake or brownie recipes that call for espresso or "strong coffee."

While you enjoy your espresso con panna, please enjoy this video.

* Espresso also sets your circulatory and nervous systems into overdrive. In general, one shot contains the punch of two cups of coffee. After a hallucinogenic experience in a "shot-drinking contest" during my Starbucks days (8 shots! too much!) I've become more careful about my espresso intake, saving the shot for dire times or even switching to a good decaf.