Can I make regular coffee with an espresso machine?

by Jim
(Alberta, Canada)

An Americano with hot milk on the side.

An Americano with hot milk on the side.


QUESTION:

I was wondering if I could use my espresso machine to make a single regular cup of coffee. I have a Cuisinart EM-100C espresso maker. If so, how would I go about doing it?


ANSWER:

No, and yes.

No, you can’t make a regular cup of coffee with an espresso machine, unless you have a dual purpose machine that makes both espresso and coffee.

The process of making espresso is different from that of making coffee. With espresso the hot water is forced through compacted coffee grinds at pressure. You get a different result than with the gravity-fed process of a drip brewer.

That said, you can make an Americano with your espresso machine. And that comes pretty close to the taste of regular coffee.

You simple make a shot of espresso in a coffee mug and then top it up with hot water from a kettle. Add milk and cream to taste.

You can try that and see if you like it.

Comments for Can I make regular coffee with an espresso machine?

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Espresso maker brews perfect cup
by: Anonymous

I have an old Krups 963 espresso machine. I load the porta filter with 25 grams of African coffee then squeeze in 11 ounces of water and turn on the power button. When it has almost completed the cycle I use the steam wand to froth 3 ounces of half n half / heavy cream in a huge, oversized cup. I pour the coffee down the side of the mug and drink. Most mornings I have two such cups.
Coffee from a Breville Espresso Machine
by: Anonymous

I make a couple of cups of coffee every morning using my Breville Infuser Espresso Machine. I use a regular dark roast, like Starbucks Sumatra, set my Breville grinder to 20, grind enough coffee to almost fill my portafilter, and then push the button. I normally have to push the button three times to make three double-shots of coffee, which fills my 8 ounce coffee mug.

The coffee is a bit on ths strong side, but not too strong. I could make it weaker by using a coarser grind, or fewer coffee grounds. I like it a lot better than the coffee my wife makes with her Keurig.
Yup. Been doing it for years with Folgers.
by: Anonymous

Take that!! I have an old Krupp’s that purists turn their noses up at. I put about four teaspoons in. Pack tightly, load, pour a bottle of water in and BAM! Fresh cup. Tastes nearly as good as the Bunn pour through. Which, by he way, is why I started doing this. The Bunn quit after 35 years use. Boy did I get my money’s worth out of that. Oh, and the icing on the cake is, I don’t have to buy filters anymore!!!! Go on break those boundaries and jump outside the box. Live a little. Loosen up.
"Tall" espressos
by: Andy

I've been pulling long coffees from my Breville Cafe Roma for years now and have had numerous compliments on how good my coffees are. As long as the coffee is ground finely enough (as all pre-ground European coffees appear to be), it works well.I have noticed though that Dallmayr coffee from Munich available in Canada is the European fine grind whereas the same packs that I purchased in Washington were the much coarser and typical North American drip grind.Like the watered down German beers available in the US, they seem to be catering to US tastes.Shame.
You certainly may!
by: MaryB

I use my inexpensive Krups espresso maker - add enough espresso grind to the one shot level, tamp it, and let the machine run the full water through the grind. It gives me about 12 oz of wonderfully fresh brewed coffee. My husband likes it much stronger - he fills the cup to the two shot level and does the same. His coffee looks like ink . . but he likes it that way. My little machine is an old model and I keep tracking down parts for it. I have thought about purchasing a newer model, but this little unit makes such a sweet cup of coffee, I just keep replacing parts instead of trying a newer unit. Espresso purists blanch at the thought of using the machine that way, but so what - each to their own!
Pressure Brewed coffee
by: Dave

Hi, I have two coffee shops in Maui. We have been using this method for s while and getting GREAT results.

We grind the coffee at a much courser grind than espresso, and we use 18g whole bean to 240g of output volume. Extraction time varies based on bean and roast, but too long will bring out bitterness.

The cup that gets produced is very rich and sweet with great crema. We feel better than an Americano.

We've also found that a medium roast works best for our needs and we get lower tasting notes (chocolate, caramel) than with a pour over of a similar roast.
Yes, You Can Make Coffee with an E Machine
by: Anonymous

Get regular bean coffee, grind it thin (as if for espresso), DON'T pack it hard, and run it under LOW pressure.

If you drink strong coffee, do a second fresh packing and repeat. This will add up to a regular cup volume-wise.

If you want the coffee "normal" strength, press the START button again with already-used-once coffee.
You CAN make coffee in an espresso machine!!
by: Anonymous

Not necessarily true, certain companies make coffee into a form of a espresso that is still coffee in can be used in the espresso machine
Better than a Keurig
by: Carole Barenys

I was longing for a fresh, hot cup of de-caf without making a whole pot. Since I don’t have a Keurig and would not want one, I dug out my old Krupps expresso machine. I added 5 tsp of my standard (but fresh)ground de-caf,(about what's in one of those pods) and filled the carafe to the "2" mark. Voila! One of the best cups of coffee I have had.

In the past, I had always bought special coffee for this machine—that bitter, over-roasted Italian stuff. Just tinker with the proportions of your regular coffee-to-water till you find your best cup. The coffee in those expensive, over-packaged, pods in notoriously stale and expensive.
Coffee from expresso
by: James

I have purchased almost every coffe/ expresso maker. I must say when you combine 2 styles. Both are shy of the target . Nspresso is the closest. But still you will be much happier with 2 machines than a combo
Pressure brewed coffee
by: Anonymous

Just want to comment that some superautomatic espresso machines can do great mugs of "regular" coffee. Not quite the same as drip coffee, but much better as it is brewed under pressure on demand. Called cafe creme or Swiss coffee or pressure brewed coffee, it is apparently common in Europe but there are only a few cafes I know of here in the Toronto area that offer it. Less caffeine and less tannins than drip coffee and a much richer and sweeter taste - all of my friends who tried it on my Schaerer Siena machine have trouble going back to drip. Krups and Jura brands can also do this. Definitely better than Americanos.

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