I've finally taken the plunge: La Pavoni Professional, Rancillo Rocky and iRoast 2 are all lined up on my kitchen counter. Espresso heaven, here I come. Now, what's missing is what I can't buy: my skills. I have had a $50 espresso machine and a $10 grinder so far, and after 500 cups served it can only produce burnt water (you won't know it until ...

For this one cup I used half my preset 1 roasted beans, grinding at 2 with the Rocky. The reason I'm going for 2 is that my tamper is still the plastic one (I expect a new, decent one with the next shipment of coffee) and I want as much crema as I can get. The cup was propably preheated in a bowl of hot water, so I should be all set. Boil up the ...