I have successfully recreated my earlier "Americano" experiment! Again, it didn't explode, and it tastes pretty damn good.

It's a standard two serving pot. The package came with a promise for an extra gasket, but the gasket was not included. So, according to my research, in the next year or so, depedning on frequency of use, I'll have to conjure a new gasket. I'm not concerned about this, just yet.

Thus far, I'm pretty pleased. All my forays into the high arts of espresso making have proven positive

My methods at this point:

1) Fill the bottom of the pot with water until just below the release valve. (I suspect a lesser amount of water and a higher amount of espresso grounds will equate to a higher strength of espresso, but less volume. I'll test ths theory in the next few days.)

2) Put the filter piece in place in the bottom of the pot. Fill the filter with grounds, but don't overfill it, and don't pack it tight. Keeping the grounds loose in the filter should allow for better water flow through the grounds, meaning for a smoother brewing process.

3) Screw the top part of the pot onto the bottom half. Be careful not to spill. Also important is to no over-tighten the two halves together. The gasket will enure a tight seal even if the threads aren't extremely tight, and over-tightening will only put undue stress on the gasket without any benefit. This added stress will shorten the life of your gasket considerably.

4) Turn the smallest element on your range to high and put your pot on it. Put the pot on the edge of the element so that the handle of the pot isn't above the element. This isn't vital, but if you plan on handling the pot without burning yourself, it will help a lot. On my pot, the handle stays cool to the tough as long as the handle is not hanging over the element.

5) As your mother always said: "a watched pot never boils." However, in this case, it's going to boil pretty quick. So, don't stray to far. Once it starts boiling, your going to hear it. It doesn't whistle, but it certainly will make a bubbling noise. Stand near by and listen, you'll hear it. 6) Once it starts boiling, it's almost done. Some people suggest removing it from the heat as soon as it starts boiling, other suggest waiting a bit. I, as yet, am undecided. My first brew, I left it on after it was boiling, but only because I wasn't sure what to do. Tonight, on my second brew, I left the pot on the element and simply turned the heat off. I let the pot sit for another minute until the sound of the boiling stopped.

7) That's it! You've brewed espresso. It really is that easy, and it would be pretty hard to screw it up. The fun part is going to be taking your espresso and adding some other ingredients and making something else. The easiest is a simple Americano, which is: 1 shot of espresso and some boiling water, enough to fill a coffee mug. Add a little cream to taste and your set. It's a nice change from coffee, and something quick to wow your friends with.

At present, I am going to focus on brewing a mean espresso. Practice will make perfect. But soon after, the world of frothed milk will fall into view.

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