Setting up the Coffee Station

I’ve been getting the house set up with all the necessities and the daily coffee experience is one of them. Starting the day with a great cup of coffee is critical to a successful day. It’s the second thing I do in the morning after getting up. Feeding the cats is always the first. If I didn’t feed them first, making coffee would be a lot less enjoyable, as Blair’s ‘feed me’ meows are on the same pitch as a screaming baby.

We are surrounded by coffee shops, even in our small village. There is definitely a coffee culture here of lingering with a small cup (no vente’s sold here) of coffee or espresso, stirring the dark liquid a few dozen times with an equally small spoon and just enjoying a few quite moments. I actually enjoy doing this as well, but my first cup of the day is needed before coffee shops open.

There’s something very satisfying about being your own barista. Grinding the beans, setting the controls just right, the swish of the milk frothing. I love starting my day with this simple activity. I’m not a coffee snob (not sure what the qualifications are for that designation) but I love a good cup of well made coffee. When we lived in the U.S. we had a Breville espresso maker which we loved. We gave away our much loved machine to very good friends when we moved to Portugal so finding a replacement was critical. No Breville’s here in Portugal; or so we thought. They actually have the same machine but under the brand name Sage.

This particular machine is very easy to use and clean up is simple. I generally make a cappuccino with medium roast coffee beans and vanilla soy milk. My preferred coffee bean is Delta, which is a Portuguese brand from the Alentejo area which you can pretty much find anywhere around here. This machine grinds the beans as well so your coffee is always just in time fresh. For soy milk, I like the Alpro brand. Vanilla has just the right amount of sweetness and it froths perfectly.

After grinding the coffee I froth the milk using the heated wand that’s attached to the machine. This takes under a minute to get just the right level of fluffy frothy milk.

After adding the milk to the coffee, a seasoned professional barista would then make the cute heart design with the thickened milk as a way to express their appreciation and to send you off on your day with a smile. It sounds good but it’s unlikely why they do it and frankly I haven’t seen any hearts appear in cappuccino’s I’ve had at various coffee shops here in Portugal. I’m sure they appreciate my business and want me to have a good day (bom dia) but apparently its just not a thing they do as a routine.

I haven’t perfected the cute heart shape technique, so rather than focusing on my design deficiently I’ve adopted an efficient method to just having the coffee drip into the frothy milk cup. No hearts but it does the job.

Once the coffee making process is complete I just pour the finished product into one of my favorite mugs. I picked these up in San Miguel de Allende in Mexico last year. Handmade and just the right size.

Although I won’t be starting my day with a heart in my cappuccino, since I’m my own barista, I’m thinking it’s OK. My first cappuccino of the day includes all the ingredients I need to ensure a smile and the potential for a good day. Bom dia.