David Lebovitz, an expat food journalist/writer in Paris, recently flew out to Trieste, Italy for a tour of the legendary coffee company Illy. After meeting with some of Italy’s top coffee experts, he banged out this guide to how to make the perfect espresso at home. Although much of his advice has to do with making sure that you have an expensive, high-end espresso machine, there’s plenty here for mere mortals who don’t have one. It all comes down to the combination of good beans, good water and good grinding. Lebovitz’s post is rather extensive and taught us a lot we did not know about this king of beverages. Even if you’re not much of a home coffee maker, there is plenty of photo and travelogue goodness here. Here in Philly, Hausbrandt is an (excellent) outpost of a Trieste-based coffeeshop chain. If you’re wondering why an Italian coffeeshop chain would have a German-sounding name, it’s all in the history: Until World War I, Trieste was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
The Perfect Espresso [Serious Eats]
Making Perfect Espresso At Illy [David Lebovitz]
Hausbrandt [MenuPages]
