Krups 872-42 Bravo Plus Espresso Maker
by Krups

List Price: $90.00
Category: Kitchen
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Product Summary

• Compact, lightweight espresso maker ideal for specialty drinks
• Brew directly into 1 or 2 cups; Perfect Froth cappuccino attachment
• Instantly switch from brewing espresso to frothing milk; up to 4 shots of espresso at a time
• 4-cup glass carafe; manual with step-by-step instructions included
• Measures 10-3/4 by 7-1/4 by 9-3/4 inches; 1-year limited warranty, 90 days for parts and labor

• Krups 027/A-42 Replacement Espresso Carafe
• Krups 030 Perfect Froth Milk Frother
• Krups 085 20-Ounce Stainless Steel Frothing Pitcher
• Krups 408-75 Chrome Touch Coffee Grinder

Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Krups 872-42 Bravo Plus Espresso Maker

Customer Review: Tips for a great cup
Summary: 5 Stars

Free things:
1. Make sure that, after tamping, there is still a little excess of grounds.
2. Grind finer than normal machine espresso. I use the "3" setting.
3. Tamp a little more firmly. A firm finger tap all the way around works for me. This gives me better crema.
4. You only want 2oz. or slightly less of espresso per cup. I wouldn't go over with this machine.
5. When making just one cup, let the espresso pour out until you hear the obnoxious gurgling sound. This happens precisely at 2oz. At this point, switch to "off" or to "froth".
6. When making more than one cup, smell the espresso every moment or so as it pours. When it starts to smell bad, switch to "off" or "froth". When the scent is bad, the coffee is bitter.
7. When you're done and take the grounds out, give them a little sniff. If they seem pretty much neutral, neither coffee-ish nor bitter, you've made a good cup. If they smell terrible, you put too much water through for the amount of grounds you've used.
8. When using the frothing nozzle to heat milk with something in it (for instance, chocolate, sugar, or flavored syrup), hold your finger over the air intake whole until the mug or carafe gets noticeably warm. This keeps the milk from becoming frothy. Then take your finger off the whole and let the air flow in normally to finish the now flavored froth. I use a candy thermometer to monitor the temperature. I usually starting frothing after the milk reaching 120F. Be careful not to burn yourself, and don't let the milk boil!

Slightly more expensive things:
1. Buy good beans. These probably won't come from your local suburban grocery store, and they certainly won't come from Starbucks. You might have to look in the phone book or online. I find $10+/lb beans to be adequate. I currently use Barrington Coffee Roasting Co. beans. I highly recommend this company.
2. Grind the beans yourself. Spend the extra money and order one of Amazon's bean grinders. The difference between the beginning of a bag of good beans ground at your favorite store and the end of the bag is tremendous.
3. If you use sugar, white sugar is ok, but I recommend unbleached, broken pieces of cane. This is more syrupy, but it's harder to find. Remember: if your cup is a little bitter, a little bit of sugar will combat that nicely without being overly sweet.

That's all I can think of for now. Enjoy your Bravo Plus!

Description of Krups 872-42 Bravo Plus Espresso Maker

Espresso Machines

• Kitchen & Dining > Coffee, Tea & Espresso > Espresso Machines