Cardamom espresso

My first food and drink blog post... a momentous occasion I'm sure you'll agree. Rather than spoil it with some of the abominations I actually come up with myself, I'm stealing something that a friend from work told me about.

Ben is a really interesting guy. We took some undergraduate mathematics classes together back in the late 90s at QUT in Brisbane. Rather than steamroll a boring path through PhD, postdoctoral research and straight in life as an academic, Ben has taken a slower version of this path that I have taken, but along the way filled it with amazing life experiences backpacking all around the globe. I believe that this particular idea comes from his time in South Asia where he travelled around enjoying food and partaking in yoga wherever he came upon it.

I've noticed a few cardamom espresso recipes around, but all seem to be referring to crushed cardamom in ground coffee. This one on the other hand involves burying a bruised pod within the grinds in the group head itself when using an espresso machine. I don't imagine it would work with filter machines or presses...perhaps a stove top would apply sufficient heat and pressure to release the flavour - I'm really not sure.

Anyway, it's as simple as that - make an espresso shot as usual, except bury a bruised cardamom pod (or 2, or 3 if you wish!) within the grinds prior to pressing with the tamper.

The end result is a delicately sweetly flavoured espresso - quite nice. It might be a nice touch for bitter coffee if you prefer a sweeter brew.

Thanks to Ben C.