Answers from Expert: Canadian Living Test Kitchen Staff

If you have a question for any of our experts, please visit our Just Ask page. Making espresso drinks (including cappuccino, mochas, caffe latté or café au lait) is actually more about the grind of coffee than the type. Espresso is very strong coffee made by forcing water through fine, tightly packed coffee grounds to produce a thick, dark drink. You can buy already ground espresso beans at the grocery store or from coffee purveyors. You can also choose coffee beans whose flavour you particularly like and either grind it yourself or have it ground at the store. Dark and medium roast coffees, like espresso and French Roast, are best; light roasts often do not have enough oils for good espresso. If you grind the beans yourself, and your grinder has settings, try between 3 and 8. If not, feel the ground coffee between your fingers - the consistency should be like salt (not powdery but a little finer than sugar).