You know you're an academic when...

everything becomes a research project.

For example: I recently became entranced with the caffè macchiato, which is (contra Starbucks' souped up caramel version) a shot of espresso which is "stained" with a daub of milk foam and sometimes a little steamed milk too. In the darker days of my first semester of professor-ing, I pretty much needed one of these (and, depending on my mood, some biscotti dipped therein) to keep me my energetic self.As crutches go, it's a tasty one, and not too expensive. The coffee cart outside my office will do it for me for $1.10 (as it's not on the menu, some negotiating usually takes place); at Starbucks it's about $1.70. I first got into the habit of ordering this because it was the cheapest drink on the menu at Nero's, a cafe in Cambridge on my way in to work (and conveniently right next to where my friend Ali lived). I could plop down my 1 pound 20p. saved up from the change from groceries and work on my dissertation for a couple of hours without guilt and without having to just drink straight espresso. If I was feeling rich, I would plop down a second pound for biscotti, but I'd often just buy a dark hazelnut chocolate for 25p and have a bitter and sweet go of it. Lovely contrast, but probably reinforced those two cavities I've been working on.

But a latte, for which I also have an increasing affection, is about $2+ around here, so I decided it was time to look around for an inexpensive way to make it on my own with my favorite brand of Italian espresso, Illy. Now, I'm no connoisseur of Italian espressos, but Illy was the bean of choice at our favorite cafe in Cambridge, Savino's. (You know it's authentic when well-dressed and well-shod Italians are always lined up in droves outside! They had the most amazing cappuccino I've ever seen - foam that was light and silky and oh so lovely. Plus, they had this amazing hazelnut and dark chocolate croissant, which has certainly done its part in shortening our life expectancy.) So Illy it is.

I didn't want to a massive espresso machine crowding my glorious counterspace, so I was in the market for a petite stovetop espresso maker, and after some research (say, about an hour), I discovered that the classic Bialetti Moka fit the bill.

Ok, so that's the back story. I've got my beans, I've now (thanks to my brother-in-law) got my Bialetti and a milk foamer, so you'd think I'd be content, but I've been researching for hours and hours and hours the following:

• fineness of grind to use (and how to achieve it with the kind of grinder we have)
  
• water level
• how to load the filter basket
• what level of flame beneath and for how long
  
• placement on the stovetop
• timing
• when to pour
• optimum water temperature to start
• how to get the Bialetti not to sputter when it brews
  

And so was born the great espresso taste-testing of this morning, along with this over-caffeinated blog post. The winner: cold water start, with a 15-second grind of Illy's medium roast whole bean espresso, about 3 heaped teaspoonfuls, with 5 holes poked in the grinds with a chopstick in a pentagonal shape (the bottom ramekin). Runner-up: hot water start, with Illy's pre-ground medium roast espresso (fine), again about 3 1/2 heaped teaspoonfuls, no holes poked in (on the left in the pyrex measure).

Of course, I enjoy tracking all this information down a lot, but I'm trying to figure out if this is a virtuous habit of learning or a sign of an inability to not be perfect, even in my espresso m aking. The jury's still out on that one.

The other question: if you've been infected by the research bug, does that mean you should think seriously about being an academic? I.E., is the inverse also true? In that case, I'm worried that Pancho is on his route to a Ph.D in projectors and screens...and I'm not sure what the job market is like in that particular discipline...