The [coffee snobs'] espresso thread

[DaveC]

Dosing and grind depends on the machine and basket as well as the beans and what result you enjoy best.

Light roasts often don't follow the typical rules and become sour or bitter from under or overextraction. Some work best with approximately 45 sec extractions and larger doses in larger baskets, ime... Almost everything I buy is a lighter roast and for my machine, I use an average of 24g in a triple basket with 40 sec extractions and go for ~48g out. It's a big shot but it also allows my machine to go through the entire pressure profile of 9 to 5 bar. With the right dose and grind I often get a very constant output flow, while it's more typical for volume to increase as the shot is pulled with a pump machine that doesn't use a declining pressure profile.

This is also why, while I think the idea of a pressure profiling machine or the Decent Espresso DE1 is a great idea, they are often setup very close to what a spring-lever machine does anyways, and ime it's possible to achieve a very even flow from start to finish with a spring-lever.

 

[ack]

Speaking of baskets, I saw significant improvement when I switched to a 58mm Strada from La Marzocco

It came with a histogram of hole-size distribution! Will move it to the Rocket now...

 

[RogerD]

Some might find this interesting. Carl made my amplifiers,Speakers,dual sub, and EC. Carl moved on from high end equipment. He has focused on roasting coffee for many years.

 

[ack]

Nice; so coffee is more than 3 times more complex than red wine?

 

[RogerD]

Nice; so coffee is more than 3 times more complex than red wine?

Yes,
According to Carl. There was quite a few wine and audio snobs in our group...lol. Kostas was part owner in Arger Martucci winery.
I probably have only met two men in my life that had a level of intelligence..One was Carl and the other was Dr. Eugene E. Bleck M.D

 

[the sound of Tao]

Are we not all then (by the very same measure) just audio and music snobs by default the word has snuck in and we risk it becoming synonymous lol.

I think most of us who appreciate music or audio gear or coffee or wine do so without thinking we are in any way better than those who don’t care at all about these things.

I feel we should take something of a stand here and unembrace that word completely.

Could this better be the egalitarian espresso lovers thread.

 

[ack]

Not a bad start with the Rocket, the taste is really great, crema lingers for 15 minutes at least; pressure set to 9 bars based on the manual's recommendation, is at 9.5 bars when pulling a shot; machine lets me go to a finer grind; pump is really quiet (some rattling heard is due to the accessories I put on top). Bottomless portafilter on its way...

(Notice how my tamping is not exactly perfect)

 

[Zero000]

Triple shot from a Rocket bottomless PF from my Rocket.

Watching a bottomless work provides endless fascination.

 

[the sound of Tao]

Those coffees look super tasty.

My mate runs bottomless on his lever machine. It is always awesome to watch... ( the bottomless portafilter that is).

Bottomless will be the way I’ll go when I get my new machine as well... even though it sounds wrong when you say it out aloud

 

[DaveC]

Anyone do any latte art?

I like cortados and use an 8 oz Motta pitcher to steam ~2 oz of milk... not the easiest drink for art but it's fun to try. Latte art is far, far more difficult than it looks!

 

[ack]

Getting there, Dave and Justin...

Here are the first results with the bottomless portafilter... still learning, going to be a fun weekend

 

[RogerD]

It seems my audio OCD has transferred over to the part of my brain that controls my Espresso addiction. I just couldn’t resist when I saw this Faema semi automatic for sale...cheap. The unit had a maintenance contract as I did a little research. Even if I have to dump a 1k+ into it, I’ll still be ok. It weighs 200 pounds and the boiler holds 4.5 gallons...crazy yes, but I couldn’t resist. The unit will be on the back of my bar downstairs where my stereo is and the HT.
I buy everything by the pound....lol

 

[KeithR]

question espresso snobs - is Blue Bottle considered the real deal for espresso while out and about?

it seems most poo-poo on Starbucks espresso these days.

 

[ack]

Blue Bottle the real deal? Hardly, I would say. In fact, quite average the couple of times I tried it. Fancy locations though.

 

[Folsom]

Starbucks was never average. They keep consistent taste by making charcoal. It works fine when you want to add some coffee to you sugar and cream.

 

[ack]

LOL!!!

 

[KeithR]

Blue Bottle the real deal? Hardly, I would say. In fact, quite average the couple of times I tried it. Fancy locations though.

so what's the best chain out there? Peet's?

 

[ack]

Personally, I really don’t know, and to be honest, I loved Peet’s Major Dickason until they sold out and they also turned that into charcoal as well. Now I don’t go anywhere near Peet’s.

 

[RogerD]

When Starbucks Venti mochas went over 4 bucks I really started appreciating my Espresso machine. It’s paid for itself 5 times over. It’s really hard.to find consistently good coffee at any chains around where I am.

 

[VLS]

so what's the best chain out there? Peet's?

I have recently been pleasantly surprised by the quality of Caffè Nero, a UK chain that has sprung up all over Boston. Not sure what inroads they have made elsewhere in the country. IMHO substantially better than Peets (and Stabucks, natch).