Shaun I have given up trying to pull any shots with Kenyans. Too many sink shots looking for the one g-d shot.
On Tue, Jan 27, 2009 at 8:15 AM, onemoreshot <[email protected]> wrote: > > Haha, if you think everything is bigger in the US, you need to know I > moved from Canada 1.5yrs ago to...Texas (and this state redefines > big). ;-) > > Glad to hear you compared the 18gm against the 10gm. I'm not surprised > the 10gm tasted like it had more "flavor", it was probably "punchier" > and "bigger". I think the over-extraction would show through as a more > forceful bevie. > > Now, if you want to turn this into a full experiment you could work at > extracting that 18gm (or 14 - 21gm dose depending on the bean/s and or > the grind setting) so that you are drawing out the full capacity of > the coffee. If you pull the best out of the coffee I think you would > be surprised how much better the double shot plus water can be as > compared to the 5oz water flow-through that you currently like. > > The problem with my suggestion is that it might take you a while to > find out what you like about a particular coffee and then tweak it so > that you are amplifying that characteristic for the Americano. > Example, when I pull an S.O of Gethumbwini Peaberry I try to highlight > the blackcurrant notes, but with this bean any minor variations in > technique or variable choices can swing the shot dramatically, I find > it a hard shot to nail down on a day to day basis, but when I nail it > this shot is so memorable you can remember it all year long. My point > is that I think you should experiment for a couple of weeks with the > double basket and a double dose of coffee to see if you can improve on > the flavor profile. I bet you might be surprised. > > Shaun > > > > "E. Masseurs" wrote: > > Very interesting... so indeed for clarity's sake it's common > in the USA not to use single baskets anymore. Always good > to learn about these things. We use double baskets a lot too > but then to fill 2 separate glasses (actually small coffee cups) > with espresso, not one. Doesn't surprise me though, because > almost everything is used bigger in the states ;-) (j/k!) > > Anyway, now I finally understand your point of view and this > definitely proves we were both comparing different things here. > Glad we got that out of the way. > > So, I've made a new Americano with double basket, 18grams, yielding > 1.5oz espresso in 30 seconds and topped it off till 5oz with hot > water... > For the alternative I've also used a double basket, 10grams, yielding > 5oz espresso in 30 seconds (obviously due to the lack of back-pressure > or extra head space, if you like). > > I'm honest enough to admit the Americano based on 18 grams tasted > better, > but then the funny thing happened... I tasted the 10 grams alternative > and it still had more flavor pallets compared to the Americano. > Isn't that amazing! For me it's got nothing to do with saving on > coffee... > I don't care about that. But it's just amazing that using this 'wrong' > method actually yielded more taste pallets. > > Of course I'll never do this with a naked portafilter, it goes without > saying that I'll turn black instantly :-) That's pretty obvious. > The extra (large) headspace is necessary to yield that 5oz in 30 > seconds, > due to a lack of resistance. > Yet again my theory proved correctly; despite the over extraction, > having the water go 'past' the grind results in more taste with less > amount of coffee. Isn't that interesting? The other thing you might > have noticed too, the Americano crema is severely damaged by pouring > water over it, while the alternative still looks 'acceptable' for the > receiver. > > Not trying to prove anybody wrong at all... these are just my findings > and I invite anybody who's interested to give this a try. Actually I'm > very > grateful we've had this discussion, cause it always brings 'new' data > abroad > to > think about... > The result spoke for itself (to me) and if the financial crisis keeps > hitting 'the fan', it might be considered a (nice to have) money saver > too. > ....at least 7 grams vs. the americano recipe, yet still maintains a > satisfied > client. But that's more commercially thinking, which wasn't my point > at all. > > So, again, my sincere gratitude for this respectful discussion. > It's been a pleasure 'thinking out loud' with you. > > Peace, > Hybrid > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Brewtus" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/brewtus?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
