Shaun, that story is pretty dang sad. I don't know how any self-respecting barista would ever save a shot, whether in a fridge or even on top of the cup warmer or anything. It's a fine window of time when it's good, nevermind pouring it into a cold cup (and thus disturbing it further, although I know this is very common at cafes, sadly), etc. What I find interesting is that the difference between the top cafes and pretty much everyone else is just huge. Make that massive. To me it comes down to something I want to drink, and really like going to when I have the chance, vs. just simply not buying espresso from cafes. The general public is mostly clueless, and the overall state of things is really sad. I often wonder if, at least here in the US, whether we'll ever be a country/people/culture that appreciates a good espresso. It makes me sad that I can't enjoy going to 99% of cafes with friends to hang out, enjoy the company AND the coffee. There will always be a spectrum of quality, but right now I feel like the amount even worth drinking, once you've had/know at least "good" espresso (and I'm not even saying "great"!) is basically incredibly rare.
On Wed, Jan 28, 2009 at 10:55 AM, Shaun Taylor <[email protected]>wrote: > > If you ever decide to come this way, let me know and I'll gladly have an > Americano ready for you. ;-) > > I spent a couple of days wandering around in Amsterdam as part of a trip > through Europe, but that was over 20yrs ago. I wasn't so much interested in > espresso at the time but as I recall the factory Heineken wasn't too bad, > hahaha. > > My personal preference is for a double ristretto also, I don't pull over > 1.75oz too often and I find I typically pull 1.25-1.5oz on average, but > again it really depends on what the coffee is telling me to do at the time. > I'm just about to go pull a blend of Fazenda Vista Allegre/Sanani/Elida > Natural, the FVA and Sanani were pre-roast blended at 80%/20% and I will > post-roast blend the Elida ratio depending on what I get from the first > shot > which I'm going to guesstimate at FVA 70%, Sanani 15%, Elida 15% (or > something like that). It should make for a nice double ristretto pull then > built into the 4oz latte. > > I don't want to speak for the entire US (I can really only speak for my own > kitchen, haha) but it's been my observation that single basket is not > typical on a semi-auto, now if we are talking about a super-auto like a > Starbucks location as an example where they will extract a single, well > that's an entirely different conversation but then it's not really coffee > in > my opinion. If you walk into a good independent café and see Espresso on > the > board is common to get a double basket loaded with approx 15-18gms and > extracted to approx 1.75oz volume; some places you can just call "can I get > an espresso" in some places it might be "can I get a double" or "can I get > a > shot" each indie tends to have its own character and definitions. It's also > possible to order "can I get one espresso and a biscotti" and receive a > double espresso or a single espresso and I will give you a recent example > of > a scenario I faced... Into a small independent café, chatted with the > owner/barista who was a nice enough fellow, he convinced me to try his > espresso and so I said "sure set me up" and paid. I watched him load a > double basket with approx 16gms, because he wasn't working from a > bottomless > PF he pulled the shot into two shot glasses (which I thought was a bit odd) > then he transferred one of the shot glasses into a cold demitasse and > handed > it to me. He picked up the other shot glass and put it into his under bar > fridge and said "I'll save that for the next customer". My shot was lousy. > I'm sure that shot that went to the next customer was lousy... and cold. > Next time I drove past the place (with no intention of stopping in) I saw > it > was out of business. And so, there really are no fixed rules for > terminology, standards or quality out in the retail space - but I do know > my > BII and I understand each other. ;-) > > I haven't tried the Wallenford Estate, it's a bit too pricey for my needs > and so I don't see it making it into my greens collection. I always buy > with > an eye to espresso, with an occasional nod to a great bean for my wife's > pour-over. I buy all my greens at a green bean buying cooperative called > GCBC and they really do have a great thing going along with some excellent > greens for a great price, plus some very knowledgeable coffee fanatics. If > you find time you can go check it out: > > http://www.greencoffeebuyingclub.com/ > > I'm off for a shot. > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > -- > > Shaun Taylor > > http://shaundoreenevankeegan.blogspot.com/ > > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf > Of E. Masseurs > Sent: 28 January 2009 09:43 > To: [email protected] > Subject: RE: Quick regular without changing the grind > > > Thanks again shaun. > > Texas is still on my wish list. Seen the big apple and new jersey a couple > of times, so I get the impression ;-) > > Just wanted to set one thing straight though... > It's not me who likes this 5oz cup, it's an alternative developed > for people who don't like americano's. Back here in Amsterdam > we get all sorts of orders, which keep you going on experimenting, > with a slight danger of getting confused sometimes. That's why it's > very interesting (and helpful) to get in touch with people like you. > > As for myself, I'm used to much stronger stuff, like ristrettos. > And actually come to think of it, your 18 gram 1.5 oz yield (if made > in 25 seconds, is exactly what we call a double ristretto over here. > We make single ristrettos out of 9 grm single basket yielding 0.75z > in 25 seconds. If doubled I get your recipe! Hello... anybody home... > sorry it took me so long. So there we are... probably another thing > clarified. For my understanding... since you mentioned there's no > single basket used anymore in the USA, do they now call this double > ristretto a single espresso over there? > > Peace, > Hybrid > > BTW, did you happen to have tried Jamaica Blue Mountain, Wallenford Estate > (Washed Arabica) yet? > > > > > > -- Chris Bailey [email protected] --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
