Followup on drinking SO vs blend espressos. On Tuesday September fourth I went to Ritual in San Francisco and had two double espressos. Both had lots of clarity and I could easily taste the different flavors in the espresso. To my palate the top was bright, sweet, fruity (orange?). The bottom was complex with chocolate. The after taste was almost nicer than the espresso itself. Point is, it didn't feel like I was just drinking an espresso made from a blend with a single complex taste. It felt more like I was drinking four seperate SO espressos, but all in the same cup. So because of this clarity of multiple flavors the Ritual espresso was definately more satisfying than drinking a single SO shot. I took these pics at Ritual in July but the espressos look the same as I had on September fourth. No tiger spots, just an even brown color with small bubbles in the crema.
altoCalgary Senior Member Joined: 15 Oct 2006 Posts: 2 Location: Calgary Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: GS/3 Grinder: Mazzer Mini B Roaster: Gene Cafe
Posted Tue Sep 18, 2007, 1:03pm Subject: Re: From Alberta to Esmeralda by Mark Prince
I am sorry that I was not able to come to JJ when you visited, Mark. Those I talked with afterward had a great time.
On another tack, I want to offer a few other thoughts on the SO discussion. Since my GS/3 arrived a while ago, I have been using every opportunity to try out SOs on it - some with more success than others. Hey, why not use some of the world's best coffees to develop a deeper understanding of both the GS/3 and of the SOs themselves? Anyway, when I was talking with Vince Piccolo last week, I mentioned that I was on an SO quest. He questioned why I would do such a thing and offered some interesting reasons. First, he said some SOs naturally work well as espressos. He gave Ethiopians as one example. Others do not. The second point that he made was that at 49th Parallel, they create SO roast profiles that fit the Clover, French Press, etc. world. However, he said he could also create roast profiles for SOs as espresso.
On yet another tack, I think one of the aspects of greatness that revolutionary espresso machines such as the GS/3 and Synesso offer is the breaking of traditions and the freedom it gives the barista or the passionate amateur to explore the old and make it new again. My GS/3 has about 40 temperature settings between 195 and 204 F. How many of us have had the opportunity to try out all of this range with one coffee to notice the good and the bad along the way. Is there some kind of sine wave of sweet spots? How big are the spots themselves? Instead of a flight of roasts, this is a flight of temperatures. Like a flight of varying roasts, climbing up or down the sweet-spot-temperature ladder may reveal the richness and depth of the coffee that other approaches, i.e., coffee cupping, may not be able to highlight in the same way.
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post
Forum Rules: No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards. No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum. No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum. Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards. Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics. Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies. Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies. Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts. Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.
![GaryH: SemiconWest_Ritual_5.jpg](javascript:ImagePopup("/images/34437/SemiconWest_Ritual_5.jpg", 607, 630, "GaryH: SemiconWest_Ritual_5.jpg");)
= No New Posts since last visit 