harrymanback Senior Member Joined: 15 May 2007 Posts: 214 Location: slo*cal Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: expobar brewtus ii Grinder: la cimbali md6, baratza... Drip: nah...bodum press(es) Roaster: modded wear•ever popcorn...
Posted Tue Aug 17, 2010, 8:32pm Subject: re: espresso 2010 by mark prince
sorry to confuse; i'm aware that most specialty roasters blend post-roast. my original statement should have be read as finding [flavors from different lots roasted seperately with their appropriate] roast profile that work well together [as a blend when pulled on an espresso machine] at the same [group head] temperature. . .
and my question remains: who here drinks "single origin" drip / press / siphon / chemex / pour-over. . . vs. "blends?"
what i glossed over in my original post was that yes, espresso does "pop" some flavors as a s.o. that may be part of something more complex in another brewing method. but should there really be a rule: s.o. as coffee, blend as espresso? blending as espresso may create balance or interesting flavor combinations, but you also lose a bit of each ingredient's "pop" in doing so, as well as any of each ingredient's subtleties that lingered in the background of the s.o.
harry.
"i should pull up the hardwood to see if there's carpet underneath! . . . no, that's never the case."
Waxteeth Senior Member Joined: 26 May 2010 Posts: 16 Location: Denver Colorado Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Modded up Carezza Grinder: Rocky Vac Pot: Yama Drip: Various pour overs Roaster: BuzzRoaster and SC/TO
Posted Wed Aug 18, 2010, 6:05pm Subject: Re: Espresso 2010 by Mark Prince
EDIT - When posting I did not realize the second article had been posted already.
Now that I've read both parts I guess I'll just say that I do not agree with much of this article.
I have a semi standard thing I normally say in situations like this and it goes something like... At the end of the day personal taste and expectation are most important when it comes to coffee/espresso. Some people will feel more comfortable with a very specific type of cup for instance. They expect and "know" that espresso is a specific thing. I think maybe this is what the OP is getting at. I normally say there is nothing wrong with that but in a way this article is pressing the notion that this view is "correct".
While I think it's far from correct and could go on for a good long while about the virtues of SO shots, expanding your thoughts about what espresso is capable of being, and exploration of coffee in general I'm aware that my opinion is only correct for me and as well....so it's just an opinion.
I think many of the ideas in this article come face to face with opposition right way, like the idea that SO shots are simplistic. It pretty much screams out "then I guess you have only had simple coffee to work with".
I've had hundreds of SO shots that are anything but the simplistic, one dimensional, boring, un-capable shots this article says must be blended in order to be worthy.
I guess I'm just lost on the entire concept of this article.
Posted Sat Aug 21, 2010, 10:12am Subject: Re: Espresso 2010 by Mark Prince
MarshallF Said:
It isn't a religion; it's a beverage. If a trustworthy barista recommends a new SO, I'll usually try it. If I like it a lot, I'll buy a bag. It's that simple. At least 80% of my home espressos are blends, but I'm constantly rotating through the offerings of my favorite local roasters. I'd give up espresso from boredom, if it were always the same.
It's like eating your absolute favorite dish 3 times a day for the rest of your life.
Blends are usually tuned towards a goal, like "works good with milk" or "as straight espresso" or "100% organic version of our ... espresso". But once a roaster has found that profile that they like, how many blends would they offer? What's their blending goal, can they all be outstanding? So most of them settle for 2-3 espresso blends. And people that don't just try to get caffeinated by habit might get bored with those 2-3 blends after a while, that's where even outstanding roasters can loose a substantial fraction of consumers' business (not coffee shops). Single Origin to the rescue! Offer an interesting SO espresso every now and then (and before people get bored with that SO offering, rotate to a different one) and the consumers who liked your espresso blend in the first place will keep buying more of your espresso offerings. At least that's my experience. None of the SO coffee's I've bought from roasters were the "ultimate experience", but I keep trying SO coffee because 1) I like to experience unblended espresso for the educational experience, and 2) I like to fiddle with brewing parameters. But really I don't like to be bored, like Marshall said.
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