OLIVER1 Senior Member Joined: 27 Dec 2011 Posts: 26 Location: GREER, SC Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Rancilio Silvia Grinder: Rancilio Rocky
Posted Tue Dec 27, 2011, 6:33am Subject: BLACK CAT CLASSIC ESPRESSO
Am a long time (>20 years) semi-pro home barista and for the last 15 years or so have been using espresso beans from Porto Rico Importing.
I have the Rancilio Silvia with the Rocky Grinder/Doser mboth are about 10 years old.
Received 3 different Black Cat beans for Christmas and did the Black Cat Classic Espresso for breakfast this morning. Was slightly dissappointed. I would say it was maybe marginally better than the Organic Fair Trade Espresso from Porto Rico and the length of time that the crema stayed on top of the cup was shorter by a factor of 2-3 times for the Black Cat.
JasonBrandtLewis Senior Member Joined: 9 Dec 2005 Posts: 6,099 Location: Berkeley, CA Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Elektra T1 - La Valentina -... Grinder: Mahlkönig K30 Vario -... Vac Pot: Yama 5-cup Drip: CCD, Chemex Roaster: No, no, not another...
Posted Tue Dec 27, 2011, 6:52am Subject: Re: Black Cat Classic Espresso
What sort of comment would you like? What sort of comment are you looking for?
It's impossible to "critique your shot," as you have not told us the age of the beans, the weight of your dose, etc., etc. As far as taste is concerned, it all boils down to the 3P Factor . . . Personal Palate Preference. Some people love Black Cat; some do not. Neither is "right" or "wrong" -- it's personal, after all.
I'm not trying to be difficult; I'm just not sure what you're after . . .
OLIVER1 Senior Member Joined: 27 Dec 2011 Posts: 26 Location: GREER, SC Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Rancilio Silvia Grinder: Rancilio Rocky
Posted Tue Dec 27, 2011, 7:01am Subject: Re: Black Cat Classic Espresso
Not sure what I am after as well and agree with the 3P's.
Appreciate that it comes down to intangibles as well. It's just that there were so many raving reviews of Black Cat that I guess I was expecting more of a difference between what I currently use (Porto Rico Organic Free Trade) and an expensive blend. Was also dissappointed in how long the crema lasted.
Anyway, thanks for the reply and understand you were not rying to be difficult.
calblacksmith Moderator Joined: 25 Nov 2007 Posts: 5,679 Location: Riverside, Ca, U.S.A. Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: ECM Veneziano A1 Grinder: Many different commercial Vac Pot: 40s era Silex Drip: Milita, Bunn&Curtis... Roaster: Cast iron pan, gas burner
Posted Tue Dec 27, 2011, 7:02am Subject: Re: Black Cat Classic Espresso
Also, keep in mind, black cat is a continuing and evolving blend. It varies from season to season and year to year depending on what beans are available. As Jason said, what kind of comment are you expecting to hear? I have had it several times and frankly I prefer other blends better. This is not a knock on black cat, not at all, it is a high quality product but for the taste buds in MY mouth, I prefer other blends and SOs. Black cat is not alone in my mouth as not being a favorite, from Klatch, I like Bella and WBC but really do not care at all for FTO.
In real life, my name is Wayne P.
Feed the newbs, starve the trolls and above all enjoy what you drink!
OLIVER1 Senior Member Joined: 27 Dec 2011 Posts: 26 Location: GREER, SC Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Rancilio Silvia Grinder: Rancilio Rocky
Posted Tue Dec 27, 2011, 8:04am Subject: Re: BLACK CAT CLASSIC ESPRESSO
Yes, small world.
I'll give it a whirl after I go thru my Black Cat (3#) and my remaining 8# of various Porto Rico Blends. Because of the amount of Espresso I go thru (4-6 double shots daily) it shouldn't take long.
One of my faults (one of many) is that I tend to be a gourmand over gourmet (quantity over quality) and because of the amount of beans I go thru, I am trying to balance cost with quality. Was given the Black Cat as a Christmas gift (I admit I picked it out based on the fact that Coffee Geek used it for the machine testing) but will keep searching. I am relatively happy with the Porto Rico Organic Fair Trade Espresso at $10/# http://portorico.com/
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"You can write down how to make the perfect cup of coffee. But to make it really good, you have to play something fictional, you have to dress up, you have to think, This is the most important thing."
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