CowBelle Senior Member Joined: 26 May 2004 Posts: 7 Location: Kansas City/Lexington, MO Expertise: Just starting
Posted Sun Jun 13, 2004, 11:36am Subject: Re: General questions in regards to espresso brewing
So far, so good. Thanks for asking!
Our short person now has a different tamper so she can get a better grip during tamping. Found an unused mousepad, turned it upside down so she has traction under the pf, and she is good to go. She pulls great shots now.
It's kind of annoying when people order foofy crap. "decaf capp with caramel and nonfat milk" Will have to get over that.
Also learned the hard way not to wear opened toed shoes when bleeding the steam wand and not using a towel. ;-)
The health inspector came in and we did awesome. The only thing we needed to change was which sink we are using for hand washing (the little sink in the pic). We weren't using it at all and I was keeping my knock box in there, which he didn't like.
Everyone really liked what I made them, or claimed they did. If they didn't, but said they did, then oh well. A lot of people came back on day 2 (yesterday) and ordered another. Even tried out some latte art. I suck, but the crema/microfoam is there.
We're doing 8th Continent soy as our "default" milk. Does anyone else do soy most of the time? Also when you do decaf espresso, how do you keep it as separate as possible from the regular? Do you have a different grinder? Or buy it ground and freeze it?
I'm so glad I went to a barista jam before we opened so I know what sh!tty espresso is and how to avoid making it. Can't wait to go back for the next one. I can see how one can do this for many years and still feel like there is much more to learn.
KimberlyMacIntosh Senior Member Joined: 15 May 2004 Posts: 32 Location: Washington the State Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Isomac Millennium, Salvatore... Grinder: Nuova Simonelli MCI... Drip: French Press Roaster: Behmor 1600 & Fresh Roast 8
Posted Sun Jun 13, 2004, 12:05pm Subject: Re: General questions in regards to espresso brewing
Soy milk is your default if the customer doesn't specify something else? I hope you have that posted in big letters somewhere. I would be surprised if I got soy milk without requesting it. I don't usually go out for espresso, and when I do I just keep it simple and don't ask for a particular milk. I personally dislike soy milk and would probably just think there was something wrong with my latte and not come back. Like I said I don't go out for espresso often, but if you are doing something out of the "norm" I would make sure my customers knew that so they aren't surprised. Your shop looks great and congrats on passing your health inspection!
CowBelle Senior Member Joined: 26 May 2004 Posts: 7 Location: Kansas City/Lexington, MO Expertise: Just starting
Posted Sun Jun 13, 2004, 1:01pm Subject: Re: General questions in regards to espresso brewing
Thanks for the compliment on our shop. We are really pleased with how it turned out. :)
It's on our menu that we do soy, but most of the time we ask anyway. The town that the shop is in is really small and we have few options for milk. The grocery sells milk that smells not-quite-sour (but tastes OK) even when freshly bought/opened. It is gross. Our other option for milk is WalMart. Maybe next week, we'll switch it to have cowmilk as our 'regular' milk because the locals might just be used to it.
8th Continent is really good. Silk didn't nail taste as well as 8th C. (Not sure which you've tried)
Posted Sun Jun 13, 2004, 8:03pm Subject: Re: General questions in regards to espresso brewing
I do soy lattes and caps at home about 90% of the time. My wife and daughter usually each drink two or three doubles a day. I go through about 2 cases of soy milk a week. A lot of that goes into our morning oatmeal. I haven't tried 8th continent in my coffee but it didn't strike me as significantly different in my oatmeal ;-)). I'm glad everything is going well.
IMO, the 8th Continent vanilla is alot sweeter than the Silk vanilla. For some reason, I've never tried Silk/8th Continent plain. I think it's a mental block from the pre-Silk days when soymilk only came in the asceptic cartons & was thick, brown, gooey stuff & you had to get the vanilla since it was more palatable..... (I still get shivers just thinking about it!).
I've been making most of my own soymilk for the past ~3 years with a Soyajoy. I add a bit of salt & vanilla to it & it tastes very similar to moo milk (IMO).
Nocculast Senior Member Joined: 2 Jun 2004 Posts: 6 Location: Indianapolis Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: gaggia carezza Grinder: gaggia mm--good for espresso... Vac Pot: nope-- columbia press pot... Drip: manual; open pot Roaster: Whirley Pop Popper
Posted Thu Jul 1, 2004, 11:58am Subject: Re: General questions in regards to espresso brewing
Greetings everyone, Sorry I have been MIA--summer school, working fulltime, and various other commitments have obstructed my computer chat time. Also, I didn't have a computer there for awhile. I just wanted to let everyone know that I am roasting now--mind you it is only a stove top roaster (the whirley pop) but so far so good--still getting the hang of it....and the coffee is much fresher. I am still having trouble with my espresso shots, but I am making progress...I still haven't figured out how blonde is blonde (does anyone have a picture?!!!) I have really been trying to be more systematic with my shots, varying tamping pressure first rather than jumping to a different grind (I have a Gaggia MM, 9 step grind adjustment) But I am still pulling maybe just an ounce or maybe an ounce and a quarter of espresso with a double shot basket with in the range of 20-26 seconds (those are the extreme ends of time; it is usually somewhere in the middle) I have also been reading about home roasting and coffee in general but time is something I don't have a lot of (or I am using it to practice my espresso, my roasting, or reading about coffee. Anyway, I would like to talk to everyone more about the questions I posed earlier ((starbucks, "super-automatcis"; (I know, I know, it has been about a month or two) but I would really like to look at the cultue side of coffee as well (one of my majors being anthropology--) so the social aspect (as well as political, and economical interests me as well) Maybe I can start another topic (and make it a priority to stick with it; Would anyone be interested?
Also, I wanted to say hi to CowBelle and congrats on the new shop, welcome you too,....thanks for the shout out...good luck with your new shop--I checked your website--looks really nice.
eimports Senior Member Joined: 28 Oct 2004 Posts: 2 Location: State of Wa Expertise: Professional
Posted Thu Oct 28, 2004, 10:56pm Subject: The Perfect Shot of Espresso
The perfect shot of Espresso: ------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------
Use 7-9 Grams of Ground Coffee (Arabica Coffee Beans are Recommended for Espresso)
1 oz of Water
Brewing Time: 28-30 Seconds
Very Fine Grind
The water temperature should be around 195-200 degrees F
Water Pressure should be at 8-10 bars. (140 pounds / square inch)
*** Driving out the oils from grounds is what actually makes a proper espresso. This can only be done using an Espresso Machine. If oils are not extracted properly, all you have is brewed coffee.
About 20% of Grinds should extract and come out along with the hot water. The rest of the grinds should not be used for a second shot; because on the 2nd and 3rd shot, you will only extract bad grinds, which causes poor flavor.
Another thing to keep in mind is that an espresso must flow out like warm honey, and you should immediately start to see the cream pour out at the top of an espresso shot.
Crema is a good sign that you have a PROPER espresso. Crema also attaches to the taste buds, which provides long after-taste.
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