Posted Sat Aug 21, 2004, 7:21am Subject: Re: Counter Culture Coffee EspressoFest in Durham, NC
Cindy at CCC hosted this week's espresso lab. Some of us, including myself, are under the gun from "The Man" (our employer), so the session was uncharacteristically short. When I arrived at 7:30am, Cindy was already busy evaluating commercial espresso barware for a client, seeing how well it worked for pouring latte art.
For the most part we all sat back and enjoyed her wonderful creations. She did give me a few quick hints, then I tried my hand at a rosetta or two. Fortunately there were no cameras to record the moment. Her suggestion proved very helpful this morning (essentially she said I pour too fast and need to be patient while the bloom develops). So without further ado, below is my feeble first "home attempt" at latte art (please, no laughing). It's too foamy for a nice pattern, but I felt like a little extra thickness this morning (hmmm-m, looks more like an Olympic torch than rosetta :-). Thanks Cindy!
Peter returned from his vacation in Hawaii. Cindy tells me that he's a consummate last-minute planner. True to form, he's ready to spring into action next week to put the finishing touches on the EspressoFest. Stay tuned.
beta14ok Senior Member Joined: 3 Mar 2003 Posts: 41 Location: Apex, NC Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Isomac Mondiale Grinder: Faema S6..or jez crunchum w/... Vac Pot: Nope....Press-Pot only Drip: Nope....Press-Pot only Roaster: Counter-Culture-Coffee!
Posted Sun Aug 22, 2004, 5:10pm Subject: Re: Counter Culture Coffee EspressoFest in Durham, NC
I had a good time also. Under Cynthia's eyes, I had a go at trying to harness the power of the Linea's steam. "Holy-mother-of-Pearl"....that thing cranks. I'm used to the Isomac...which is just fine, but not anything as powerful as this LM beast. I wasted a fair amount of milk making "BAB"s...and drinking a fair amount of mistakes...oh well!!
Here's my efforts with a macchiato from the Isomac.
beta14ok Senior Member Joined: 3 Mar 2003 Posts: 41 Location: Apex, NC Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Isomac Mondiale Grinder: Faema S6..or jez crunchum w/... Vac Pot: Nope....Press-Pot only Drip: Nope....Press-Pot only Roaster: Counter-Culture-Coffee!
Posted Fri Aug 27, 2004, 8:28am Subject: Re: Friday Espresso Lab at Counter Culture Coffee in Durham, NC
Friday, August 27, 2004
Man!..... it was quiet at Counter Culture Coffee (CCC) for the standing Friday morning Espresso Geek Lab. Cynthia and I had the place to ourselves. We used the time to run tests with a “bottomless” portafilter (PF) that has been “all-the-rage” in other forums here. CCC now has matching 15 degree LM portafilters…..one with the standard double spout and one with the bottom chopped-out. Test were done a LM Linea triple programmed for 35 second pulls (yeah…I know, but we were going for reduction of variables and full visualization of the pour). Espresso blend was the excellent Toscano 2004 blend from CCC. Unfortunately I didn’t have a digital camera to capture the moments. Pulls through the bottomless PF were lovely to watch and produced dense volumous crema. Side-by-side pulls using the hardware noted above revealed that the volume, once the crema settled, was identical to that produced with the standard PF. I thought that the espresso produced with the standard PF had a slightly better taste…just a little more caramel, but the pulls through the bottomless PF had a different, denser, mouth-feel. Cynthia whipped-out some lovely lattes making beautiful hearts in the dense crema. I have an extra PF at home, an ol’ LM copy, that needs modification anyway because the bayonet tangs are too thick to lock into my Isomac……I believe that I may just need to slice-off the bottom of the PF when I get-around to grinding the tangs. Then I can play with this concept at home also…..even using a triple basket!
Daryn wandered-in around 8:00 or so……shocked that it was so quiet…..then immediately recognized Dan’s absence. Get healthy Dan!! We chatted a little with Daryn about the “talk” on coffeegeek.com using the terms “crotchless”, “bottomless”, “taking the pants off”, etc………..he quickly coined the term “pornofilter” for the abbreviated PFs…….what a hoot!
We should mess around with this some more next week! It’s fun to watch, but we’re always talking about temperature stability and Dan’s into measuring temperatures at different points in the apparatus…….seems to me that slicing-off the PF bottom is like going the opposite direction with regard to temperature stability. Such questions are for bigger brains than mine. Next week Dan could bring his meters and probes and figure it all out. I’ll drink the espresso.
Daryn Senior Member Joined: 6 Aug 2004 Posts: 23 Location: Durham, NC Expertise: Professional
Posted Fri Sep 10, 2004, 6:13am Subject: Re: Friday Espresso Lab at Counter Culture Coffee in Durham, NC
As often happens, Mike brought a mystery blend to this weeks espresso session. We started affectionately referring to it as the “fruit bucket” blend. Modeled after a Sweet Maria’s blend called Moka Kadir, the coffee was an Ethiopian monster with a touch of Uganda and Yemen. Get this: Ethiopia Ghimbi, Ethiopia Sidamo, Ethiopia Harrar, Yemen Mocha Ismali, and Uganda Bugisu. The first shot was huge with cherry and berries, big on acidity but not overwhelming. Later, shots settled down a little and when I tasted it I got a clear reminder of toast with jelly (old school diner style, you know with that yummy fake butter stuff they slather all over it). The body came out too, and it was quite a nice shot.
Dan continued working with Intelligentsia’s Black Cat blend in an ongoing comparison between shots drawn from heat exchanger systems and La Marzocco. Theory goes that different flavors come out between the two because in a HX system, there is a momentary “warm up” of temperature and pressure when the pump starts the water through the group. This causes a spiked profile of extraction. In a La Marzocco, during the shot duration, the pressure and temperature are much more consistent through the shot, producing a different profile. Which one is better? Why don’t you join us next Friday and judge for yourself?
CupaJoeKid Senior Member Joined: 21 Jun 2003 Posts: 208 Location: Cary, NC Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Silvia w/ PID, pressure mod Grinder: Mazzer Mini P Vac Pot: nada, french press Drip: See french press Roaster: WB Poppery II w/ control box
Posted Fri Oct 15, 2004, 6:16am Subject: Re: Friday Espresso Lab at Counter Culture Coffee in Durham, NC
About time to get a refresh on this thread... We continue to meet each week starting around 7:30AM at CCC - please come by to join us!
We were hosted by Serena today who is also the person who is kindly coordinating the CCC Espresso Fest (thread here: "Counter Culture Coffee EspressoFest 2004" - get your reservation in!). Super to meet a new face from CCC and we had a great, if brief, time before we all had to run to work.
This weeks blend that I brought was 50% Brazil Ipanema, 20% Sulawesi, 20% El Salvador and 10% Yemen Mocha Ismali. It was roasted in two batches, with the second half taken long via extending between first and second crack for a total roast time of 19 minutes (a trick that Peter of CCC recommended to get the best out of the Sulawesi).
The profile on the shot out of the CCC machine was nice, especially when pulled short and more toward 30 seconds. The crema had a bit of tiger flecking (usually not a strong point of the CCC LM machine) and a good chestnut color. Aroma had a bit of fruit in it, but was more muted due to the long roast on that half of the blend. Initial taste had a good sweetness from the ElSal and perhaps a bit of acidity before it mellowed into a smooth chocolate (Serena got butter as well). Good body, and a nice lingering aftertaste. Big kudos to Peter for the roasting tip.
CupaJoeKid Senior Member Joined: 21 Jun 2003 Posts: 208 Location: Cary, NC Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Silvia w/ PID, pressure mod Grinder: Mazzer Mini P Vac Pot: nada, french press Drip: See french press Roaster: WB Poppery II w/ control box
Posted Fri Oct 29, 2004, 7:48am Subject: Re: Friday Espresso Lab at Counter Culture Coffee in Durham, NC
Another good morning at CCC, this time Cindy was our esteemed host. My blend this week was 50% Brazil Ipanema, 20% Sulawesi, 20% El Salvador COE sample and 10% Eth Ghimbi. It came out good enough, but didn't send off any rockets for anyone. Cindy pulled a staggering number of Forte shots, a nice variation off the Toscano that we usually drink as the house selection. Plans sound like they are coming together for Espresso Fest. Gee was in early, always nice to pull up at 7:20AM and already smell the coffee exhaust!
A good day to drink coffee! Cloudy, cool and the leaves changing by the minute.
Posted Sat Nov 13, 2004, 5:35pm Subject: Re: Friday Espresso Lab at Counter Culture Coffee in Durham, NC
With all the EspressoFest planning, we've neglected to post the happenings on Friday...
We were joined by newcomer Lino Verna, who brought along a disassembled new E61 grouphead for our curious minds (below). Lino designs and builds espresso machines "for fun" and recently finished one. Unfortunately he only heard about the EspressoFest last week and he'd already shipped it off to his father. The pictures and specs he shared were interesting -- huge boiler and modified direct bolt-on E61 grouphead. I promised to tear the panels off any machine he wants to inspect on the 20th. It was nice to have a "gear head" to chat with -- welcome Lino!
Richard also rejoined us after a long absence. Peter emerged from the fields of Peru. Mike brought his weekly homeroast. Most of us sat back and enjoyed the company and top-notch service, courtesy of Mike and Daryn. :-)
Posted Fri Dec 10, 2004, 6:48pm Subject: Re: Friday Espresso Lab at Counter Culture Coffee in Durham, NC
Almost everyone at this Friday's session were former Silvia owners. This convinced newcomer John Conte to bring in his shiny-new Silvia for some group suggestions. I took the opportunity to check the temperature stability and was surprised to see a ten degree drop over the course of the shot. Hmm-m, an accurate measurement or could it be that the TC wire was fraying... ?
Daryn mentioned that the SCAA Southeast Regional Barista Competition is coming January 28th to Chapel Hill. He chided me about entering, knowing full well that I can barely prepare one good espresso in 15 minutes, let alone 12 (inside joke). Maybe I can get a primo vantage point carrying cups or something. Daryn, who won last year's regional, will not enter this year. He offered some lame excuse about having to work, family, blah blah blah... ;-)
CupaJoeKid Senior Member Joined: 21 Jun 2003 Posts: 208 Location: Cary, NC Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Silvia w/ PID, pressure mod Grinder: Mazzer Mini P Vac Pot: nada, french press Drip: See french press Roaster: WB Poppery II w/ control box
Posted Fri Dec 17, 2004, 11:35am Subject: Re: Friday Espresso Lab at Counter Culture Coffee in Durham, NC
Well today we started with Peter keeping a secret of what was in the grinder, and me on the LM pulling shots. After me using up half the beans trying to dial in the shots amid a chorus of comments like "Whew, what are you doing to these shots? That thing nearly took my head off!", Peter finally 'fessed up and told us that we were drinking straight Sumatra (or was it Sulawesi)!
OK, let the record reflect that Peter's Sumatra in a triple basket pulled into a single 1oz shot from a bottomless portafilter will definitely wake you up.
Since we were on a roll with the single varietal theme, Peter went back and pulled out another sample, which we later found out was straight Kenya AA, and a very nice one indeed do they stock. [man, I'm typing like Yoda talks, that must have been a lot of caffeine this morning].
I didn't get the full gist of the conversation between Lino and Dan on boiler temp control, but it sounded intense. Lino also brought his custom made jig for cutting bottom-less portafilters. The jig itself was a work of art itself!
Come join us next time you are in the neighborhood.
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