Java-Joe

Hi, Being from the South, I've never had Coffee Connection coffee, but being in the business, I've been well aware of George Howell's reputation. He has one of the best palate's (sp?) in the coffee business. And despite his reluctance to sell out to SBUX for quite a long time, I don't blame him for taking the $23 million and walking away. Here's a link on his Copa Cafe in Lexington. It must have been written before the temporary "restructuring." http://www.boston.com/dining/globe_review/805 So don't look for a real Coffee Connection. SBUX most likely owns the rights to that name. His roasting business is called GHH Select. It supplies coffee to the Copa Cafe and will likely be a wholesale distributor to other coffee houses and restaurants. Shouldn't be long before a mail order business pops up. He excelled in that business line, too. Joe

lala, Take it from a cajun who doesn't like hot foods, it's not that hot. I like to say that some of our dishes are spicy, but not that hot. Whether you go to Mother's for a po-boy, or get gumbo at a neighborhood restaurant, or trout amandine at Antoine's, you will not get blown away. You probably have to stay away from the Tex-Mex of San Antonio, but not New Orleans. Just ask the wait staff about what dishes may be hot and just get something else. Hot peppers are not a predominant spice in most cajun / creole / New Orleans' restaurants. Joe PS: My only caution is that if you want to order gumbo, ask for a tiny taste before ordering it. That's where you may get caught by surprise!

Thank you Lucille! Joe

A barista, well-trained or newly trained should tell you that 30 lbs of pressure applied (by hand) is what they're supposed to do. That's the proper amount of pressure to apply. This can not be achieved by these "one size fits all" plastic tampers attached to the espresso grinder. A good barista needs to accurately tamp and polish that espresso so that the surface of the espresso is uniform. Won't happen unless it's a hand tamper. The tools of the trade have made great strides in the U.S. One can now find tampers to fit each and every size of portafilter. A coffeehouse owner that really cares about the product being produced will know how to train a barista or will get them trained somehow. The SCAA (Specialty Coffee Assn. of America) has training courses for baristas. And there are some independent businesses, such as Bellissimo what produce a tremendous amount of material for training. The knowledge is out there to be gained. Lets hope the indies and chains use it and improve, improve, improve! Pre-ground espresso, over a day old is considered STALE by those of us who simply want to produce a superior product. Pre-packaged ground espresso is not an option, except for the home user without a grinder. On those espresso grinders there is a thing-a-ma-jig that the grounds pour into and dose out of. That ground espresso should never be more than 24 hours old. 4-6 hours is better. This affects the quality of the crema produced. Please note that I'm not trying to be any kind of authourity, as I'm not a barista, but a member of the trade. I don't want to argue or debate anyone. I'd just like to contribute if I may. Best regard, Joe

I told Msk, that I'd find out some answers for him from folks in the business. I answered this in another thread, but since phaelon56 is creating a thread for this subject, I'd like to post my findings here. So here goes. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ok, seems like this is a hot topic today. I have 2 responses for you. These guys are very knowledgeble and I respect their opinions. Hope it helps. Answer No. 1) "Check and see if all the Baristas are members of the Barista Guild!! (Wait a month or two and then check that one) Basically I would agree that excellent and well prepared (that means all the elements come together with a well trained, passionate craftsperson Barista at the helm) espresso is never bitter. It does NOT make your mouth pucker and make you go EEEWWWWW!! One of our Baristas made a 6oz cappuccino double today and I gave it free to a regular while they were drinking their 20oz double mocha with vanilla sweet tooth drink. I told her just to try it. She did and said WOW! this is very good. What is it? I told her a straight cappucino and she could not believe it. She said but it is so sweet and tasty and not bitter. Then she proceeded to tell me that she did not like the taste of coffee only the sweetness. And then she drank the rest of the cappuccino and did not finish her mocha. So no espresso shold NEVER be all bitter and puckery. That is most likely an overextracted (too course a grind with too much water flowing over it too quickly) shot. It is probably NOT the roast profile although that is a huge effect. Usually it is the Barista not knowing what to do right and making a bad shot. puling excellent shots is NOT easy and automatic. it takes hard work, dedication and craftsmanship." Answer No 2) "he's trying to decide "do i dislike espresso or is this espresso just crap." I guess you could try some of the following: 1 - watch to see if the espresso is ground per shot or pre-ground (the latter is a bad sign), 2 - watch to see if the portafilter is thoroughly cleaned, 3 - time the shot (anything less than 22 seconds is a bad sign as is anything over 30 -- though there are exceptions), 4 - look for portafilters being left in the machine (if the portafilters are out of the group, it's a very bad sign), 5 - evaluate the shot (it should be thick and syrupy, with a classic "red-brown" crema that completely covers the surface and which should support sugar briefly), 6 - watch the barista tamp the espresso. if they're using the "tamper" that is attached to the grinder - bad. if they're using a little plastic tamper - bad. if they're not tamping - bad. 7 - look at the machine. is it clean? does it seem well-maintained? 8 - ask the barista about the beans. who is their roaster? what style of blend and roast is it? what kind of beans are in it? when was it roasted? 9 - order a double espresso ristretto. see what they say. if they say "what's that?" it's a bad sign. 10 - ask the barista how large a double is in ounces. more than 3 ounces is bad. 11 - ask the barista how hard they tamp. any clear answer in pounds is a good sign. 12 - ask the barista how often they clean the portafilters. daily is the minimum. When it comes right down to it, i personally think that good espresso should never taste "bitter" per se. there are, and should be, bitter flavour elements but they should never be out of balance against the sweet, the earthy, the nutty, the chocolate and the other flavour notes. but coffee is all personal taste and i have friends with great palates who simply do not like espresso." OK, those are the answers I got. Hope that helps! Java-Joe

Ok, seems like this is a hot topic today. I have 2 responses for you. These guys are very knowledgeble and I respect their opinions. Hope it helps. Answer No. 1) "Check and see if all the Baristas are members of the Barista Guild!! (Wait a month or two and then check that one) Basically I would agree that excellent and well prepared (that means all the elements come together with a well trained, passionate craftsperson Barista at the helm) espresso is never bitter. It does NOT make your mouth pucker and make you go EEEWWWWW!! One of our Baristas made a 6oz cappuccino double today and I gave it free to a regular while they were drinking their 20oz double mocha with vanilla sweet tooth drink. I told her just to try it. She did and said WOW! this is very good. What is it? I told her a straight cappucino and she could not believe it. She said but it is so sweet and tasty and not bitter. Then she proceeded to tell me that she did not like the taste of coffee only the sweetness. And then she drank the rest of the cappuccino and did not finish her mocha. So no espresso shold NEVER be all bitter and puckery. That is most likely an overextracted (too course a grind with too much water flowing over it too quickly) shot. It is probably NOT the roast profile although that is a huge effect. Usually it is the Barista not knowing what to do right and making a bad shot. puling excellent shots is NOT easy and automatic. it takes hard work, dedication and craftsmanship." Answer No 2) "he's trying to decide "do i dislike espresso or is this espresso just crap." I guess you could try some of the following: 1 - watch to see if the espresso is ground per shot or pre-ground (the latter is a bad sign), 2 - watch to see if the portafilter is thoroughly cleaned, 3 - time the shot (anything less than 22 seconds is a bad sign as is anything over 30 -- though there are exceptions), 4 - look for portafilters being left in the machine (if the portafilters are out of the group, it's a very bad sign), 5 - evaluate the shot (it should be thick and syrupy, with a classic "red-brown" crema that completely covers the surface and which should support sugar briefly), 6 - watch the barista tamp the espresso. if they're using the "tamper" that is attached to the grinder - bad. if they're using a little plastic tamper - bad. if they're not tamping - bad. 7 - look at the machine. is it clean? does it seem well-maintained? 8 - ask the barista about the beans. who is their roaster? what style of blend and roast is it? what kind of beans are in it? when was it roasted? 9 - order a double espresso ristretto. see what they say. if they say "what's that?" it's a bad sign. 10 - ask the barista how large a double is in ounces. more than 3 ounces is bad. 11 - ask the barista how hard they tamp. any clear answer in pounds is a good sign. 12 - ask the barista how often they clean the portafilters. daily is the minimum. When it comes right down to it, i personally think that good espresso should never taste "bitter" per se. there are, and should be, bitter flavour elements but they should never be out of balance against the sweet, the earthy, the nutty, the chocolate and the other flavour notes. but coffee is all personal taste and i have friends with great palates who simply do not like espresso." OK, those are the answers I got. Hope that helps! Java-Joe

Msk........I'm going to get some answers for you asap from some baristi - It will be good information. Moopheus (what does that mean?)...I'll try to address a couple of points. 1) I agree, no coffee should have that "burnt" taste. But then again, there are regional and cultural preferences and roasters produce coffee to suit that need. But no, generally speaking, burnt is not good. not even for espresso in a Caffe Latte!!!! 2) Dark roasting will, in fact, destroy some of the flavor elements of the coffee. There should be some objective to dark roasting. (I'll spare you that discussion). But that's not always a bad thing. I love all the wonderful traits of an Ethiopian Yergacheffe. Lemony, floral, soft. I taste and smell things in coffee that most people don't pick up. It's just what I do! But then again our Yergacheffe Dark Roast is not real French (dark and oily). Yes, it loses some of the mentioned traits, but gains some WONDERFUL ones. It becomes smooth, with hints of chocolate. It's killer stuff! 3) There are regional differences in roasting. On the Left coast, French Roast is darker than Italian Roast. On the East coast, it is the opposite, typically. It can be either way up and down the middle of the country. You takes your chances. Espresso in this country, East or West, is getting lighter as the roasters better understand what the coffeehouses want and their (world-traveling) customers want. I know our espresso has lightened up tremendously over the years. We've even added one that is.........not a medium roast, but real close. It's 1/3 of our sales. Sorry so long winded Joe

Owen, I appreciate that you support the local coffeehouses. The coffeehouse industry has made tremendous progress over the past 10 years, not to slight the overall growth in the past 25 years. The term "barista" is slowly getting to become common place, but only where it is a respected position in each particular coffeehouse. Finally, folks are able to spell espresso, yet drink it. As a roaster, I appreciate your support. You have to admit, it's hard for us Americans to get a shot of espresso, when we can get a "Big Gulp" at the C-store! I don't enjoy drinking espresso too much, but I'm devoted to my Americano's. We rep LaCimbali machines, and I like to make them on a machine we have on the showroom floor. What I'm getting around to saying, is that both the chains and indies have a ways to go to get better, though some have NAILED IT!. Some indie's have no clue what great coffee and espresso are, and never will. It's about the money. I say good riddance to them. Even some chains, have comprimised quality (product and service) in the name of volume, volume, volume. Starbucks is growing like a weed, and the quality is still ok. We all know that they are becoming McDonald-ized, and have or will lose their "cache' " with most coffee drinkers. (I don't want to trash *-buck$s unnecessarily.) Please continue (all of you) to support good coffee houses, regardless of the # of units they operate. Some big ones do *get it* and some little one's don't. Java-Joe

How old would this person be today? I know a little about some of these folks and I can find out some information for you. Joe

Lucille, if you can hear me (!), where is Bodin's? I live in NOLA and am willing to go just so far for boudin. My favorite (and only) place is Champagne's in Breaux Bridge, (home of Jake Delhomme and Ali Landry My mother lives in Lafayette and we'll go through Breaux Bridge to go to Champagnes on the way to her house. Joe

Hi, I too, read that in the paper. As much as I like to see folks drinking (really good quality) coffee, more of it is not the answer to the diabetes health issue. Improving the diet, based on doctors recommendation and some excercise (can you walk around the block a few times?) has proven to help. Joe

Fred, I appreciate your position on the FT/organic topic. It's one that I'm really trying to grasp. Our company sells a large selection of certified FT organic coffees. We have all the promo material from them. I don't think it's a bad "bill of goods." But perhaps it's one sided. I really need to digest more on this subject. Do you buy coffee from Allegro (owned by Whole Foods Market)? They're really into the organic issues, et. al. Also, a fine gentleman by the name of Carl Rand, of Durango Coffee Company, http://www.durangocoffee.com/ may be able to help you with procuring great coffee for your personal use. He's a good guy, and a member of the SCAA Roaster's Guild, an organization of which I, too am a member. Java-Joe PS: I hope it's ok to recommend a company. I am not he, and I am not promoting my own employers business. Thanks!

Hi, There was recently a lengthy discussion about this topic on the Roaster's Guild message board. The RG is a sub-group of the SCAA (Specialty Coffee Assn. of America), of which I am a dues paying member. I don't know if this link will work or not. Not too computer literate. http://bbs.stoneworks.com/rgbbs/viewtopic.php?t=241 If that doesn't work, go to www.stoneworks.com. Click on Public Board and you'll see the topic. There is some annoying debate there, but you can skip over that and get a good feel of how some of us roaster-types feel about the issue. Best Regards, Java-Joe