phaelon56

CremeBrulee (say it fast and it's one word)

Dave's photo is on the money - that's the deep rich reddish color you should look for in the crema. Awhile back, Coffegeek did a review of the Isomac Zaffiro - the photos that accompanied the review on the first page of the article provide an excellent illustration of the apearance of crema as it is forming because the shot is bing pulled into a clear glass/crystal demitasse. Scroll to the center of the linked page and click on the photos one at a time to enlarge - look carefully and the tiger striping should be visible. Zaffiro review with espresso shot and crema pics

You're right that technique is crucial but if you've seen and tasted a drink made with properly done microfoam - you'll really see and taste the difference. The lack of milk fat in skim milk presents the challenge. The "network" that you describe is what holds the foam together typically for long enough to have a really pleasing drink with great mouthfeel. I've experiemented at home by mixing skim and 1% milk. I get passable results from my "1/2%" milk, noticeably better from 1% and really good results from 2%. You're also correct that given time, the bubbles in any foam wil rise to the surface, separate from the fluid of the milk and dissipate. The problem, as I see it, is that it the separation process happens almost immediately with skim milk and takes longer when there's a bit of milk fat present.

20 to 30 seconds is generally the brewing time itself - not necessarily the time from when the button is first pushed. If the espresso starts to drip out of your Rancilio about seven seconds after you push the button - a 30 second total length of pull time is likely close to correct. This is only a rough guideline - on some machines like the E61 style that do a pre-infusion of the grounds before brewing starts, there's about a 12 second pre-infusion time and then the espresso starts to drip. I leave my shot countdown timer set at 32 seconds. If I have significantly less than an ounce from a double shot basket when I hit 32 seconds - it means I need to grind coarser. If instead I have more than 2 ounces - I need to grind finer. Actual brewing time (the length of time the water is in contact with the coffee while it is being forced through) is considered to be optimal if its in the 22 to 30 second range. Shorter or longer times may lead to over or underextraction and cause bitterness or sourness in the shot. Brew temps that are too hot or too cool can have a similar impact. A better benchmark is the appearance of the crema. Good fresh beans that are properly ground and brewed should yield good reddish-brown crema. Look at the stream of espresso as it dribbles or pours slowly from the spout (if it it streams out rapidly you need a finer grind, a harder tamp or both). You should see "tiger-striping" occurring. This is the variegated striation effect where the reddish crema is interspersed with the light brown of the espresso fluid itself. The shot should be stopped when the tiger-striping begins to slow down and the liquid coming out begins to be mostly tan or blonde in color. Run the shot for too long and the tan liquid that ends up in your cup will add lots of bitterness to the shot - it's the result of overextraction. I've actually read of A/B comparisons where people have pulled that last few seconds of blond liquid into a separate cup. Tasted like crap -very bitter. Some people who really pay attention to process actually wait until the first few seconds after the liquid starts dribbling before they put the cup or shot glass under the spout. There is reasonable evidence, both from the taste and the visual examination of the tiger-striping effect, that the first one or two seconds of a pour can have the blonde underextracted fluid present. It's far less significant than what can appear at the end of a shot. I'm not fussy enough to bother waiting until just after the shot starts to put my cup under the spout but I do use the eppearance of the crema as a primary indicator for when to stop the shot. After the 12 second pre-infusion, my shots run anywhere from an additonal 18 to 30 seconds depending on how close I am on my grider settings. I have found that with the grinder dialed in correctly for the state fo the beans, I can standardize on about 32 seconds including pre-infusion for my total time and it yields a ristretto double shot that is about 1.5 to 1.75 oz in total not including the layer of crema.

"Msk" posed a good question in another thread and I believe it deserves some space of its own for discussion.... Wow. This is wide open and there are so many. Plenty more are sure to be forthcoming but here's what I look for and want to know.... ==================================================== What To Look For: 1) Is the portafilter being left in the grouphead of the espresso machine when it's not in use? The thermal mass of the brass portafilter asembly is crucial in retaining heat so the brewing temp does not drop off as the water is forced through the grounds. If you walk into a cafe and see the portafilters sitting on the counter separately from the machine, waiting to be filled and used... fuggedaboudit - chances of getting really good espresso are nil. 2) Do they make a practice of grinding large amounts and leaving the doser filled with already ground coffee? Not good. Grounds sitting in the doser will literally, within an hour or so, start getting flat and losing the potential for creating good crema and superior shots. If they grind to fill the doser every ten to fifteen minutes or so during the morning rush, it's fine but if you walk in at a slow time during mid afternoon or evening and they don't grind the coffee right then for your shot - chances are you just won't get a good shot. Some of the very best cafes use timer assemblies that grind the right amount of reach shot and the beans for every shot are ground when you order the drink - this is the best. 3) Does it appear that they're tamping and doing it well? Usually the mark of a place that cares enough to try for good results. In some places you may see a LaMarzocco Swift grinder - this is the one where the barista actually locks the portafilter onto the grinder and hits a button. In this case the barista does not tamp. The grinder automatically grinds the right amount and tamps. Some purists believe that hand tamping is the best but a Swift can actually do a better and more consistent job than all but the best baristas. A relatively inexperienced barista with a well maintained and tweaked espresso machine and a Swift can produce very good results indeed. 4) Is the steam wand nice and clean and does it get wiped down and purged after each pitcher of milk is steamed? If you see a milk crud encrusted steam wand it's safe to assume that, at the very least, they don't do a good job of steaming milk. More important - it speaks to the big picture. Lack of attention to a crucial process detail like this generally indicates that the owner/manager/staff either doesn't know or doesn't care enough about milk preparation to do it correctly and more likely than not.... that attitude extends to espresso preparation. 5) Is the barista continually adding milk to pitchers that have sat around for extended periods of time on the counter or re-steaming milk that has sat around for awhile? During a busy morning or evening rush it's a resonable practice to steam in the same pitcher for awhile and keep adding more cold milk but the use old milk/warm milk/re-steamed milk means the same thign as the previous comment - lack of attention to process control. What To Ask: 1) Do you roast your own beans, how often is this done and how fresh are the beans you use? They should not be using beans more than ten days past roasting date. 2) If you don't roast them yourselves, where do they come from? In some areas you may find cafes using five pound bags of the popular Italian bar blends like LaVazza. Beans like this can make very good espresso but they have to be coming from a trusted source that monitors dates and has good turnover. Good microroaster beans will still be better in nearly all cases. Other cafes will buy from reputable microroasters. I know of a place in Brooklyn that buys from Caffe Vivace in Seattle. One of Vancouver BC's better local cafes actually has their beans shipped in from Chicago IL in the US! (Intelligentsia Roasters) 3) How many ounces in your double shot? If they say 1.5 to 2 ounces and they really deliver this amount - chances are good that they're trying to do it right. Perhaps they won't be hitting it on every shot - nobody does - but it likely means they understand what's needed. ==================================================== These are only a few but in my experience if any of the above don't meet the right criteria.... chances are slim that you'll get really good espresso.

There are two videos in the latte art section of my web site (URL is in my signature line)- one on steaming and one on pouring, but the best instructional video I've seen yet is over at coffeegeek.com - its's footage showing thre latte art process as done by Sammy Piccolo, co-owner of Vancouver's Caffe Artigiano Sammy Piccolo Latte Art Video Click on the link to the .mov file - it appears in the middle of the first post on the thread. You'll need the free Quicktime player and a fast connection as it's a rather large file but worth the wait.

Some beans do better with a relatively dark roast than others and espresso blends often tend to be in this group but some of my favorite espressos have been from beands best described as medium-dark (full city plus). Perhaps just a hint of oil on the surface at most. Really oily beans have either been very overroasted or worse - wer e a drak roast but have now been sitting around for more than a week. The oils in darker roasts will begin migrating to the surface as the beans go beyond the optimal shelf life. It is true that overroasting destroys some of the more subtle flavors. It's a real PITA to roast this way for the home roaster but some of my favorite blends are "binary" blends. The faster roasting beans are roasted separately from the slower roasting ones. Typically, about 4 to 5 bean types are used in the blend. Those that result in chocolatey undertones when roasted a bit on the dark side can be done that way and the beans that have delightful floral and fruit notes in the flavor profile can be roasted lighter to preserve this characteristic. The blending is then done after the roasting. The chocolate and fruit undertones can then both be present in the espresso. There are some preparation styles that lend themselves to using very dark roasted beans but these tend to be very specific - e.g. cafe con leche - the half milk and half strong dark coffee drink that is common in Cuba and throughout the Caribbean. I've already mentioned it here previously but if you have not yet tried Gimme! Coffee in Williamsburg Brooklyn - get over there and do so. These folks really do it right and their standard espresso blend (called Leftist Blend) is a medium-dark roast level. I'm going to start a separate thread on what to look for when in search of good espresso and what questions to ask.

I never should have opened this thread.... I may just have to return to Seattle to get real donuts again. We finally have KK in this area (upstate NY) and it appears the either ya luv it or ya don't. very little in between opinion. Top Pot donuts are chewy and have lots of body and character but I don't think they're heavy unless you're using KK as a reference point. The product Top Pot is providing is what we once had in central NY state twenty years ago when there were still a few good qualoity independents around. Add to that the fact that you can get a good espresso or latte and it's a winning combination. I visited the original location on one of my Seattle trips and loved the neighborhood feel to the whole place and the good mix of people. We should be so fortunate to have a place like that around here (but we don't and unless I open it myself it's unlikely to happen).

I think that this is a widespread phenomenon and for exactly the reasons mentioned. Most people assume they don't like espresso when in fact they don't liek the espresso that's generally available to them. There are also many people who pooh-pooh milk based espresso drinks because they've only experienced lattes or cappuccinos made with average or mediocre espresso and an inapproproate espresso to milk ratio. We can only hope that independent cafes, dedicated and talented baristas and talented microroasters continue to grow and develop. There's a place in the world for Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts and other chains but appreciation of espresso as a culinary aesthetic and more widespread acceptance will come from the independent sector. If you can find a cafe or microroaster in your area who's "getting it done" - please support them. I can make fantastic espresso at home and I do so but I also spend about $12 - $15 per week in a local cafe because I believe in what they're doing and want to show my support.

It took me months to get anywhere near that good with my Gaggia. Then I got the Isomac and it took even more months to get it right with that. One of my challenges... in addition has been trying to do it in a cup that's a bit too deep and narrow. Those Camardo cups look like just the right shape. I recently got some Illy cappa cups that I'll break out this weekend and will give it another try. I'm thinking that you need to have the heart perfected by Valentine's day - the rosettas can wait Here's my lopsided heart.... or is it a mutant apple?

There are many of us who really enjoy both "regular" coffee and espresso but find different contexts appropriate for each. I'll decline to declare either to be the "best" but will nearly always opt for drip coffee over espresso if the espresso is of questionable quality (which is the case in many cafes and nearly all the restaurants in which I've ever sampled espresso). Now that I have the proper equipment and a functional enough knowledge of espresso preparation to prepare really good espresso shots at home, I find myself drinking espresso based drinks almost exclusively. This past weekend I visited non-coffee drinking friends out of town. Knowing that my options would be limited, I took some fresh Guatemala Antigua Los Volcanoes that I had just ground and ziploc'd and brought along my Melitta one cup drip cone. Wow. I had nearly forgotten how satisfying a really good cup of drip coffee can be. I suppose it's not really fair to compare the coffee/espresso relationship to other beverages but..... is good Cognac actually a more distilled essence of the grape and therefore more representative of the finest qualities of those grapes or is it just different? I doubt it and think it's not a fair comparison. Coffee beans have certain essential flavor components and oils whose essence is best extracted at certain temperatures and for certain lengths of time. The espresso method of preparation refers to nearly every aspect of this and yes... there are coffee labeled as "espresso" but they are typically those which are blended, roasted and subsequently ground in such a way that they yield the most desirable results. The process used has been arrived at after many years of both careful scientific analysis and also real world practical usage. Oddly enough, there are some varietals that are fantastic when consumed as drip or press pot coffee but don't exhibit their best qualities when prepared by the espresso method. One of the specific factors that I find most enjoyable in truly good espresso is the rich undertones of fruit and chocolate flavors. I have yet to find a specific bean or blend of beans that delivers this in other preparation methods.

If you have access to an Ikea store or perhaps just want to browse their web site Ikea Lighting They have some good halogen cabinet lighting and also some wire systems with exposed halogen bulbs. Prices are really low and mine have been very reliable.

Update on Dino BBQ: they have been selected to do the BBQ for the August 2004 annual BBQ dinner at James Beard House in NY. They have also been said to receive some kudos from Jeffery Rosengarten in his Rosengarten report newsletter but I have no idea of the contents. If they're doing the Beard House event I think we can hazard a guess that they'll be open in NYC before then, even if it's a soft opening.

I'm wondering.... is "Firehouse Chicken" the same as "Cornell Chicken"? It's a sort of slightly tangy marinade - almost like a really thin, translucent cream sauce. Salt Potatoes are definitely a Syracuse area specialty to the best of my knowledge. The Irish workers in Syracuse's salt industry took to using some of the briny water readily available at the work site, boiling it in buckets and throwing in baby new potatoes to boil for lunch. It's now a long accepted local tradition and a staple at the State Fair and all sorts of clambakes and cookouts. Most of the local gropcery stores sell them in season - it's just a bag of new potatoes with a bag of salt included (the amount of salt being approrpriate for the saltiness desired). I can think of two other items but they're beverages. 1) White Birch Beer - clear birch beer with a stronger birch flavor than any of the commercially available birch beers I've yet tried. It was bottled by a small independent outfit in the area and vanished about 10 - 15 years ago. 2) "Wapatula" - perhaps they had these in your area as well? It's a beverage served at "get drunk parties", typically by young folks either just of or just below drinking age and typically at the end of the school year or in early to mid summer. A new, previously unused plastic garbage can has a buttload of ice dumped into it and then many cans of Hawaian Punch and other miscellaneous fruit juices. The party attendees are required to bring quarts or fifths of various types of distilled spirits - typically the clear ones. Everyone arriving dumps their liquor into the can with more ice and fruit juice being added randomly as needed. Some people also throw in chucnks of fresh fruit and if it's for a smaller even, will mix the entire batch in a plastic ice chest rather than a trash can.

If I recall correctly.... Barilla, Classico, Five Brothers and Aunt Millie's are all made without added sweeteners. I once switched from prego to Aunt Millie's for that reason but the Millie's was too soupy and had too much tomato paste and water for my liking. I actually use Barilla Tomato and Basil as a base on the rare occasios that I make my own sauce. One jar of it along with some sweated onions and garlic, healthy doeses of the bottled "fresh" oregano and basil, some sea salt, Marie Sharpe's hjot sauce and a few big cans of plum tomatoes. It's really easy and after a few hours of simmering I have enough to fill three or four empty Barilla jars. I fill them up to about 1" from the top and freeze.

Actually.... I want a lot for a little but never seem to get it. I've found some of the really cheap (i.e. $50 - $80 new and much cheaper used) thermoblock pump machines to be pretty decent. they have limitations but they're fairly easy toi use and with practice they produce acceptable results. It's the little steam operated gizmos I have an issue with. I've used them at friend's houses on occasion and found it near impossible to get consistent results.

Quina - You're not the only person on this website working with a limited budget and by the way.... welcome to the Coffee & Tea forum - great to have you here! We actually have a thread going already on the very topic you mentioned The Pleasures of Moka - espresso's poor cousin Eventually I'll get a moka pot for travel purposes but I love the convenience of an espresso machine for use in the home. Believe me that Egullet has folks on all kinds of budgets and discusssions that cover all bases. I'm one of those people who rarely eats in expensive restaurants, has been known to live on Ramen noodles out of necessity and always looks for the best generic brand of it's available. Financially speaking, the last couple years have been better for me than the previous decades but my purchase of an expensive espresso machine was dictated by a simple fact - I could not find a good shot in any local cafes (NYC area) and was tired of wasting money on swill in my search. The investment has been worth it.

Wow. That is really truly remarkable. It speaks volumes to the way they are runnign the business and controlling process.

Hmmmm.... I just got in a dozen Illy cappa bar cups with saucers and have been contemplating getting a dozen of their espresso bar cups with saucer. If you don't already have the Illy stuff, PM me and maybe we can work out a swap.

I just couldn't get adequate pressure with the plastic tamper to get a good solid tamp that was evenly distributed. It was also too small for my portafilter basket - lots of slop around the edges. Once you get into any half decent tamper I think they're all capable of doing a good job. That said.... I'm easily amused and like to think that I'm actually accomplishing something when I play around with tampers and techniques (pleas don't confuse me with facts - I'm very happy with my opinions )

Yes.... I was that way too until quite recently. I've now reached the conclusion that collectible Illy cups are out of my price range, not to mention the fact that I don't tend to collect things that just sit on a shelf (with the esception of artwork). I have a Reg Barber that just came in but am already itching for smoethign else new and different.

If you own an espresso machine chances are good that you received the ubiquitous plastic tamper with it in the box. They may perhaps have more intrinsic value than the latest AOL disc that came in yesterday's mail but not byt much. There are widely ranging debates about tamping. Some advocate a light tamp with the built in tamper that is inclued on some on most commercial cafe grinders - this appears to be a relatively common practice in parts of Italy. Others - a larger contingent - mandate a heavy and solid tamp - about 30 to 50 pounds of pressure with a nice polish to yield a firm and smooth surface. Some of the popular lower end pump style machines such as the Saeco or the Starbucks Barista and Athena (which are rebadged Saeco models) have pressurized filters and do not require tamping but I'll exclude them from this discussion. The theory is that the compacted, smooth and evenly distributed surface regulates the dispersion of the water through the grounds in a slightly slower and more consistent manner. Did I mention that some folks using semi-commercial units (high end home machines) with the pre-infusing E61 style grouphead actually suggest that no tamping be done? They advocate grinding finer, using a fully dosed portafilter and allowing the shower screen and pre-infusion of the grouphead to do the "tamping". I just like good espresso - sometimes things get waaaaay too complicated. The little cheap plastic tampers are truly useless. My first tamper was one of the 58mm machined aluminum jobs It worked well but I never liked the feel of it in my hand - too cold and angular. A few months back I ordered a really cool hand turned wood tamper from Les at Thor Tampers. He has a few stock models but makes 'em custom too. I just love the way it looks but it's a bit too big for my hands. He has kindly offered to resize it for me and I plan to take him up on it. This one is made from Amboyna burl (as if I know what that is!) and the base is made of lignaeum vitae (very hard wood - that much I do know). The wood tampers are very light in feel and take some getting used to but there's an inherent satisfaction that I get from using a handcrafted product made from natural materials. Some days it's about as close as I get to nature so why not? Soooo.... do you tamp or not? What's your patented method? I'm constantly trying different techinques just to see what they do (if anything). If you're a tamper fiend or have played around with a few - what strikes your fancy? The Reg Barber? The Lava Tamper? The bottom of an old Smuckers jar? An old "Vote for Harold Stassen" button glued to a nightstick? Let's hear it!

Yeah... the milk used makes a big difference but so does the skill of the baristi. Even the best places can have wildly variable milk quality based on who's doing the foaming. I also have a sneaking suspicion that one of the reasons I was usually uinable to find a good cappa in Central America or Mexico was the widespread use of Parmalat style milk. Not sure what fat content it had but they started foaming with room temp or slightly cooler milk and it never got the chance to properly develop. It can be done - one of the finer cappas I've had anywhere was at a small Italian restaurant on Caye Caulker in Belize.

Glad to oblige. When they say skim milk makes the best foam they should be saying it makes the most foam. I drink skim milk if I want a glass of milk and use it or 1% on my cereal. 2% or better yet whole is the ticket for espresso. I used to cringe at the fat content issue (at age 48 with a desk job it is an issue) but a properly made latte or cappa with a double shot of really good espresso only needs 4 to 6 ounces of milk to build a complete drink. I can justify that amount of milk fat in pursuit of a better drink. Don't get me started on the gigundo 20 oz "venti" drinks at Charbucks - way too much milk and they end up giving true lattes a bad name. There's a place for that sort of thing and it's quite evident based on their popularity but they are more accurately described as flavored milk drinks rather than milk based espresso drinks.

It's true. Heated frothed milk can be simply that or it can be an entirely different substance with not only a different viscosity, mouthfeel and sweetness but the capability for blending with espresso in a manner that yields a drink quite unlike the run-of-the-mill capuccino or latte most folks have ever experienced. I'll quote myself (from the Latte Art Video section of my own web site) as a place to start the discussion: Schomer has a good article on these techniques at his Espresso Vivace website Milk Texturing Basics I have also found the free pdf tutorial offered by Gimme! Coffee to be concise and very helpful Milk Preparation Tutorial I'm no expert.... heck... I can't even pour decent "latte art" despite having a really good machine and plenty of resources to study. What I do know is this: using manual frothers with heated milk is a worthy substitute if you're in a pinch but true microfoamed milk is a thing of beauty and the drinks one can prepare with it really are superior. There is no substitute but few cafes actually produce it. Visit a really good cafe.... JJ Bean or cafe Artigiano in Vancouver BC, Vivace, Vita or Hines in Seattle, Intelligentsia in Chicago, Gimme Coffee in NYC or Ithaca.... you'll find that the difference between a latte and cappuccino is the espresso to milk ratio - lattes get more milk. There's none of this Starbucks style "scoop the extra foam on top and call it a cappuccino". Uh uh.... no sir.... all the milk they serve is microfoamed - it's been prepared so that the milk itself has been transformed in its entirety rather than having a separate layer of foam and milk. I'll welcome and respond to dissenting views but I've had enough first hand experience to feel strongly about this. Here are what I consider to be really "basic basics": Start with cold milk - the colder the better - the longer the frothing time the better developed the foam (within reason) Use an appropriately sized pitcher. Smaller machines in the sub $500 range generally steam no more than 5 - 6 oz of milk at a time properly. $500- $1200 units generally do well with up to 10 or 12 ounces. Best results are obtained when the milk is at least 2" or 3" deep - thus we need a 10 oz pitcher for small amounts and a 20 oz pitcher for larger amounts. Higher milk fat produces more velvety and longer lasting microfoam. I can get passable results with 1% but 2% or whole milk works better. I even know people who juice up their whole milk by adding half 'n half or condensed whole milk. Skim milk creates lots of dry, fluffy and light foam that separates from the milk - exactly what we DON'T want! Purge the steam wand and then start steaming with the tip fully submerged. Immediately lower the pitcher so the the tip stays just under the surface of the milk - feel free to move it around a bit as the milk is "stretching". It will begin increasing in volume from the air being introduced but we're only looking to expand volume by 15% to 25% at most - what we're after is better texture. At about 100 degrees, tip the pitcher or tilt the wand (or both)so that the tip is still just slightly submerged but the wand against the side of the pitcher, more or less parallel to it and get a swirling motion going. This is the process where the larger bubbles initially created are broken into the smaller bubbles of microfoam. At about 130 degrees keep the same swirling motion going but raise the pitcher to fully immerse the tip so it's close to the bottom of the milk. Stop frothing at about 145 degrees. That's pretty close tro the sweet spot - literally. It's the point at which the sugars in the milk have been converted to produce extra sweetness from the milk but well below the level where scorching can occur. Many people forego the use of a thermometer and work by the level of warmth on the outside of the pitcher and the sound that the foaming creates. Maybe I'll be at that level someday but for now I find that having the thermometer really simplifies things and helps me control the process Yes... I know... it seems like a lot of hoo-hah and monkeying around for a coffee drink but if it wasn't worth I wouldn't be here