Coffee Timing At Dinner

[phaelon56]

flavour apart, a good espresso is dominated by the bitterness with some acidity below that.

Actually, I would disagree with that; a good espresso should not be overly bitter. Bitterness in coffee means that the beans are overextracted, regardless of brewing method.

I also disagree. A really, really good espresso shot is not bitter but in some cases actually has a character some might decribe as a sweetness with undertones of chocolate and/or fruit. Not a sugar sweet in the tradtional sense but if the proper roasting, blending and extraction are done, the resulting espresso contains elements of the caramelized sugars from the coffee bean.

That said.... I have yet to encounter any restaurant anywhere that makes a really, really good espresso shot and I'll add sugar to mine on the rare occasions I bother to order it when dining out. I'll sip good black coffee with a dessert but a realy good espresso shot? I'm more likely to drink it, enjoy the aftertaste for ahile and then eat the dessert.

[Moopheus]

That said.... I have yet to encounter any restaurant anywhere that makes a really, really good espresso shot

The best espresso I've had in a restaurant was at Greens in San Francisco when I was visiting there some years back. It was rich and had that chocolatey undertone you describe. I had it with a plain chocolate cake, which was 'just' a chocolate cake in the same way the drink was 'just' an espresso. They were perfect together.

[oraklet]

Okralet said:

flavour apart, a good espresso is dominated by the bitterness with some acidity below that.

Actually, I would disagree with that; a good espresso should not be overly bitter. Bitterness in coffee means that the beans are overextracted, regardless of brewing method.

oh, what i tried to communicate was that the bitterness is present in any coffee. only, in an espresso, it's balanced by the fruit-like acidity (and of course, the sugar ).