Past and Future

The guest barista gig was super fun. Two shifts, it's like riding a bicycle! Even my latte art hadn't atrophied that badly. Very cool. Most of the old regulars were in, which was nice. It was good to catch up to people. Plus, I got to check out the bottomless portafilter in a true production environment. I was impressed. While it does add a little time to each drink, and while I was finding that I was throwing out more shots, the drink quality was up (and was noticed by all) and the cleaning time every 45 minutes was down around 33%. Plus, the espresso is more flexible. For example - I was able to pull some shots of the Intelligentsia Oromo that were really nice. I was able to downplay the berry, and amp up the spice and chocolate. Made for a very nice espresso indeed!

I'm glad I did it - but I'm also glad I'm not working there full time anymore, much less managing.

And now I'm getting all worked up about NASCORE. It's going to be a ton of fun is my guess.
I'll be at the Stumptown Single Origin even on Saturday and Sunday morning.
I'll be at the BGA Townhall Meeting on Saturday at NASCORE.
I'll try to make it to as much of the WRBC as possible.
And I'll be at the BGA party Sunday night at Crema (of course).
I'm also going to try and squeeze in some time on the show floor as well.

I'll be going to as many tasty restaurants as I can fit in around these commitments - so if you're going to be at the show and walk to eat good food... let me know.

I'll take pictures of it all (of course).

Guest "Shot"

Oh yeah...
Almost forgot..

I'm really psyched about my "guest barista" appearance next week. I'll be back pulling shots on Monday and Tuesday mornings at Spellbinder. Should be fun!! (and a good tune-up for NASCORE).

See ya there!

i've just posted the draft results from the Naked Portafilter testing over at Coffeed.com
check it out...

here are some teasers:

more naked shots!

we played around more with the chopped (aka naked or bottomless) portafilter this morning.



sweet!!

went crotchless

this morning was the morning. rolled in the crotchless aka naked aka Chris' aka Zoka portafilter...

first - photos; then blind tasting notes and thoughts.

blind tasting results - to cut to the chase the responses were universal. everyone preferred shots from the chopped portafilter. comments were "smoother, more balanced, rounder, more finessed, fewer distracting flavour notes." only one taster felt that the flavour differences were "profound" but everyone liked the shots better pulled this way. i have various theories and thoughts about emulsification, turbulence and contaminants - but suffice it to say that, based on these first results, further tests are without a doubt warranted and if responses are consistent this should be considered for full commercial implementation.

thoughts - this is one of the best training tools ever. if distribution is off, you can see it (note that in the above photos distribution is obviously light near the handle). if your tamp is bad it is painfully apparent. you can see channeling instantly. basically - if you're a pro barista you need to practice with one of these and if you're a barista trainer or manager you need to incorporate this as a tool into your training program. seriously. while the flavour changes may not be profound, the training implications are.

more tests will occur over the next few weeks - including further blind taste tests as well as scientific tests related to temperatures and crema reactions.

today i was joined not only by my tasting slave (Matt) but by two other volunteer tasters (Tricia and Valerie)!! very fun.

not only did we taste a couple big winner origin espressos, we also tasted two origin espressos sent by Peter at George Howell's company Terroir.

Brazil Cerrado, Daterra Farm - North Italian Roast Style
203F, 8.9BAR
This was an incredibly fruit-forward espresso. Very sweet, with tropical fruit and honey in dominance. Notes of Banana, pineapple, passionfruit and a tannic banana-peel note. Lighter, creamy body with dense crema.
A nice, clean and sweet espresso though perhaps a bit uncomplicated in flavour profile.

Brazil Cerrado, Daterra Farm - South Italian Roast Style
201F, 8.9BAR
I would have to say that I don't know if I'd call this "South Italian" in roast - but I guess it would depend on your definition of Southern Italy. To me, this falls somewhere between a Florentine roast and a Roman roast.
This is a very mellow and smooth espresso with dominant flavours of chocolate (both bittersweet and semi-sweet). There is some background spice and dry fruit as well as lovely leather/tobacco notes. The body is buttery and rich.
A really good espresso. Balanced, with great finesse and polish. Works well as a straight shot or in short milk drinks.

so i continue to taste origin espressos. once again, i was in the coffee bar before dawn this morning - and once again my tasting slave Matt woke early to assist me (thanks Matt!).

progress is being made... (see tasting notes)

in addition, i built a insane "signature drink" with one of the coffees. i'll probably never do a barista comp, but boy would this be a good one to go with if i did! and it was inspired by Belgian Ales (grin).