9-5
in the Caledonia Alley (parallel to and between Valencia and Mission, between 14th and 15th).
hell yeah.
3.21.2008
2.09.2008
Ecco Experimental Espresso Batch #1
Andrew from Ecco Caffe kindly sent me some of the first batch from his "Experimental Espresso Program."
This was a 50/50 blend of two gorgeous Brazil CoE coffees.
The 2006 Fazenda Serra do Bone from Carlos Sergio Sanglard is one of my favorite SO espressos. This is a Catuai varietal from Matas de Minas - and took 4th in the Brazil CoE with a score of 91.93 points. As an SO shot is has incredible body and a lovely honey/caramel finish.
The 2006 Fazenda Pedra Preta from Guilherme Dias De Castro is a Yellow Bourbon from Carmo de Minas. It took 3rd in the Brazil CoE with a score of 92.24. As an SO shot this combined a lovely sweetness with intense floral/citrus high notes.
It took an enormous amount of courage (IMHO) for Andrew to create this blend. These are expensive and valuable CoE coffees and are very limited in supply.
Andrew's brewing instructions were very clear... 19grams in an LM double basket; 1.75oz double at 201.5F in 24-28 seconds.
I started by following these instructions and found that it produced a very dense shot with strong chocolate and burnt honey notes and a rich nutty, syrupy body. This was really pretty stunning in short milk drinks - but I felt that I could probably create an espresso that was more to my (personal) taste by tweaking these parameters a bit.
Initially I started by changing dose and brew temp, looking to coax out some of the high notes. With some experimentation, I found that a brew temp of a little over 200F and a dose of 17.5grams produced a shot that I found really lovely as a straight espresso. It had great sweet pink grapefruit high notes and a body of honey roasted pecan, powdered dutch cocoa and a lovely vanilla tone that reminds me of aged Flor de Cana rum. This extraction wasn't ideal with milk - but as a straight shot.... stunning.
I figured that there had to be a way to get the rich, syrup and caramel body of the first extraction with the sweet citrus and Flor de Cana notes. After a fair amount of trial and error - I discovered that going with the Synesso triple basket (with its rounded side walls); slightly down-dosed; and a brew temp of 200.5F yielded a 2.75oz shot that was - to put it bluntly - fucking glorious. Rich, dense, clean, transparent, sweet tangerine, candied nut, burnt honey, bittersweet chocolate, tropical flowers... and that lovely Flor de Cana finish. Lovely as a straight shot - with near perfect balance - and equally awesome as a cappuccino.
Life is good!
This was a 50/50 blend of two gorgeous Brazil CoE coffees.
The 2006 Fazenda Serra do Bone from Carlos Sergio Sanglard is one of my favorite SO espressos. This is a Catuai varietal from Matas de Minas - and took 4th in the Brazil CoE with a score of 91.93 points. As an SO shot is has incredible body and a lovely honey/caramel finish.
The 2006 Fazenda Pedra Preta from Guilherme Dias De Castro is a Yellow Bourbon from Carmo de Minas. It took 3rd in the Brazil CoE with a score of 92.24. As an SO shot this combined a lovely sweetness with intense floral/citrus high notes.
It took an enormous amount of courage (IMHO) for Andrew to create this blend. These are expensive and valuable CoE coffees and are very limited in supply.
Andrew's brewing instructions were very clear... 19grams in an LM double basket; 1.75oz double at 201.5F in 24-28 seconds.
I started by following these instructions and found that it produced a very dense shot with strong chocolate and burnt honey notes and a rich nutty, syrupy body. This was really pretty stunning in short milk drinks - but I felt that I could probably create an espresso that was more to my (personal) taste by tweaking these parameters a bit.
Initially I started by changing dose and brew temp, looking to coax out some of the high notes. With some experimentation, I found that a brew temp of a little over 200F and a dose of 17.5grams produced a shot that I found really lovely as a straight espresso. It had great sweet pink grapefruit high notes and a body of honey roasted pecan, powdered dutch cocoa and a lovely vanilla tone that reminds me of aged Flor de Cana rum. This extraction wasn't ideal with milk - but as a straight shot.... stunning.
I figured that there had to be a way to get the rich, syrup and caramel body of the first extraction with the sweet citrus and Flor de Cana notes. After a fair amount of trial and error - I discovered that going with the Synesso triple basket (with its rounded side walls); slightly down-dosed; and a brew temp of 200.5F yielded a 2.75oz shot that was - to put it bluntly - fucking glorious. Rich, dense, clean, transparent, sweet tangerine, candied nut, burnt honey, bittersweet chocolate, tropical flowers... and that lovely Flor de Cana finish. Lovely as a straight shot - with near perfect balance - and equally awesome as a cappuccino.
Life is good!
12.23.2007
coffee fun
Had way too much fun today.
Drew Catlin and Ben Kaminsky were by. Had some lovely coffee from Ecco Caffe, a bunch of really nice coffees from Ritual... in general had way too many shots of espresso!
I have to say, however, that it was a really good experience. We spent hours and spent almost no time talking about espresso machines. We briefly talked about the Anfim grinder - but perhaps for 1 minute. We talked some smack about the industry and people/companies. But mostly we talked about coffee.
If this is what the new crop of baristas is going to turn out like... I'm happy.
In fact, we even talked a little around the whole issue of dogma and "rules" of espresso and I got the feeling that there is some open-mindedness and flexibility.
All about the coffee... willing to question beliefs and dogma...
Whew... maybe the coffee industry isn't fucked after all.
And for what it's worth... the monster Mia held up really well. I didn't hear any whining about the machine, didn't have to do any juggling - nor did anyone else. Just pulled shots. And if a couple pro baristas (and one has-been pro) can spend a couple hours pulling shots on a home machine and not bitch about it... well then that's one bad-ass home machine.
Drew Catlin and Ben Kaminsky were by. Had some lovely coffee from Ecco Caffe, a bunch of really nice coffees from Ritual... in general had way too many shots of espresso!
I have to say, however, that it was a really good experience. We spent hours and spent almost no time talking about espresso machines. We briefly talked about the Anfim grinder - but perhaps for 1 minute. We talked some smack about the industry and people/companies. But mostly we talked about coffee.
If this is what the new crop of baristas is going to turn out like... I'm happy.
In fact, we even talked a little around the whole issue of dogma and "rules" of espresso and I got the feeling that there is some open-mindedness and flexibility.
All about the coffee... willing to question beliefs and dogma...
Whew... maybe the coffee industry isn't fucked after all.
And for what it's worth... the monster Mia held up really well. I didn't hear any whining about the machine, didn't have to do any juggling - nor did anyone else. Just pulled shots. And if a couple pro baristas (and one has-been pro) can spend a couple hours pulling shots on a home machine and not bitch about it... well then that's one bad-ass home machine.
12.08.2007
11.18.2007
11.09.2007
more monster mia
As mentioned, I'm moving.
Well... the Mia is now set up in the new place.
Been a bit epic, but it's working.
I've got two more days of experimentation under my belt.
I'll take pics this weekend.
In the meantime... what can I say?
Terry and the boys at Espresso Parts NW have done good.
I've now tested three different espressos.
This thing really is as close to a (espresso only) GS3 as one can get.
Shot pulling process is:
1) build shot.
2) quick rinse flush (no need to time or measure)
3) insert portafilter
4) pull shot
Adjusting temp consists of:
1) up/down on controller to right set temp
2) wait about 60 seconds
3) proceed
Downsides noted so far...
1) the stupid cup tray still sucks
2) steaming milk is between challenging and very frustrating
3) cups rattle a lot when pulling shots (rotary pump seems to really vibrate the body)
Well... the Mia is now set up in the new place.
Been a bit epic, but it's working.
I've got two more days of experimentation under my belt.
I'll take pics this weekend.
In the meantime... what can I say?
Terry and the boys at Espresso Parts NW have done good.
I've now tested three different espressos.
This thing really is as close to a (espresso only) GS3 as one can get.
Shot pulling process is:
1) build shot.
2) quick rinse flush (no need to time or measure)
3) insert portafilter
4) pull shot
Adjusting temp consists of:
1) up/down on controller to right set temp
2) wait about 60 seconds
3) proceed
Downsides noted so far...
1) the stupid cup tray still sucks
2) steaming milk is between challenging and very frustrating
3) cups rattle a lot when pulling shots (rotary pump seems to really vibrate the body)
10.30.2007
Monster Mia
OK.
So in the middle of relocating from Portland to SF... and in the middle of starting a new job... and in the middle of some triage on an old project... I still got some time to play with the new baby.
I have no photos yet (my cameras are packed already). Those will come later.
Some background on the Monster Mia as follows:
- Reservoir and vibe pump removed (now plumbed in with a nice Procon rotary pump)
- Modified to take a long thermoprobe into the boiler (and the requisite electronics including front mounted PID controller)
- Some tweaks and tricks to the internal plumbing
- All crazy work performed by the guys at Espresso Parts NW under the guidance of madman Terry Z.
The machine runs at a far lower boiler pressure than normal (of course). There is still sufficient pressure to steam (for example) two 5oz cappuccinos in succession. But it's not a machine for someone drinking long milk drinks.
It's pretty much a machine for me - and someone like me. I drink espresso, Valerie drinks macchiattos and the odd morning cappuccino.
So far I've worked with the Olympia Roasting Big Train espresso and Stumptown Hairbender.
First thoughts are that this is an easy machine to work with. VERY easy.
It's like working on a Mistral when making espresso in that you do a quick pulse flush and then just go. Temp is quite stable and predictable.
Because of the front mounted controller and the small boiler, changes in brew temp are very quick and easy.
Both espressos extracted beautifully. I've been swapping back and forth between an LM stock portafilter (with plating removed and a ridged double basket) and a crotchless (with either an LM ridged double or a triple basket).
In both cases I'm getting excellent mouthfeel and great clarity and reproduction of flavours. I've been running over to the Belmont Stumptown periodically to compare shots against the 5 group Mistral and I have to say this little machine is actually holding its own!!
Small amounts of milk in a small pitcher steam reasonably well. It's not the same as on a dual boiler machine. You can't apply as much energy to the milk before it starts to cook and as a result both sweetness and consistency are slightly impaired. I'm using one of the early EPNW dual hole tips on it.
I need to spend some time with the Scace to evaluate the offset from the display to the actual brew temp. I'm starting to think it might not be strictly linear.
It's in a box now heading to SF -- and I can't wait to unpack it.
I'm starting to call it "the poor man's GS3".
Grin.
Photos and notes to come...
So in the middle of relocating from Portland to SF... and in the middle of starting a new job... and in the middle of some triage on an old project... I still got some time to play with the new baby.
I have no photos yet (my cameras are packed already). Those will come later.
Some background on the Monster Mia as follows:
- Reservoir and vibe pump removed (now plumbed in with a nice Procon rotary pump)
- Modified to take a long thermoprobe into the boiler (and the requisite electronics including front mounted PID controller)
- Some tweaks and tricks to the internal plumbing
- All crazy work performed by the guys at Espresso Parts NW under the guidance of madman Terry Z.
The machine runs at a far lower boiler pressure than normal (of course). There is still sufficient pressure to steam (for example) two 5oz cappuccinos in succession. But it's not a machine for someone drinking long milk drinks.
It's pretty much a machine for me - and someone like me. I drink espresso, Valerie drinks macchiattos and the odd morning cappuccino.
So far I've worked with the Olympia Roasting Big Train espresso and Stumptown Hairbender.
First thoughts are that this is an easy machine to work with. VERY easy.
It's like working on a Mistral when making espresso in that you do a quick pulse flush and then just go. Temp is quite stable and predictable.
Because of the front mounted controller and the small boiler, changes in brew temp are very quick and easy.
Both espressos extracted beautifully. I've been swapping back and forth between an LM stock portafilter (with plating removed and a ridged double basket) and a crotchless (with either an LM ridged double or a triple basket).
In both cases I'm getting excellent mouthfeel and great clarity and reproduction of flavours. I've been running over to the Belmont Stumptown periodically to compare shots against the 5 group Mistral and I have to say this little machine is actually holding its own!!
Small amounts of milk in a small pitcher steam reasonably well. It's not the same as on a dual boiler machine. You can't apply as much energy to the milk before it starts to cook and as a result both sweetness and consistency are slightly impaired. I'm using one of the early EPNW dual hole tips on it.
I need to spend some time with the Scace to evaluate the offset from the display to the actual brew temp. I'm starting to think it might not be strictly linear.
It's in a box now heading to SF -- and I can't wait to unpack it.
I'm starting to call it "the poor man's GS3".
Grin.
Photos and notes to come...
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