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Thursday, July 20, 2006
Espresso is not just another brewing method...
Most espresso, the crema tastes good, the remaining liquid is quite offensive. You get creamy mouthfeel but at the bottom of the cup, it's like bile. I guess the triple ristretto all crema pull makes sense for that. Get only the good stuff and avoid the bad. The reverse being where the crema is blah but the liquid underneath is excellent. People who fancy the coffee like wine analgoy lean this way. To me, the best espresso I have had are smooth and consistent from top to bottom. The crema is tasty and the resulting liquid underneath is excellent also. Not only that, but it also is enjoyable as it begins to cool. How many espresso really qualify as this?
Part of why I am such a fan of Andrew Barnett over at Ecco Caffe (besides his zen master knowledge and humble nature) is his roasting style lends to soft flavors in espresso, top to bottom. The coffees typically have flavor consistency from crema to last drip. Even as the coffees begin to cool, it's tasty. It's been part of my learning curve of graduating from kick in the face intense flavors for my beginners palate to the more subtle flavor profiles. I now have a strong desire for sweetness and complexity over sharp peaks and intensity.
I guess I yearn for espresso to be something so tasty that the average coffee drinker could have an espresso and go 'wow, that's tasty', not 'whoa that's intense'.
-Jaime
Most espresso, the crema tastes good, the remaining liquid is quite offensive. You get creamy mouthfeel but at the bottom of the cup, it's like bile. I guess the triple ristretto all crema pull makes sense for that. Get only the good stuff and avoid the bad. The reverse being where the crema is blah but the liquid underneath is excellent. People who fancy the coffee like wine analgoy lean this way. To me, the best espresso I have had are smooth and consistent from top to bottom. The crema is tasty and the resulting liquid underneath is excellent also. Not only that, but it also is enjoyable as it begins to cool. How many espresso really qualify as this?
Part of why I am such a fan of Andrew Barnett over at Ecco Caffe (besides his zen master knowledge and humble nature) is his roasting style lends to soft flavors in espresso, top to bottom. The coffees typically have flavor consistency from crema to last drip. Even as the coffees begin to cool, it's tasty. It's been part of my learning curve of graduating from kick in the face intense flavors for my beginners palate to the more subtle flavor profiles. I now have a strong desire for sweetness and complexity over sharp peaks and intensity.
I guess I yearn for espresso to be something so tasty that the average coffee drinker could have an espresso and go 'wow, that's tasty', not 'whoa that's intense'.
-Jaime
Labels: espresso
¶ Jaime van Schyndel 12:11 AM
Comments:
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I would argue that it is indeed just another brewing method, and with that carries all of the complexities and headaches associated with any brew method. That is, each one has its quirks.. and espresso is no exception.
If the belief is that it is not a brewing method, then how would you define the ontology of espresso at its most basic level?
If the belief is that it is not a brewing method, then how would you define the ontology of espresso at its most basic level?
I would say espresso is a brewing method of unknown and unrealized potential. I get the feeling we are all so locked into what espresso should be instead of what espresso could be. Maybe I'm off target.
I would agree that we are so far from realizing the full potential of what this brew method has to offer.
That doesn't mean that espresso is some unachievable perfection in all factors. This is, of course, simply impossible.
"Make ten cappuccinos, and bring me the best one."
That doesn't mean that espresso is some unachievable perfection in all factors. This is, of course, simply impossible.
"Make ten cappuccinos, and bring me the best one."
Intruiging that you said the crema can taste good when the coffee doesn't - crema being a carbonated foam of the coffee below, so essentially they should taste the same.
Is it expectation playing a role, some sort of psychological effect?
Is it expectation playing a role, some sort of psychological effect?
My experience must be slanted by the routine in which we cup. Usually four of us cup the espresso as they come out hot, take notes, tasting the off shots and the good shots, move on, then circle back as the cups are cooling and take a second round of notes. When the cup is hot, there is definately homogenity, it's as the cups cool that things take differing paths. Some coffees clarify from that initial taste and get better. Some coffees become bile swill in comparison to the initial taste.
I hope that clarifies where I am coming from. It was proposed that we cannot taste the coffees and the defects in the coffees while hot, but as they cool, the flavors clarify and the defects come to the front. That's the running hypothesis anyway.
It remains to be seen whether the difference lies in the cupping method and the inability to compare crema hot vs minutes later closer to room temp.
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I hope that clarifies where I am coming from. It was proposed that we cannot taste the coffees and the defects in the coffees while hot, but as they cool, the flavors clarify and the defects come to the front. That's the running hypothesis anyway.
It remains to be seen whether the difference lies in the cupping method and the inability to compare crema hot vs minutes later closer to room temp.
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