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Howdy all! This is my first post here. I am a barista in a small coffeehouse in Niwot, CO (just north of Boulder). I'm a coffee geek. I am crazily passionate about coffee -- how it tastes, how it's grown, how it's enjoyed. I've had a few barista gigs, and I've done a lot of research on my own. I've got a lot of book knowledge, and I'm at the point now that I'm trying to get more practical experience based on that knowledge.
I was invited by a barista at another coffeehouse to drop in tonight after closing and pull some various shots of different coffees as espress on their Synesso 3-group machine. I brought a pound of Intelligentsia's Black Cat espresso, and he brought a pound of Novo Coffee's Hache Sidamo (Novo is in Arvada, CO). We also had Caffe Sole's coffee, which they use as their standard espresso in that shop. We set each group at a different temp (198F, 200F, and 202F) to see how the coffee's reacted to temperature differences. Suffice it to say, coffees have their preferences, and the range is smaller than you'd think -- a few degrees, max!
Anyway, the Sidamo...wow. Fruity, some funk. Berries. Wine. Wacky, awesome stuff! If you've ever encountered people who say things like, "But it's JUST COFFEE! It all tastes the same!", pull them some of this stuff and watch them freak out. Amazing. I'm sure we didn't pull the best shots of this that we could have, but what we had was...wow. It was better when pulled around 198F, if I remember correctly.
The Black Cat was a bit tougher. We never really pulled a great shot of it, but pulled a couple of passable shots. This isn't Black Cat's issue; it was ours, I'm sure. Great stuff nonetheless. We pulled it at the various temps, and it was bitter when pulled hotter.
The Caffe Sole (local Boulder roaster) blend is their standard espresso, so we figured we'd play with it. They normally pull it at 201F, but we had adjusted one group down to 196F, so the barista pulled a shot there. Milk chocolate. Much nicer than their regular shots! The owner said, "Wow! Much nicer. Let's pull it at that temp from now on." So, the barista set all the groups at 197F for the morning. We'll see how things pan out.
The barista jam was powered by Stone IPA and some really great folks. A couple of hours of great coffee, great people, and great beer. What a wonderful evening! I'm still smiling.
I was invited by a barista at another coffeehouse to drop in tonight after closing and pull some various shots of different coffees as espress on their Synesso 3-group machine. I brought a pound of Intelligentsia's Black Cat espresso, and he brought a pound of Novo Coffee's Hache Sidamo (Novo is in Arvada, CO). We also had Caffe Sole's coffee, which they use as their standard espresso in that shop. We set each group at a different temp (198F, 200F, and 202F) to see how the coffee's reacted to temperature differences. Suffice it to say, coffees have their preferences, and the range is smaller than you'd think -- a few degrees, max!
Anyway, the Sidamo...wow. Fruity, some funk. Berries. Wine. Wacky, awesome stuff! If you've ever encountered people who say things like, "But it's JUST COFFEE! It all tastes the same!", pull them some of this stuff and watch them freak out. Amazing. I'm sure we didn't pull the best shots of this that we could have, but what we had was...wow. It was better when pulled around 198F, if I remember correctly.
The Black Cat was a bit tougher. We never really pulled a great shot of it, but pulled a couple of passable shots. This isn't Black Cat's issue; it was ours, I'm sure. Great stuff nonetheless. We pulled it at the various temps, and it was bitter when pulled hotter.
The Caffe Sole (local Boulder roaster) blend is their standard espresso, so we figured we'd play with it. They normally pull it at 201F, but we had adjusted one group down to 196F, so the barista pulled a shot there. Milk chocolate. Much nicer than their regular shots! The owner said, "Wow! Much nicer. Let's pull it at that temp from now on." So, the barista set all the groups at 197F for the morning. We'll see how things pan out.
The barista jam was powered by Stone IPA and some really great folks. A couple of hours of great coffee, great people, and great beer. What a wonderful evening! I'm still smiling.
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