I went into a local great coffee shop (Lucy's). I paid attention to how they made my cappo. Loaded the portafilter about half way. Mashed it in haphazardly with a cheap plastic tamper. Pulled two shots with it, dumped it in a cardboard cup and added the steamed milk. It was delicious! Every youtube video I watch, great care goes into tamping. The edge of the portafilter gets a finger wipe before it gets locked in. I would think if I dropped 1,000+ on a hx or lever machine, tamp with care, used fresh roasted beans, my shots should blow away what you would buy from the local great espresso shop. Would I be correct in that assumption or can I hope to get the same quality as I receive from the great local coffee shop?

I don't know Lucy. I wasn't there. I'm glad the coffee was great. But if the barista wasn't taking good care with bean quality, dose, tamp, shot time and shot appearance then I would be surprised if you repeat the positive experience.

Where is Lucy's? I'd like to try it. I have tried coffee in shops in Fort Walton, Destin, Pensacola, Navarre. I had very good espresso in Shalimar.

In Shalimar I used my Pavoni and Stumptown coffee.

Lucy's is in downtown Birmingham. I was working there last week at the Univ of Alabama and they all raved about Lucy's. Tried it and it was great. I live in Pensacola. What local brew did you try here. We have 2 coffee shops. Both are very good.

Before I travel, I like to read through this thread: Good espresso I've had away from home.

Most recently when I was there I enjoyed some tasty lunch at the Fish House while an Australian rock band was warming up for the evening. I did not try the *$ on the menu. I chose to take the great espresso along since I could pick up CC Toscano in Destin and had a bag of Apollo shipped out while I was down south. I had some coffee at a middle eastern restaurant downtown Pensacola a few years ago, but maybe it wasn't espresso; I can't really remember. Anyway it did not make it to that thread. I stopped posting anything there except for positive experiences after malachi expressed some umbrage about it.

But if you have had good espresso in Pensacola add to that list if you like.

clynch wrote:Would I be correct in that assumption or can I hope to get the same quality as I receive from the great local coffee shop?

short answer: yes.

long answer: http://www.home-barista.com/espresso-guide.html

cheers,
~j

One thing that is sometimes hard to remember is that professional equipment often gains a reputation for greatness because you still get a decent cup even if you "mess up" everything along the way. The "sweet spot" for commercial equipment is often much wider than that of pro-sumer equipment, which is then again typically much, much broader than most of the sub-$1000 SBDU units ("The shots I got the first week from my <E-61 HX machine> were better than any I could ever reliably get from my <Silvia-esque machine>").

So, to answer your question, I think it comes down to that age-old dilemma, how much are you willing to spend? It's something of a zero-sum game -- you can learn to pull an occasional good shot on very inexpensive equipment, however, unless your barista skills and senses are already well developed, it will take you a long, long, long time to be able to do so, even longer to do it twice, and maybe never reliably. On the other end of the scale, I probably could teach most anyone to pull a decent shot on a current La Marzocco and a Super Jolly or better grinder in just a few minutes.

I'd say that, "Given a reasonable budget in both money and time, and access to good quality beans, you can easily pull shots that are comparable to or better than most non-high-end coffee shops."

(Can't compete with an attentive, expert barista that is pulling hundreds of shots a day on the latest equipment with the best beans at their peak.)

A good barista makes it look easy, but that doesnt mean it is. Dialing in and knowing how to correct taste flaws are the big things you learn being a pro barista, and it takes a while doing hundreds of drinks a day. It's not that easy :p

A commercial enviornment is different than home in a number of ways. They can spend a lot of time first thing in the morning dialing in the shots to make sure they can crank them out when it gets busy. Having forgiving equipment (grinder and machine) will also make a big difference, and little things like wiping the basket and tamping perfectly probably only have an effect at the margins, if at all. In fact I've been to cafes that are obesive about tamping just right, and their espresso is still inconsistent.

In the end however, I think the biggest impact will come from the beans. In a cafe, just like at home, if you're using good beans but are careless about prep, you can still get a good espresso a lot of the time.

Yes, you should be able to produce good espresso at home with good equipment.

The ability to produce excellent espresso at home is another thing altogether. Experienced baristas have the ability to pull one shot and know right away what the bean's potential is and how to get there. For me, the most difficult learning came in this department. Sure, I can read an expert review here and then emulate it but if I was given a random coffee and had to dial it in, I would burn through a pound getting there when more experienced baristas would get there in two to three shots.

For me , the answer is a straight YES . In a busy cafe, they're working against time & orders. Sometimes, quality is being compromise. At home, if all the steps are correct & not in a hurry, then I would say your home brew will be much better.