Sometimes you just don't want to know how the kitchen prepares the dish or it might spoil everything!

Same with espresso at times. Sounds like a little training might have helped out that barista a little bit more in keeping up with the cleaning. Let it go even for a couple of shots and you can easily fall behind for a long time. I know I couldn't keep up with their pace and keep the machine clean without some practice to make certain processes physically automatic in my brain.

Kudos to the barista for smiling during what was probably a hectic time.

Finding terrible espresso in the U.S. is as easy as finding bad Mexican chain food. What lingers in my memory are the most disappointing espressos. These would be the atrocious coffees I have naively ordered in temples of Italian coffee shop culture in Greenwich Village, North Beach in San Francisco and the North End of Boston.

Amid all the glorious displays of antique espresso machinery, the baristas never had a clue how to make a delicious cup of coffee. Worst of all was about 10 years ago in a famous North End coffee shop where I was served a 6 oz. "espresso." When I (politely) complained, I was told I should have ordered a "short espresso." So he remade it, cutting it off when it filled to about 4 undrinkable ounces.

This got me thinking, a lot of these places most likely came about from someone thinking that they could make some money in the industry without knowing much about it. It seems similar to when people open restaurants and bars after making some money in finance or some other unrelated profession, but know nothing about the industry and expect it to be easy.

Another thing entirely tho should be worst shot you've ever gotten from a shop that is "high end" or boasts of their care all the way from farm to cup. Maybe this should be another thread but I feel I have two really good ones from this.

I was in San Francisco doing some work on a new high rise and went to one of the newer, extremely "hipster" coffee companies that has tons of money, roasts in house, and always has the newest gear. Its an interesting place, tho the space seems chaotic, to me it just screams "LOOK HOW HIP I AM! RIGHT?"
So I wonder around the massive space and eventually walk up to the bar to order an espresso, the girl behind the bar about my age(28) looked at me a good 3 times before eventually walking over and asking what she can get me. Clearly she thought I didn't belong, which is funny because I would fit in just fine in my normal clothes, that happens far to often in the city but I'm getting off topic. I asked for an espresso to which she replied "we only do espresso for here", I jokingly replied that I didn't think they even made 2oz to go cups. Some awkward silence a roll of the eyes and she told the barista my order. After what was probably 3 minutes and what looked like a good prep, the girl locked in the Strada's portafilter in slammed it to full flow and gave me my drink when it seemed good to her. I looked at the cup, ominous little speckles of coffee left the rim polka dotted. I took a sip, too hot. I let the drink cool about 1 minute, sipped again, lemon peel mixed with burnt penut. I didn't finish it and I left.
I've been back one other time received the same poor service, slightly better coffee but still not even close to what you would expect to get at a place that preaches of quality and care. Both times I tried this place I ended up just stopping by Blue Bottle on my way home.

I walk into cafe in a small town in Sweden (to remain unnamed) and am pleased to see a Faema E61 on the counter. I'm thinking "this isn't going to be so bad after all". "A double espresso please" says I (translation of course). Some rather frequent sounds of the brew button being pushed begins to raise the alert signal but I remain optimistic. Shortly thereafter I'm served a espresso in a six-ounce Illy cup, full to the rim. My five-year old daughter, chin on the edge of the counter, "that's a lot of espresso..."

I've had similar experiences as described in this thread, but I try to repress these memories as I don't want to relive such unpleasant experiences. It's also why I seldom order espresso or espresso based drinks when out, unless it's from a known and reliable cafe.

Having said that, the interesting question to me is what do you do when you get espresso that might in your mind qualify as "worst ever"?

-Possible options include:

(1) Be polite, and then disappear without expressing your disappointment
(2) Express your disappointment and then leave
(3) Express your disappointment, and ask them to make another drink
(4) Express your disappointment, and politely ask for your money back
(5) Tell them bluntly what they served is no good and insist on getting your money back
(6) Take a sip, make a horrible facial expression, tell them it's the worst espresso you've ever had and refuse to pay

Or something else?

How about worst pour-over ever. Went to a relatively new roaster/coffee shop because they were touted as pour-over only for drip coffee. When I drove up, beautiful afterburner setup on the side of the building and a gorgeous little roasting room inside. Stainless Kalita Wave little bar that looked very nice and well organized so I order a Central American drip coffee because they say it's their lighter roast.

They proceeded to open a rubbermaid canister and "dose" out a few scoops of what looks like charcoal dust into the filter.... (ahhhh can I run away now?)... then free-poured, in about 60 seconds, my "coffee".

I asked about it being their lighter roast, and they said it's still dark because "light roasts are more difficult."

Needless to say the gutter got some ashen paint upon my exit. It tasted like burnt pine water.

I said nothing but just went on my way.

peacecup wrote: My five-year old daughter, chin on the edge of the counter, "that's a lot of espresso..."

I'm liking this, neat to see a child with espresso knowledge.

One of the main reasons I went to coffee shops with Beer&Mathematics was to get a feel for what good espresso tastes like. With him verifying what was good I could train my palate a bit. I'm not sure how many shops there are in Alabama that serve good espresso but I doubt there are very many. And mine at my house would probably rank as the worst I've ever had. The thermometer from Eric will probably improve things though. I must have been pulling shots up close to 210 when I started.

Look on David's face when trying a Nordic espresso was priceless

Luckily, you can roast your own coffee so you can always practice, practice, practice

A merely unforgettable experience: I ordered two expressos at a well-respected shop I had previously frequented when visiting my daughter in another state. A barista whom I had not seen before prepared the puck -- and then proceeded to blow the excess grounds off the filter. While he was pouring, I motioned him over and leaning over the counter as close to his ear as I could get quietly asked him not to blow on the second shot. He looked shocked and said "There's nothing ..." and stopped. He gave me several hostile looks, served me the first shot without another word, and when serving me the second shot said and in a loud voice "I didn't blow on that one."

peacecup wrote:I walk into cafe in a small town in Sweden (to remain unnamed) and am pleased to see a Faema E61 on the counter. I'm thinking "this isn't going to be so bad after all". "A double espresso please" says I (translation of course). Some rather frequent sounds of the brew button being pushed begins to raise the alert signal but I remain optimistic. Shortly thereafter I'm served a espresso in a six-ounce Illy cup, full to the rim. My five-year old daughter, chin on the edge of the counter, "that's a lot of espresso..."

That's a funny story, it's gonna be hard to beat. That said on the whole I've heard a lot of good stuff about Nordic coffee.


Now for my experience. In terms of the worst tasting espresso I've had it was during barista training. It was to aid the explanation of how an shot is extracted, so shots were caught at intervals of 0-10s, 10-15s, 15-20s, 20-25s and 25-30s, naturally separating the components which make up a good shot will result in a pretty horrible drink.