Hey folks,

As an Intelli fella working out of the Millennium Park store, I thought I'd offer up my thoughts on the profile of the espresso.

Now I have almost no experience with consumer machines. My experience with the Black Cat is soley based on the Synesso we have upstairs, and the GS/3 we have in the underground pedestrian walkway stand. Which I guess is almost a consumer model machine.

Either way, we usually run the Synesso at 196-199, dosing 18-19g for a 20-25s, 1.5-1.75oz pull. All of our shots, to some extent, are being pulled ristretto. The coffee is evaluated and blended using these espresso parameters, so I'm guessing that's definitely going to be the best profile available. 27-29 seems way too long — overextracted and bitter. Ugh.

The amazing coffee buyers and roasters have been doing an awesome job sourcing all of our coffees and trying to keep our coffee line up in season. The issue with that is maintaining solid blends. And I think the "new" Black Cat is achieving this pretty well. We always have a Brazil base for body/nutty/chocolatey notes, and we try and blend in our of our single origins that is currently in season for a nice light sweetness or fruit note. The goal is something consistent, and hovering more in that caramel, chocolate, nutty note range. Any fruit note up front tends to be something that can be manipulated with dose, grind, etc. If it's too tart/bright, I say go finer and let the shot develop a few seconds longer.

The Coope Dota from Costa Rica is definitely a beautifully sweet and tart coffee — their coffees were great enough to win the WBC for Mike Phillips yesterday. I do agree that it can get very tart in the espresso, but like all great espresso, that just means the right parameters haven't been found yet. During the Coope Dota Black Cat, the best shots capitalized on the buttery, cashew-like nutty finish and sweet sugar notes. We've just entered a new era for Black Cat —Finca La Maravilla from Huehuetenango in Guatemala. Very chocolatey, and sweet.

Now it sounds to me that a higher dose might be a problem with the Silvia's basket. That sounds like something you can work around, though. I say shoot for that 20-22s range with a 1.5oz yield. Maybe let the coffee rest a little longer. In store, we rest all the espresso for 7 days before using it. It helps the coffee de-gas, and tends to be a more even extraction. All in all, though, the profile you are describing just sounds like any espresso, only over-extracted.

It really kills me that you're not getting great shot of Black Cat at home. I go in five (sometimes seven) days a week, and the Black Cat is always there, giving me an excellent shot before, during, and after a shift. It really is one of the best standard espressos I've had in-store, and I'm not just saying that because I work there. Hopefully this helped somewhat!

If you get really acidic note (easier with this lightly roasted black cat) it's more likely your extraction temp that is too low. Try getting your portafilter pre-heated it can make a big difference in brew temp. More coffee also means that you need a higher temp.

But as the other said, this Black cat is not as much chocolaty as it was in the past...

i take back what i wrote below.
+++++++++++++++++++++
14-14.5g, 23 sec, 199 f, ~45ml.

sorry to resurrect an old thread, but finally good on my tastebuds. i know the rec is 18-19, but 14 works great for me.