Jim:

With the Mr. Espresso Neapolitan I've not had problems with crema, so you may need a coarser grind. I've also had it prepared at their cafe on top equipment where it's sweet and chocolatey and has rich crema. They're a 2nd Wave roaster and don't follow our Third Wave standard of printing the roast date. They age their beans about a week post roast and pack it in nitrogen, which is typical Italian practice. So, what you get from them should be ready to pull.

Back to the general thread topic, I picked up some "Italian Roast Espresso" yesterday at Caffe Trieste in San Francisco. (They're not Third Wave.) When I asked they said they'd roasted it that week and it contains no robusta (I responded that I don't consider robusta a defect).



I pulled it this morning on my Cremina, using a Pharos grinder and the usual grind settings I employ for Third Wave espresso. I updosed from the usual 15.5 gm to 16.5 gm and pulled it a good 20 degrees F cooler* at the start than my setting for Red Bird Espresso. These beans are roasted into second crack with an oily sheen, which is why I updosed and might go to 17 gm next time. The coffee tasted fresh and monotone as I would expect when roast flavors replace origin ones. It didn't require sugar but could probably benefit from a demitasse spoonful to cut the slight bitter finish. Pulled this cool it wasn't harsh at all. I'm glad to expand my espresso vocabulary to this, which should make very nice capps.

* As a reference for temp I've equipped my Cremina with a thermometer probe attached to the outside of the group. Where my start temp is usually 190F for Red Bird and the group heats to about 199F during that pull I started at 170F and the group heated to 185. This upward temperature fluctuation is expected. If I were running this dark a roast on that machine I would turn down the PSTAT to reduce the rate of temperature climb and maybe control the slight bitter edge further.



I might experiment with this coffee in an AeroPress to eliminate the upward temperature swing or in a Caravel where the upward swing would be reduced.

Interesting take on Caffé Trieste, Dr. G. I never had any luck with it. Maybe I will try the cooler temp approach.

The last time I went there, I vowed never to return. I know their brusque attitude is their schtick, but I figured I would spend my time and money somewhere where I would be treated not like an idiot. Shouldn't take it personally, I guess.
Sorry for the left-turn from the topic.

Pete

Pete:

I just did some more experimenting with the Caffe Trieste blend. I made it into a soy capp and it was my best ever, pure chocolate. The soy I'm using is Pacific Select Soy Vanilla.

Next I toggled the power off on the Cremina so I would have less of a temperature rise on the pull. I cooled the group using portafilters dipped in water until it was 170F and dosed 17.5 gm. This time outside group temperature only rose to 181F. I had to do a few half pumps to get water into the group since pressure was down. I then pulled a nice looking shot, a long single pull that almost filled the cup. I added two demitasse spoons of sugar, starting with one that wasn't enough. With enough sugar it was sweet but not overwhelming. The cup became more complex, though, with sour orange and almond notes added to a dominant dark chocolate. This tells me the bitterness has some interesting flavor that can emerge with sweetening. Since there's no robusta in this blend there's no rubber tire muskiness to tame.

This might be interesting to try on your VAM Caravel, then sweetened. Maybe pull it cool using the AeroPress recommendation of 175F. I think I'll try it on my VAM Caravel soon.

I fired up the Caravel and tried a shot at 172F in the boiler. It also came out good. I would go a little hotter. The flavor was less complex, which depends in part on temperature variation during the shot. It's nice to have these two temperature controlled machines available to dial in this traditional coffee.

drgary wrote:Jim:

With the Mr. Espresso Neapolitan I've not had problems with crema, so you may need a coarser grind. I've also had it prepared at their cafe on top equipment where it's sweet and chocolatey and has rich crema. They're a 2nd Wave roaster and don't follow our Third Wave standard of printing the roast date. They age their beans about a week post roast and pack it in nitrogen, which is typical Italian practice. So, what you get from them should be ready to pull.

Interesting enough, I opened up the second bag yesterday that I froze the day it arrived. It was a lot different than the first one, and I think a lot better. The fruitiness was not there and the crema was better. I still like Caffe D'Arte's better, but it was a lot closer than the first bag was.

What would cause it to change so much? If freezing changed it, I wouldn't think it would improve Crema...

Jim

Looks like Counter Culture's La Forza is off the line since they upgraded their website this weekend. Such a shame; after a hard first day trying to dial it in and going through at least half the bag, I was pulling two days of awesome, crema-heavy cups. I went to order two more bags on Sunday and found it gone.

As for Cafe Trieste, whenever I go to SF, I make it a point to stop in, not so much for the coffee but for the spot itself. If anything, it's a great place to sit and regroup.

Yeah, I noticed the same thing about the La Forza blend. I am a big fan of that particular offering, both for pulling ristretto shots and also as a base for milk drinks. I had a particularly tasty macchiato of it this morning, which came out like a rich French sipping chocolate with subtle notes of pepper and spice.

I have about a half bag left in my freezer and then it will be the end of an era. Let's hope they bring it back!

I was going to recommend La Forza a couple days ago, but noticed it had disappeared from the new website.

The good news for fans is that they've just consolidated this blend under a single brand:

http://counterculturecoffee.com/store/coffee/number-46

Previously the same product was offered both as "La Forza" and "Number 46". But despite the different name, these were identical products in the bag. So if you want La Forza, you can order Number 46.

Thanks for the info -- that's good to know!

I thought I would post a follow up after my initial post.
So far I tried the haiku espresso. It's an interesting blend. Definitely some acidity but very flavorful and balanced. I thought it did a good Americano. I also tried the Mr Espresso Napolitan blend. I think it's a good basic italian-like espresso. Not complex but not burnt. There is a hint of acidity. I think it fits well the bill when you need an uncomplicated espresso after lunch (it can take some sugar but goes well without). I just opened a bag of Mr Espresso Di Carlo. It seems like a more refined version of the Napolitan blend. A bit more complex, a bit more flavorful. I noticed that a bit of sugar with this blend nicely eliminates any hint of bitterness.
I also tried the Blue Bottle Roman. I liked this blend. It's similar to the Haiku, but a little less flavorful but more chocolatey, with still a tad of acidity.
Then I tried some beans from a small roaster from Mountain View (CA,USA) at a friend's place. It's called Moksha Coffee Roasting. I was positively surprised. I thought the blend was quite good, especially that it seems not very well know and small. It seems their roasts are light in acidity and well balanced so I will definitively try more from them. For example they have a northern italian-like blend that I want to try... They claim that all their roasts are good as espresso.
Has anyone tried any Moksha roasts? Any comment about this roaster would be appreciated (I did not find any past comment about them on this forum).
Vincent