While I don't love black cat that much, I can tell you that it's not weak or sour so it sounds to me like you're under-extracting? Like others have said, it's not as forgiving as it used to be. What dose are you playing with and what type of a basket? I would also not consider the freshness of lavazza to be anything like that near intelligentsia so pulling them in a similar fashion isn't going to work well.

What type of grinder do you use?

Liking the Italian blends so well, you might choose just to stick with them.

But if you wish to explore the current wave of roasters and cafes to see if you want to bring it back home, consider trying Madcap's offerings, too. I believe they have a location near you.

i've tried black cat numerous times, some 1lb bags from the store here in LA, one 5 lb and i consistently struggled to dial it in, regardless of how much time i put into it, strange because in their cafes its stellar. I moved on to their Analog blend, I love it, would suggest you give it a try

FrankieC63 wrote:What do you think of Redline or Red Bird?

Havent had Redline in a very very long time. Quickmill Anita days.. mid 09'. I remember it was "good", but for whatever reason, I didnt go back for more.

Redbird is also good. I highly suggest anyone who is new to "real" espresso at home, go buy some redbird. Very tolerant of how many days post roast, dose, temperature, extraction.. Its a blend where you can definitely nail the sweet spot and be rewarded, but you can explore the entire extraction space and get still very acceptable shots all over the place. Its good, if not a little boring.

Ideally Id like to keep the rich chocolate caramel, and follow it up with some sweet red berries and maybe a hint of spice. My favorite natural Ethiopians can do this all on their own, but im just as happy if a natural E needs to be blended against a chocolatey Brazil to achieve what I personally consider, the ideal espresso flavor profile. Call me a traditionalist, or maybe I just havent had a well pulled shot, but Id much rather that Chocolate/Caramel/Berries and Spice shot, opposed to the hot tart cranberry juice and citric acid dusted grapefruit rind "W3OJ" espresso that is all the rage today. And believe me, I WANT it to be that I just havent had an excellent W3OJ shot, and everything Ive made myself or gone out to get has been bad.. I will proudly wear double egg on my face if thats the case.

I think the problem here is that you're expecting an Italian style of espresso when Black Cat is something entirely different, a sweetness- and acidity-forward third-wave espresso, and a good one at that. Pulled properly, it should be sweet, juicy, balanced, and relatively thick. I had a shot less than a week ago in Venice that was lovely.

I'd say, go to your local Intelligentsia and see if you like it. Otherwise, you really can't judge.

In the meantime, you'll generally want to dose lower (get a scale), pull longer (1:2 by weight is a good starting-point), and pull hotter.

JmanEspresso wrote:
Ideally Id like to keep the rich chocolate caramel, and follow it up with some sweet red berries and maybe a hint of spice. My favorite natural Ethiopians can do this all on their own, but im just as happy if a natural E needs to be blended against a chocolatey Brazil to achieve what I personally consider, the ideal espresso flavor profile.

BTW, to me this describes the current iteration of Venia Square Peg to a T (although it includes Guatemalan rather than Brazilian).

usfcroadie, I get you 100%. I may try a few more brands, especially the Brazil Sweet Blue that you mentioned. The part that gets me is that I am using big name brand coffees and getting excellent results. Then I buy a supposedly superior coffee and get junk as far as espresso goes. I actually just brewed a pot of drip coffee with the Black Cat Espresso (my backup in case sh*t happens) and its actually good

Thanks for all of the other replies, however I am not interested in having to modify all of my parameters just to get a decent shot. I believe we overcomplicate things here. If the product is good, it should speak for itself. Having to make modifications to the point where a 12 ounce bag is gone before you dial it in, well that's just futile.

DrugOfChoice wrote:BTW, to me this describes the current iteration of Venia Square Peg to a T (although it includes Guatemalan rather than Brazilian).

Thank you for telling me, I will definitely try some. Guat is also great for contributing to that flavor profile, I just mentioned Brazil because thats what I personally, generally use if Im creating my own blend. The flavor profile I described might sound very precise, but in reality, if we're talking about a blend, there is a plethora of origins which can contribute and still end up falling into those parameters. A couple years ago, the Ethiopian DP Amaro Gayo from a number of roasters, achieved that complexity all on its own, and I drank a boatload of it.

FrankieC63 wrote:Thanks for all of the other replies, however I am not interested in having to modify all of my parameters just to get a decent shot. I believe we overcomplicate things here. If the product is good, it should speak for itself. Having to make modifications to the point where a 12 ounce bag is gone before you dial it in, well that's just futile.

Im not telling you that you're doing it wrong, because, end of the day, drink what makes YOU happy. But, all the different imported Italian espresso blends, while slightly unique sure, are all shooting for a very similar taste, and they definitely all like a very similar way of preparation. You dont need to change much, brand to brand, blend to blend.

If you want to try coffees from top tier American roasters, you're going to find a WIDE variety, even if you just stick to espresso blends. The way they need to be extracted to get the good stuff, will change radically from coffee to coffee, AND, so will the taste. Perfect Example. Klatch Coffees Belle Espresso, a long time favorite of mine. In its best form, tastes like milk chocolate and some type of red berry hidden inside. The last time I had Owls Howl from Sightglass Roasters, it was jarring to me. STRONGLY tasted of a slightly sweet lemon.(its probably a wildly different blend today). The way those two coffees needed to be pulled, was so different. The Belle, I updose to my hearts content, 22grams maybe. Coarser grind, classic 27-28seconds for like 1.75oz. The Owls Howl, I was dosing 15grams, very tight grind, and as slow flow I could get with overextracting. Those are two very different ends of the spectrum, but you get the idea. I had to make massive changes to every part of the shot build, to get acceptable shots from either coffee. If you buy wildly different blends, week to week, this will be the case. I tend to stick to flavor profiles I prefer, heavy on chocolate, fruit as an accent, so week to week, blend to blend, I only need to make minor changes to the shots. Today, I just switched from the end of my Redbird, to my new bag of Belle. Only difference, is a dose change. 1 gram difference.

I still stick by what I said lol, went through pounds of BC, varied dose and temp all over, was just pretty bad or more like odd, there's tart and then there's "tart" in bad way. So when we were traveling I hit up their locations in Chicago and LA after seeing all the bragging about this being one of the best coffees around, and it had the same exact weird taste that not even my wife liked. Others have said the same thing, just figure I thought it was me but even in their shops it was still an off putting flavor. There was a shop near me that carried it and then stopped, one of the guys there said people eventually were asking for the other coffee they carried instead which was Anodyne.

Thanks everyone and thanks again cmin!

I gave it another shot today and it just didn't seem right. I favor the Italian blends and I think that's what I'll explore.