Inexplicable things that some (pro) baristas do

[old442]

Why do some shops insist on pulling shots in two stainless pitchers and then pouring them into the cup?

Kurt

[HB]

Bad training? That's exactly what the barista I blogged about did last week. I can only assume they were taught that. There's no rational reason because the double pour spout was narrow enough to pull directly into the demitasse.

Or more likely there isn't enough clearance for the 20 ounce latte cups their customers expect, so they developed a habit of transferring from a teenie pitcher into the "bucket of milk" to go cup.

[PhaetonFalling]

...I hesitate to call them pro... they do it for a living, doesn't mean they're pro at it.

And if they're pulling from super-automatic machines, they know about as much as the average person.... n00bs

Sincerely,

Namson Pham

[takeshi]

...I hesitate to call them pro... they do it for a living, doesn't mean they're pro at it.

Guess it depends on which definition of the word you're using. Most people use it to mean "following an occupation as a means of livelihood or for gain". Now... not all professionals are experts at their job...

[old442]

...I hesitate to call them pro...

That's why I put "(pro)".
Perhaps this can evolve into a discussion of inexplicable things even true pros do.

[Kaffee Bitte]

I will chime in here from personal experience. In the shop I work in we were trained to do this. (though new people are not trained like this since a new training program was instituted) Once I had some experience with tasting my shots though, this ended for me, at least for straight espressos or cappas. As far as lattes above 12 oz go though, most machines simply do not have the space to fit the cups beneath them. In my opinion this is the only time that such cups should be used. In the shop we don't pull into two separate cups for doubles, we pull into 5 oz cups set below both spouts. It is obviously a major trade off between speed and beautiful unbroken crema.

Lynn

[PhaetonFalling]

Guess it depends on which definition of the word you're using. Most people use it to mean "following an occupation as a means of livelihood or for gain". Now... not all professionals are experts at their job...

I've been playing computer games again.. so.. I'm using pro in the l337/n00bs sense...

As far as lattes above 12 oz go though, most machines simply do not have the space to fit the cups beneath them. In my opinion this is the only time that such cups should be used. In the shop we don't pull into two separate cups for doubles, we pull into 5 oz cups set below both spouts.

The 5 oz cup is a much better alternative to the double shot glass/metal containers.


Something inexplicable that expert baristas do: When I was in italy, I had some fantastic shots.... I mean just beautiful gorgeous tasty tasty shots... they just ground, dosed into the basket/pf, and then just stuck it in the machine.... no tamp at all... and it was delicious.. I can't figure it out... but hey, taste is what counts!

Sincerely,

Namson

[Kaffee Bitte]

Something inexplicable that expert baristas do: When I was in italy, I had some fantastic shots.... I mean just beautiful gorgeous tasty tasty shots... they just ground, dosed into the basket/pf, and then just stuck it in the machine.... no tamp at all... and it was delicious.. I can't figure it out... but hey, taste is what counts!

When they did this, did it seem that they dosed more than a normal amount into the pf? Did the barista flatten the dose into the portafilter or just dose and jam it into the group?
Lynn

[PhaetonFalling]

When they did this, did it seem that they dosed more than a normal amount into the pf? Did the barista flatten the dose into the portafilter or just dose and jam it into the group?

I don't remember the specifics, I wasn't as much of a coffee nut (or is it bean?) those days. I just explicitly remember that they didn't tamp.

I also remember that they were very aggressive with the doser, rotating the portafilter, also aggressively.

Sincerely,

Namson Pham

[Linz]

Funny this topic should come up today, because today I went to pick up my weekly beans from a place here in Christchurch, New Zealand, by the name of Hummingbird coffee. I've always been very impressed with their coffees, and they also sell commercial and home equipment and run barista training courses.

They also have a small cafe, and I was there standing waiting to pay for my coffee, watching the barista at work. Dosing I couldn't see, the tamp was quick but firm with just a brief twist to polish. She locked in the portafilter and hit the button. After about 30 seconds we got the first drip, then another drip, and another. This went on for what must have been a full two minutes of drip, drip, drip. I didn't bother to watch the rest.

I'm glad I wasn't going to be drinking it, and I thought this place was one of the best in town.

[Phaelon56]

Why do some shops insist on pulling shots in two stainless pitchers and then pouring them into the cup?

Kurt

I work in a shop part time and the only time I ever do this is when a customer orders

a) Any milk based espresso drink in a 20 oz cup (not my shop - if it was I wouldn't sell 20 oz drinks). Our 20 oz cups are automatically served with two double ristretto shots of about 1.5 oz each. The 20 oz cups will not fit under the pouring spout of the LM Linea.

b) Any size quad shot Americano. We add the espresso to the water - not vice versa.

One might ask.... why not make the two double shots in succession - both into the same pitcher? First reason is because I'd rather deal with losing a bit of crema from two pitchers versus having the first shot go really flat while the second one is being pulled. Second reason is that many of our morning rush customers (I work 6 AM to 8 AM) are in a big hurry. Don't ask me why - but it's the way it is. I have literally seen cusotmers - on many occasions - walk out if it took more than three minutes from start to finish to enter the store, get their drink and leave.

I'll also note that it's not my shop and not my set of practices......

But I have been in what I considered to be a fairly progressive and well run shop (not the one where I work ) that pulled ALL their shots into shot glassess and then transferred them into the ceramic or paper cup. When I asked why they said it was so the barista could check the shot quality and amount of crema on every drink. I think that's a terrible idea. It's easy enough to tell whether you have a good pour or not by just watching the espresso flow directly into the (preheated!) ceramic cup.

[old442]

I understand about pulling the shots and adding the to the "Big Gulp Latte".
What I see quite often is pulling the shot into two small stainless pitchers and then pouring them into a cup when it was a straight double shot that was ordered. This makes absolutely no sense to me.

I think I figured it out. Perhaps since everyone is drinking Big Gulp Lattes they had to figure out something to do with the small cream containers.

[John P]

If you angle your tall to go cups under the PF, you can still pull shots directly into the cup.
I never understood the pull shot and transfer it thing... more stuff to wash, and who wants to wash more stuff?

[Phaelon56]

If you angle your tall to go cups under the PF, you can still pull shots directly into the cup.
I never understood the pull shot and transfer it thing... more stuff to wash, and who wants to wash more stuff?

True of a 16oz cup on La Marzocco Linea but very tough to do with a 20 oz cup.

[Psyd]

True of a 16oz cup on La Marzocco Linea but very tough to do with a 20 oz cup.

Owen, I'll trade you my Astoria Argenta RG for your LM Linea. The RG (Raised Group) will let you put a 24 oz paper cup right under the group. I only pull doubles for, at most, a ten ounce latte, and my bowls fit under the Silvia, so I'm sure they'd go under the groups of the Linea. Just let me know where to ship it, brother. ; >

[Phaelon56]

Owen, I'll trade you my Astoria Argenta RG for your LM Linea. The RG (Raised Group) will let you put a 24 oz paper cup right under the group. I only pull doubles for, at most, a ten ounce latte, and my bowls fit under the Silvia, so I'm sure they'd go under the groups of the Linea. Just let me know where to ship it, brother. ; >

Hmmmm... soooo tempting but I think I may have to pass. Actually.... I think if we switched to bottomless PF's it might be possible to get the 20 oz cup snugged under that in such a way that it would stay in place while the shot was pouring (yes - this is a shop where we use the AV auto-volumetric feature instead of watching every shot while it's being pulled but - as I'm so fond of saying - it's not my shop).

[luca]

Surely the 20oz cup would fit under a bottomless portafilter ;P

[DigMe]

I visited a local establishment the other day. I know that the pf tap with the tamper is pretty much standard practice (although I don't do it at home and I liked Mark Prince's thoughts about it in his tamping article) but this guy was really just knocking the crap out of the PF. I just wanted to go, "Hey..whoa whoa there! Easy, buddy!" It was the most aggressive PF knock I've ever seen!

bc