The crowd: A motley crew of 15 characters whose only common denominator is espresso
The oddity: There were five guys there named Steve
Fortune Elkins organizes a monthly espresso get together for the coffee abused community of New York City. Ken Ney hosted this one in his coffee shop. A private jam session on his Faema E61 Legend.
Espresso machines must be the low risk alternative to motorcycles: You see women riding them, but it is usually in the back. So true to form, we had only 2 women in the house, and indeed one of them came in riding the back of an Elektra Micro Casa A Leva.
There was one fellow there who rolled in after seeing a notice of the meet on Craig's List. One wonders if there is a forum on the internet that escaped Fortune's wrath
. The fellow was there for free coffee, and suffered quietly through our discussions of extraction time, and distribution techniques.
Some words and phrases that were heard around:
How do you call that drink? (something Spanish)... 23 grams?... I have two extra Cappuccinos here.. The average vocabulary of a New York Post issue is 200 words...where is the body?...Fare Trade.. Juan Valdez but no Donkey...cupping at the New York Commodities Exchange...Does your mother know you do that???
Two hours of excellent espresso, and a lot of chit chat. Ken was pulling most of the shots, looking for some feedback from the crowed: he changed his house blend slightly. The shots were excellent, fantastic color, sweet and dark long chocolate after taste, though, a little light on body. Towards the end of the meet Fortune raffled a small air popper roaster, courtesy of 1st Line.
It was a great evening all around, and many thanks to Fortune for her initiative and great energy, and to Ken Nye for his hospitality. I had a total of 2 triples and a cappuccino. I slept with my eyes open that night.
