WOW ... i don't think i understand the logic behind this, but it worked wonders. well, i mean, i helped, anyway .. i've been experiencing problematic extractions with some rather old beans myself, and i too had been "tightening up" the grind, thinking smaller meant more of the oils would end up down...

there really is such a steep decline from just a few days past the "prime" period? i've never noticed it that much with some other beans i've had before, which were about 3 weeks old also. i mean, as hard as i try, i can't seem to be able to down a bag of beans in much less than a

i don't mean to hijack this thread, but i've recently bought a bag of this coffee, roasted on nov 2nd. it's not just three weeks later, and i just can't pull anything but horrible shots from those beans. it doesn't seem to matter what i do about the grind, tamp, you name it - the crema is exceptionn...

maybe i'm crazy, but for the past year and a half i've been using the "stock" tamper that came with my gaggia evolution, that is, a small piece of cheap black plastic that's got to be at least a centimeter too small for the 58mm PF the machine came with. what i mean is, this thing forces me to tamp

it's funny you should talk about genes - i went to culinary school a few years back and i took part in a special "extra curricular" project that involved tasting & genetics - one of which was about a specific gene & bitterness (or one form of bitterness, anyway). we were handed small, blank little t...

i posted about this a while ago and while you were all very reassuring - this last shot was a bit beyond ridiculous. before anything - i don't think there's anything wrong with my gaggia evolution - if i grind a bit coarser and tamp a bit lighter and/or put a little less coffee, i'll get the regular...

@shadowfax: im assuming this place to be good. it's gotten alot of buzz, they carry some rather high rated coffees and well to my taste, they rock. @whale: any other recommendations ? i go to art java cause it's on my way to and from the metro; a collegue of mine recommended 'brulerie ste-rose', on ...

well .. im a little puzzled .. this joint is one of the best coffee places in this city (that i know of anyway); and most gimme coffees i ever bought from them was never more than a week old by 'roast date'... the girl behind the counter told me they had recently switched to jjbeans as their 'house'

i just got a bag of jjbeans ('espresso jj') coffee from art java in montreal; roast date on the bag is dec 7th, or about a month old. im pretty sure i was once told this is in the older ranger for roasts .. now, this place usually knows their stuff i and i usually get excellent coffee from them

it's what i usually use; i get it from art java in montreal. it's what they normally use for their own coffees though i think they recently switched to jjbeans. now, i'm no expert in tasting espresso and all, but food is my job and i think i know a thing or two and consistently, i kid not, drinking