Maybe I should have phrased my question differently.

Chris - how was the coffee when "brewed" through the Strada?

The brewed Kenya coffee that I had was good, it tasted quite well extracted without being over-extracted. To be honest, I wasn't paying much attention to the brewing of the coffee, I placed my family's order and then looked around the shop a bit and went outside to sit with my family and wait.

I purposely ordered the coffee first followed by the espresso shot so that I would get a chance to taste the coffee first before my taste buds had been hit by the strength of the espresso. This is one of the challenges I face at other shops as I normally order a coffee and an espresso and the espresso generally comes out first and I don't want to let it sit until the pour-over is done or wait in line twice, but at Cat & Cloud they were very accommodating and let me pay for the espresso and then followed up with me later to see if I was ready for the shot.

The thing that I noticed, though, at Cat & Cloud, was that I don't think it would have mattered if I had drunk the espresso first because the flavor of the Kenya coffee was front and center. Not used to such clear flavor from the cup, sorry I didn't focus on tasting notes, this was more of a family trip than a coffee outing, but I enjoyed it.

any one know blue print on how they do their "coffee shot"?

try here
https://soundcloud.com/catandcloud/btc-by-the-cup-etc

Nik wrote:I was in the process of placing an order and noticed that the package size was 10 oz. A pound is continuing the process of shrinking from 16 to 14, 13, 12 and now 10 oz. A couple roasters are now selling their labeled espresso in 8 oz sizes. I didn't even have to make a decision. My gut reaction took over and cancelled the order. I recognize that their price is $13.50. Verve Street Level is still 12 oz with free shipping on a $25 order and I don't have to reorder as often. Street Level is excellent. I wish Cat & Cloud the best.

I pretty much did the same thing. That plus the shipping did me in. I wish more roasters at least offered free or even just $5.00 shipping.

Started dialing in my first shots of C&C's The Answer blend this morning (10-days post roast) and happy to report it is delicious! Not getting their described "butterscotch and caramel in milk" but big stone fruit, medium to bright acidity, muted toasted nut and chocolate in the background; we like!

I was just in C&C and like them more than verve. They have two espressos available and both are very good: one traditional with chocolate cherry brown sugar notes which is excellent in milk drinks (the Answer); the other citrus-y which pulls really nice shots (the Question).

Their shop is phenomenal and they have good pastries as well.

C&C is now my top coffee destination in Santa Cruz/Capitola.

Its called a "Coffee Shot" and you should be able to do it on your home machine if you can adjust the temperature (or just try it without)
Here is the howto:
www.mahlkoenig.com/file/download/default/id/6981

(They are obviously pushing the grinder on that particular doc, but you can search for "Coffee shot perger" for more info.