michael wrote:I picked up my bags on 2 different occasions from the local Whole Foods; fresh (lots of stuff there is way past the roast date) both times and made some reasonably good coffee; used the dosing, time and output from the website;
what temperature did you try, I used 94 C

I ordered directly from Intelligentsia so it was fresh. I tried a range of temperatures from 197 to 203. Oh well...maybe it isn't for me.

I just pulled a great Black Cat Classic espresso this morning. The beans are eight days post roast. I dosed 18.5g in and 38g out in 31 seconds (23.5 seconds from first drip) at 202°F. I was using the standard double basket with the Vetrano 2B. The result was a very sweet and ripe espresso with some really interesting fruit flavors. There was a slight nuttiness, but I didn't get much chocolate flavor. If that is what you are searching for in your espresso, there may be better options or you would need to adjust the brew parameters.

I don't get any chocolate out of Black Cat, but I always get a lot of peanuts. On my gear Black Cat is just about the most peanutty espresso I've ever pulled.

I had a shot at Intelli when I was in Chicago over the holidays and remember really tasting some dark chocolate near the end of the espresso I had. It was quite a bright shot too, brighter than I would normally have. This was their Black Cat Classic. I'm not sure exactly how they pulled it, but it certainly didn't seem like a ristretto.

Correct, pull it hot and it the 1.5 range. I get the same dark chocolate in my shots from them. I never get much acidity.

These recommendations and insights are awesome.
Today - pulled a 6 day old at 200 F, 18.5 g, out = 28g in 26 seconds. Cuts through the milk with alot of chocolatey notes, not as bright as before at the more 1:2 pulls.