Pallo Coffee Tool "Best of Three" giveaway

#1: Post by HB » October 18th, 2005, 8:39 am

Update: I split off some of the entries to make them easier to find in the future, and encourage follow-on discussion.

_________________

Jeffrey Pelo (member JoeGlo) is a fan of HB, and I'm a fan of his products, especially the three-in-one Coffee Tool, available in a multitude of colors and now translucent plastic too:

The Pallo three-in-one coffee tool is the smartest espresso doodad I've seen. It is a replacement of the ubiquitous angled grouphead brush, which could rightly be nicknamed the "please, burn my hand" brush. So what makes it "three-in-one"?

You can scrub madly while running water through the group, thanks to a long handle and ridges near the brush end. The water streams straight down, not down the handle. Rinsing the grounds off and scrubbing the dispersion screen has never been easier.
Steam tip clogged? No problem, a little metal poker on the end will clean it out in a jiffy (note that it may be a little too large for some prosumer steam tip holes).
When it's time for espresso cleaner, you've got a measuring spoon at the end of the handle.

If you don't already have a Coffee Tool, now is your chance to win one thanks to the Pallo Coffee Tool "Best of Three" giveaway. Post to this thread and you're automatically entered to win! The topic can be anything related to espresso. One of the moderators will select the best from the day's new posts to this thread or at least three posts, whichever occurs first (i.e., a winner is declared for every day there are at least three posts, or if there are not, the day that the third entry is posted; posts asking about the rules, comments on other posts, etc. are excluded). Your entry can be a short-and-sweet hint, a espresso-related photograph, an organized collection of your favorite links, your "signature drink" espresso recipe, best modification, recent discovery on the web, ... really anything you like espresso-related, as long as it's interesting, helpful, thought-provoking, or just plain fun.

I have a large handful of cool brushes to give away... so post your best stuff and help me clear out the HB giveaway closet.

PS: Also see Espresso Cleaning 101 by Dave Stephens (cannonfodder), which features JoeGlo's cleaning products in one of the pictures.

October 19th, 2005, 10:13 pm

My latest search for a good cafe while on travel... (for more look at my blog)

Espresso In Pittsburgh, Aldo Coffee Co
I am in Pittsburgh on business this week, so my search for a good cafe starts anew. My last trip was to Newark NJ, it was a dismal, futile search (first post on my blog). I posted the same question to the eastern US forum on coffee geek requesting locations for Pittsburgh. I did get a couple of recommendations.

One of the suggested locations was relatively new, Aldo Coffee Co. I looked them up on the web. It looked like a nice place. They make panini and use Intelligentsia Black Cat espresso. Even more important, they are only about 6 miles from my hotel and the owner reads coffee geek. So after class I set off on the motorcycle looking forward to a good espresso and a fresh hot panini for dinner.

I had somewhat of a letdown. Apparently they only make the panini for lunch so all they had was a chicken salad sandwich and a salad, so much for dinner. So I ordered up a double espresso. It took her a couple of attempts to pull my shot. Now you may think, that is not a good sign, but I would argue the exact opposite. They are willing to toss a questionable shot and try again, that is a sign of quality. My only complaint, the body was a little weak and she pulled my double in an Intelligentsia cappa cup, not a demitasse. So I gulped down my espresso, pondered the experience and headed back up for a cappa.

I ordered a large cappa with three double shots, Ya Baby, Espresso Love. Once again it took her several attempts to pull my shots. She apologized for the wait and explained that she was having some trouble with the timing this evening. She made a small grind adjustment and tried again. She was timing each extraction.

Now I have to pause here and say how pleasurable it was to actually have a barista that is willing to tweak the grinder and time the extraction to give her customer a quality drink. I am more than happy to wait for a quality drink, good food is not fast and fast food is not good.

She finished pulling all of the shots and pulled out a pitcher to froth my milk. Now I am not a pro barista, but I have had enough drinks to know when someone is doing frothing correctly just based on the sound. So as I stood there watching her, I braced myself for the gurgling whoosh of someone creating dish soap bubbles. She starred intently at the pitcher; you could see the concentration in her face. Up to that point we had been having a very pleasant discussion about coffee and home (she was from Chicago). When I noticed the concentration in her face I stopped talking, I did not want to distract her.

Then I heard it, not the whoosh, bluble goosh of dry nasty foam, but the soft and delicate pssst, fssst of someone making microfoam. YES! I shout to myself, I love this woman, wonder if she is married. I ordered up a hunk of cheese cake to go with my massive mug of cappa and retired to a table to sip away. It was not perfect latte art quality foam, but very acceptable and better than anything I have had outside of Chicago or my home.

It was a pleasurable experience and I plan on returning at least once more this week. One last thing, they grind per shot, no dosers there, another big thumbs up.

#3: Post by **cpl593h** » October 23rd, 2005, 9:27 pm

I want to share some photos of my naked shot pulling using my Europiccola. Yes, the chrome peacock and pull naked shots too!

The trick I use to stabilize the temperature on my Europiccola is very simple. After the machine is heated up and a heating flush is pulled, I drop the line voltage down to 98V to maintain boiler temperature. Between shots I cool the group down a little by wiping the shower screen with a cool damp rag.

Enjoy!

P.S.: Joe Glo cleaner works wonders inside the boiler of the Europiccola and flushing the group!

#4: Post by **snoboy** » October 24th, 2005, 1:46 pm

Some random mods and tips...

Flickr is a great tool for posting pics of coffee gear, and especially when discussing internals and mods, as you can annotate the pictures. See some examples on my PID photo blog.

You need to do these mods if you own a Rocky: Make your Rocky SD infinitely adjustable, easier to clean, and get it to grind continously.

Once you get all that done

you should make the following drink and sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labour:

1) Prewarm a 3 oz cup.
2) Put about a half teaspoon of honey, and just enough hot water to dissolve it in the cup.
3) Pull a nice double (oh so easy now that Rocky is so adjustable) on top of the honey "syrup"
4) Top off the cup with some microfoamed milk...

Mmmmmm.

October 24th, 2005, 8:34 pm

Snoboy, very nice collection of Rocky modifications (one of my own too)! You are today's Pallo Coffee Tool winner, please send a private message to JoeGlo with your mailing address.

#6: Post by **snoboy** » October 24th, 2005, 9:12 pm

I threw yours in there to appeal to you, hoping to sway the judges.

I am excited to get my new coffee toy...

#7: Post by **Kelpburger** » November 2nd, 2005, 3:36 pm

Ok, I got this one in an e-mail. I'll spare you the scoring system for spotting the man in the beans but it was fun trying to find him.

Yes, he is there and it will be very obvious once you see him

November 2nd, 2005, 4:12 pm

The last few entries are quite good, it was a tough call... but we here at Home-Barista.com commiserate with those who spend a RIDICULOUS amount of money on espresso equipment and learn from the experience. Danno, you are today's winner, please send a private message to JoeGlo with your mailing address.

November 8th, 2005, 9:17 am

Today I found this note at the bottom of my giveaway bag:

Slim, lonely espresso lover seeks talented barista with sleek, shiny equipment. Ideal match loves macchiatos, movies, and weekend mornings lingering over dark brew. Will work hard and get dirty for the right barista.

Do you have what it takes to win the affections of this lovely implement?

Offer your wisdom or wit, and you'll be a pair for life. The giveaway ends this week...

PS: I will start splitting off some of the entries to make them easier to find in the future, and encourage follow-on discussion.

#10: Post by **JonR10** » November 8th, 2005, 11:21 am

HB wrote:Offer your wisdom or wit, and you'll be a pair for life. The giveaway ends this week...

OK - my tool arrived yesterday!!
And I gotta say - if you're still using the standard angle brush you NEED one of these tools.
It is the best thing since ridgeless baskets...

Now I'm asking myself why i didn't get one of these sooner