What does your typical espresso rate? - Page 3

[Psyd]

I am a (not world class) competitive barista... or, rather, I will be in about three weeks. (first ever SCRBC)

I'd be curious to know how I'd "officially"(is that possible?) score, though.

Sounds like you'll know in three weeks, n'est ce-pas? ; >

[Jasonian]

Sounds like you'll know in three weeks, n'est ce-pas? ; >

It depends on the judges workshop, I think.

But probably, yes.

[Jarno]

My wife and I recently had the fortune of visiting Dave Schomer's place, Espresso Vivace, in Seattle. I have to say the quality of what we experienced was totally unexpected. Espressos are dark and rich. There is very little bright acidity in it and very little bitterness as well. The texture is syrupy. The sweetness is difficult to discern in the straight espresso, I suppose because it is so concentrated, but it really flourishes when mixed in milk as in a cappuccino. I have to say that we ordered cap after cap, and I can honestly say that the first sip of the first cup tastes exactly like the last sip of the last cup.

This last statement I don't make casually. I would have to say that there have been only a handful of restaurants that I have visited where I can also say that the first bite tastes exactly like the last bite. One dish was seared emu at Le Bec Fin, Philadelphia. Another was Chilean seabass at Blue Water Grill, Chicago. Those dishes at the above restaurants as well as at Vivace have been very memorable experiences.

Putting this into context, if Vivace is a '5,' and Starbucks is a '1,' which is still a very pleasant drink, then I'm pulling a '2' on my Pavoni with an occasional '1' and a rare '3.' My shots have more brightness with little bitterness. It has good body, but only little to fair sweetness. Now that I have tasted sweetness in coffee, I have now noticed that mine certainly lacks it. I would say that if you're every in the Seattle area and you're looking for a benchmark to grade your espresso/cappuccino against, then this is a place you won't want to pass up.

[Dogshot]

It depends on the judges workshop, I think.

But probably, yes.

If the taste of your espresso is what you are interested in having rated, I hope the competition breaks the scoring down to that level. According to the USBC scoring sheets, the taste of the espresso is worth 63 out of 263 points (or 25% of your total score). In fact, according to the scoring sheet, it is more important to run a clean work station and have 20-30 second extraction times, etc. than it is to have good taste scores (although the 2 are undoubtedly correlated).

Taste scores are defined by the colour and consistency of the crema and by the balance of the beverage.

This scoring may well make sense as a measure of professional competence, but IMO would be a poor measure of a HB's espresso. Luckily, HBs are not so heavily constrained , and are free to explore coffees or brewing styles that may lead to spectacular espresso, although unbalanced, or slightly thin in body or crema (or different in some way from the USBC's definition of quality espresso).

Mark