timo888 wrote:...Demand that everone who wants a latte drink a straight shot first.

LOL!!! I like it!

timo888 wrote:Make them think of it as a real "shot" -- only to be sipped, not gulped with the head thrown back.

Actually, in Italy (where this did all start) a shot of espresso is usually drunk in one or two gulps, three at most. They are NOT savoured...except for the wonderful aftertaste...mmm.

BTW, one should never drink water immediately after drinking an espresso. Rather, water should be drunk before to clense the palate.

Len <------ appreciates the "Italian way"

Worldman wrote:Actually, in Italy (where this did all start) a shot of espresso is usually drunk in one or two gulps, three at most. They are NOT savoured...except for the wonderful aftertaste...mmm.

BTW, one should never drink water immediately after drinking an espresso. Rather, water should be drunk before to clense the palate.

Len <------ appreciates the "Italian way"

I also prepare myself spiritually for espresso, fasting the day before and praying throughout the night in an espresso vigil. If it is an especially precious bean, I bring out the ox-hide flagellum.

An espresso is being gulped if it takes fewer than three sips to drink it.

Regards
Timo

P.S. The Italians often use sugar and stir the espresso with a spoon, which blends the layers.

Thanks for all the responses....

I ended up with my original menu, whole milk and half-and-half, brought Hershey's, vanilla, and caramel syrups. I looked into white chocolate but cheaped out. Used 3 pounds of coffee today, not quite but almost 2 gallons of milk. Less milk than I would have thought.

I made some sugar bombs, but they were not the lion's share of the drinks. Quite a few Americanos, straight espressos for 9 individuals (including myself) with only one taking sugar, a good number of (nearly) traditional cappas (roughly 6 ounces, but not quite as much foam as they should have been, but much more than a latte), lattes (mostly flavored), only 3 macchiatos and a few hot chocolates. Lots of compliments all around.

I struggled on steaming in the AM. It would start out good, and then get all big soap bubbly on me after about 125F on the thermometer. I only had a 12 oz pitcher, so I think I just had too much steam for my current skill set on this big machine. For the afternoon, I tweaked the boiler down to 1.1 bar (from 1.2), and plugged 2 of the 4 steam holes in the steam wand. I could manage much better with this arrangement, no bubbling at the end. I think I could dial back down to 1.0 bar, maybe even 0.90 bar, and still have enough steam to stay ahead of me, and shorten up my flushes.

I run my two group at .85 bar. It will still steam 8 oz of milk in about 15 seconds. I rarely go more than 4-5oz in a 12oz pitcher. It can be challenging.

Well, I banged out another 2 lbs of coffee today.... It was a lot of fun. Had a few more espresso takers today that did not try it yesterday... Total espresso drinkers, 12 different individuals, 6 repeat espresso customers.

Here are some pics of the setup....


The setup


The machines - La Cimbali Junior grinder, Rancilio Silvia, La Cimbali M32 Bistro


La Cimbali M32 Bistro

The Cimbali treated me right. I was worried I might have problems, but none, my vacuum breaker had been a bit flaky before. I did dial the pressure stat down a bit further today. For the most part, this was a good thing, shorter flushes (still lots of flushing from idle though). I did get ahead of the machine once or twice in steaming while pulling a shot after two back to back doubles and boiler refill.