Just a question about what we really want in a shot. Or maybe, more accurately, what we think we want versus what we experience as human beans.

I don't want a perfect shot every time.

Honest.

Where's the beauty in that?

I mean, sure, it'd be great for the first few days. But then, with shocking speed, it'd be.... routine. Then what? What happens when "perfect" is now every-day, and you're looking for that special moment of wonder and awe again? How do you one-up "perfect"??

What I want is the reminder that I can approach perfection. Or, at least, something close to it, given the equipment I have to work with. "So what?" if each cup is a little different? That's not failure, that's variety.

It's the imperfect shot that enables you to recognize the great one when it happens. And that's when beauty and creativity become revealed in the process.

Am I right? Or am I just blowing steam out my wand?

I want a great shot every time, personally. If 90% of my shots were undrinkable, I would switch to tea.

But there is a difference between great and perfect. Every person will have his own criteria for what constitutes adequate: the threshold for a tolerable drink that brings pleasure and satisfaction. For most people, this will not be the same as perfection. More often than not we are unable to clearly define perfection because there are a great many variables such as flavor that defy hierarchical classification. What is more perfect: cherry covered chocolate or citrus and acacia blossoms?

For me this is the fertile ground I seek: to achieve in my espresso (among other things) a cup sufficient to allow me to fully explore the flavor and texture nuances that the coffee has to offer in all its natural variations.

I'm not sure what a perfect shot is but I really, I mean really really, want perfect shots every time. If I get tired of them I will change coffee.

Don't get me wrong I enjoy the many imperfect shots I pull, but I promise I would not get tired of unlimited perfect espresso.

Oh, I still want 'perfection.' I want to achieve my perfect shot, and then I want to keep doing that. When I do, it will become routine, and I'll be chasing something even better. Taste is very subjective and it can be difficult to find a reference point. It's too bad that you can't try shots that you enjoyed when you first started out. One's idea of what's good, not to even mention perfect, is in constant flux, a moving target.

Beyond that, coffee is an agricultural product that is ultimately at the mercy of some variation from sample to sample of a given coffee, as well as each coffee's seasonality. The highest quality coffee is produced in limited quantities--even if you could reproduce your efforts exactly, they won't work the same on next year's crop.

So I wouldn't worry too much about chasing perfection. There's enough entropy in the whole process that you'll never consistently achieve 'perfection,' even if it weren't itself in flux. It's like chasing the dragon...

You would be lucky to get two perfect shots in a row let alone every time. Perfect shots? I have had three... maybe four in 8½ years. Lots of great shots in that time, but just a few that were perfect.

It is a matter of personal standards that you set for yourself and semantics. maybe my really good shots would be perfect to you....? Have you ever had a perfect shot? How would you know? You could define perfect as "I didn't want to spit it out," and that way nearly every shot made at home would then be perfect, at least compared to most coffee shops..

I think those who have never tasted a "perfect shot," psychologically speaking, just might be better-adjusted home barristas. They see those who have tasted a perfect shot as anal geeks, but at the same time they are on the edge of upgrading and have wallet in hand, wondering if there just may be a slight chance that they are missing something. Those who have tasted a perfect shot are tortured to duplicate their work, and they see the former group as complacent and deluded... In other words, we're all basically screwed..

My advice: Work hard to achieve drinkable shots every time, and strive to create perfect shots every time.

You all have honestly had what you consider "perfect" shots?
Shots that could not in any way be improved - that are the "elizabethan ideal" of espresso?

Perfect shots are a moving target, not just because of variables like temp, humidity, etc. A perfect shot to me two years ago is something I'd probably sink today. And I hope that my shots two years from now are even better than what I'm pulling today.

Do I want perfect shots everytime? No, I want enough of a flaw to keep me paying attention to my routine/techinque to make it as consistent as I can to get the best shots I can with the moving target variables that are outside of my control.

I gave a rather flippant reply to this earlier, and I meant every word, but. It is interesting that this topic would come up today because I was composing a reply to a CG post from a guy asking if his shot was good based on a picture. He indicated in his post that he strived to make each shot better than the one before it. I was about to reply to him when this came up. Now I think I will post it here.

It is a noble sentiment to want to make every shot better than the last one. Over a long enough timeline it is impossible. The eternal quest for a god shot is one that can lead to the dark side. Especially for someone who has never had one.

If you have no reference for great espresso because you have never been served great espresso, it is difficult to evaluate the espresso you make at home. Especially considering how easy it is to make bad espresso, and considering we humans can develop a taste for some really foul stuff if we consume it long enough. Add in a little misguided reverence for unique preparation the next thing you know we're enjoying fermented, sun dried, putrid meat or some other such foulness.

Great espresso is a moving target that gets smaller as your aim improves. The better you get at making it the more you tend to expect out of it. If you evaluate your espresso against a perfect scale you may never be satisfied, this is the dark side. It is what happens when you pervert your hobby into a quest for perfection and lose sight of the enjoyment.

I looked deep into the dark side and thankfully I was able to pull myself back. Maybe it is because I am a better barista now, maybe it was just luck. I evaluated every shot to the point that my gear became my adversary, and the resulting brew was the weapon with which it would defeat me. Producing a really good espresso would frustrate me because I didn't do it the last time, or worse that I probably would not be able to replicate my success with the next attempt. Ultimately I spent so much time evaluating that I did not take time to enjoy the successes I simply saw everything as a failure. After I started making espresso at home it was a solid 18 months before I was able to sit down and enjoy coffee with breakfast again. I had been so focused on improving my results that I forgot it tasted good with breakfast.

Here is the guide I use now.

Great espresso is very enjoyable to drink. It feels thick on the tongue and moves slowly in your mouth. It is intense but very pleasant. It should not be overly sweet nor should it be detectably sour or bitter. It can posses specific fruit flavors and aromas, as well as chocolate flavors ranging from milk chocolaty sweet to the rich dark chocolate, and can also have countless other flavor compounds. Caramel flavors are also common and behave just like the chocolates ranging from candy sweet to rich and nutty. The very last thing I should taste after drinking great espresso is the roast and this should be faint and should not happen for a few minutes after consumption. When I drink great espresso I do not want to drink anything else for a long time for fear of losing the taste of it. Great espresso makes remarkable milk drinks.

Good espresso is almost like great espresso except not so blindingly impressive and the flavors will not be so high definition. It may get more roast flavors sooner. And I don't consider how long I can go without drinking anything else after a good espresso. Good espresso makes really good milk drinks. Good espresso and even OK espresso should still be enjoyed by many home barista. OK espresso is like good espresso except it is either detectably sour or bitter. I rate it as does not make me wince when it passes my lips, but the enjoyment pales in comparison to great espresso. Ok espresso is better enjoyed with some milk and should make a nice milk drink.

Bad espresso makes you wince and pucker, but may be passable with milk, but probably not. Terrible espresso makes you want to spit it out but some how you manage to choke it down and the milk drinks aren't much better. The very worst espresso, your body will reject naturally and will require you to spit it back out similar to when you realize you have just consumed poison. This is not something that can be covered up with milk.

My espresso very rarely rates lower than OK. It is usually at least good and more and more regularly it is great. I have never pulled a god shot nor have I been served an espresso that rated higher than great, maybe a couple that were really great but that's it.

If the lions share of my shots fall somewhere between good and great I consider it a job well done. I have gotten to the point where I no longer ask my guests if their coffee is good and hope for a positive answer, I am confident that it is good. These are not perfect shots because there are none. In the end I am a very happy home barista. And that is the most important thing.

Great post Gus. I am always striving for perfection (or my version of it). I'm not sure I've ever pulled a "perfect" shot. I rarely now pull a sink shot though. Whenever I'm sitting and criticizing my coffee I just have to remind myself that, should I have been served this shot in a cafe, I'd be very pleased.

Tasting the espresso, and thereby interacting with it, will alter it such that its degree of perfection cannot be determined accurately. So there is nothing to worry about. (Most sincere apologies to Werner Heisenberg).

Jim

The concept of perfection is a morass; so lets talk about flawless shots instead. What does it take to pull flawless shots day in and day out? What do you sacrifice if you do this?

The good part of pulling flawless shots is developing flawless technique and accurate gear. Exactly repeated grind, dose, distribution, temperature, flow and timing will produce highly uniform shots in terms of overall strength and extraction.

The bad part of of pulling flawless shots is that it limits you to blends or coffees with "flawless" flavor profiles. "Flawless" in this case means that as you get closer and closer to your target extraction variables, the flavors get closer and closer to their desired balance. In my experience, the really great espresso coffees do not behave like this. Instead, they have chaotic flavor profiles, so the closer you get to a perfectly stable and repeated extraction, the more their flavor shows a multiplicity of aspects.

The easiest way to prove this for yourself is to blend 50/50 two high end and very distinct coffees, choosing from powerful Centrals and East Africans. Just a few beans more of one or the other in the grind, and the taste will be completely different. Even counting out the beans won't help, since each bean is different.

Great espresso coffees are chaotic.

"Do we really want perfect espressos every time?"
He!! yes.

This is kinda like asking if you want great sex every time. (Uh gee, lemme think about that... )

Of course, you could always go to Starbucks:


Recent full page ad in the NY Times.

RapidCoffee wrote:This is kinda like asking if you want great sex every time. (Uh gee, lemme think about that... )

Of course, you could always go to Starbucks:

<image>
Recent full page ad in the NY Times.

another_jim wrote:Great espresso coffees are chaotic.

Perhaps that's why the Almighty created SO's
Still, even for an SO, 3 more beans could conceivably change the sweetness, depth of the shot.
Your explanation above rings true.

RapidCoffee wrote:Of course, you could always go to Starbucks:

...or not!



I couldn't help myself.....

Eiron wrote:
Where's the beauty in that?

I mean, sure, it'd be great for the first few days. But then, with shocking speed, it'd be.... routine. Then what? What happens when "perfect" is now every-day, and you're looking for that special moment of wonder and awe again? How do you one-up "perfect"??

I, for one, would be willing to take one or two to find out.

I believe I've said it before;
<Dream Sequence>
I wake up and am transported to a Starbucks, and I order a cappuccino. That's all I say, "Cappuccino, please!", and the barista pushes a button. Thirty seconds later, I get a godshot buried in a free-poured swan crafted from the sweetest, latex-paint-looking microfoam, in porcelain, at the proper temperature.
And at my house, the push of a button accomplishes the very same thing...
</Dream Sequence>

Day after day, ad nauseum. Yeah, I think I could take it...

Psyd wrote: ... I get a godshot buried in a free-poured swan crafted from the sweetest, latex-paint-looking microfoam, in porcelain, at the proper temperature ... Day after day, ad nauseum. Yeah, I think I could take it...

But you'd need to find a new hobby, preferably one with real world difficulties.