okaychatt wrote:My claim to newbie shame is that when I started, I was confused about whether it was 1.5 to 2 oz in each shot glass or in total. DOH!

Using that new triple basket you don't have? ))) I can sympathize!

I paid $700 for an Alessi Nespresso machine to try to recreate my Italian espresso experience. Oh, the shame! If only I'd found HB sooner, I could have had a real machine (and known the difference)!

barry wrote:I didn't drink coffee.

Oh Man!

I grew to really like the coffee that was brewed in the tool boxes in auto plants.

Sean

I started out a few years ago with a Mr. Coffee espresso machine. It probably cost all of $25 brand new. Pre-ground Starbucks beans. I don't recall doing any tamping at all. Like some of the above posts I thought I was quite the sophisticated rennaissance man!
Had to use all kinds of milk and flavored syrups; (you know... the big gulp approach) in order to make it palatable. Live and learn...

...Now I'm more lost than ever, but at least now I know that I don't know.

I had one of those aluminum stovetop thingies I got in college (this is in 1960, so cut me some slack!) and I thought I was really "into" espresso. I even drank that swill! And liked it! Thought I had gone into real pro stuff when I bought my Krups steam toy. But I always, ALWAYS, lusted after a lever machine. Why I waited until now to buy one, I'll never know. I've been through many other thermoblock and pump iterations. Only now can I have "real" espresso.

Starbucks Barista v1 (old Saeco right?), Starbucks espresso, pre-ground, 8s extraction times. Then I got their burr grinder (still a great press-grinder) and found 12s extractions. I thought espresso was supposed to taste like dreck, therefore rarely made drinks.

Man I'm glad I'm no longer there.. I am a devout follower of correct practices.. Preach on!

-a

I work in a coffee shop where the policy is "DON'T MESS WITH THE GRINDER!!" They won't let me adjust them, clean them, or fix the broken one (as a result all decaf is ground at the beginning of the week and placed in the hopper to sit all week and is not reground until we run out). Needless to say, it is the worst coffee and espresso I have ever tasted. But when you work for a big corporation, what can you do. Oh, and we get beans that were roasted about 3 months prior, and then the "Quality Control" says they cannot sit on the shelf for more than six months. Never buy coffee in Borders. It is awful, they don't care about their employees, and generally are a really bad company. The cafes are being changed over to Seattle's Best which, in this case, will be a drastic improvement.

Personally, I started with a Krups and preground Cafe Bustello.

Matt

I used a Krups Steamtoy and whirly blade grinder for many many years. Most of the time it just sat in the cupboard. I had an old braun drip machine and wanted another drip machine with clock and timer so I could grind my coffee the night before and have it waiting on me in the morning. I started researching the internet for the best products, and started reading about coffee and correct brewing temps and found CoffeeGeek. I bought a Braun KF 187 because it is supposed to brew at correct temps. Today it still sets on the counter as a clock mostly as I use a pourover cone for my drip coffee!!!

What I did when I was a newbie? Had the belief that I actually knew what I was doing, wow, was I wrong.

The more shots I pull, and diverse opinions I pay attention to, simply confirms the espresso universe is pretty large and keeps getting larger. Where's my telescope?

framey wrote:I used to be a fan of monster cups. I actually had my own special cup at a local cafe that probably held 600mls (20 ounces). They would keep it behind the bar especially for me. I thought this was a great setup
Please forgive me.

I got an imitation Krups as a gift, and later replaced it with a real live Krups, and thought that it was the real thing. I made quads in those giant latte bowls before I realized that those were for driving with a capp. Used to get JBM beans for birthdays and such, and would keep it in the fridger for a year, trying to 'make it last'.
I still have the giant latte bowls, but thy are relegated to tea 'doubles' and 'out-the-door' capps.