We have to start somewhere on our path to better espresso. I don't like to recall those dark days of early learning, but an e-mail exchange on a related topic prompted me to share. So here goes...

It is true that I once drank illy pre-ground coffee prepared in an Krups steam toy and thought it was pretty sophisticated.

What's your confession? No need to be too specific, and anyway, it's only between friends, right?

In my first barista job, I worked almost 2 months before I found out that I could adjust the grind...

Guess mine is similar to Dan's. Once thought our Krup's Caffe Presso with combined drip and steam toy was quite the sophisticated unit. Even graduated from a whirly chop to an equally sophisticated $25 burr grinder when we got the Caffe Presso. Made many what I thought was espresso but in reality never learned to used it properly. Ground too fine and tamped yielding quite the bitter cups! Now that I don't use it know I should have ground coarser and not tamped. Also got our first French Press about the same time, for those truly exotic brewing occasions. Though in my defense I've been buying fresh roast whole bean since 1984! Happy to say the Presso's been sitting on a shelf in the garage for 5 years. The left side replaced by vac and the right side Miss Silvia. And 4 burr grinders later Rocky but that's another expensive story! Oh, still have that first Bodum 32oz Press Pot, with upgraded Swissgold plunger and now have 7 French Presses total. Four 12oz for "cheater" cuppings and/or individual press pot brewing, one for Debi at work, one for travel and a couple others. But Press 'taint the exotic entertaining brewing device anymore. That would be Gold Royal Balance Brewer.

Back before I had experienced really good espresso I walked past Intelligentsia every day on my way to work. I avoided going in to check it out, instead, I would opt for a "doppio con panna" at Starbucks.

Instant espresso - just add water...

I get shivers down my spine when I think of some of the things I did as a newbie. But perhaps the one that tops them all is a fan letter I sent Dan a couple of years ago. It was all about his "water dance" method to control brew temperature on a H/X machine.

There are letters in which you thank someone for improving your espresso by sharing his experience, and they are all good and wonderful. But then, there is a letter in which you hail the man as the greatest human who ever walked the earth just because his water can dance. It was a teenage girl's fan letter to Orlando Bloom, with all the flowery accolades worthy of Chris Tacy's shot descriptions.

I've been taunting Dan ever since, as a pitiful attempt to regain some of my dignity. But all my efforts are in vain. What was said cannot be unsaid, and those words will forever live in infamy. I have it on good authority that he has framed that email and hung it at a prominent place in his living room.

I had a Krups for 15 years. Coupled with Starbucks beans and a whirly blade grinder, I thought I was at the top of the coffee heap. I would still be using it, if it hadn't died, I hadn't called Chris Nachtrieb, he hadn't told me about Dan and the SCAA hadn't been in Atlanta.

Bob

I'd been using cheap espresso machines and a blade grinder for a long time to make cappas. My first shame bit is that everyone, including me, thought I was great at this, since my foam came out a lot more shaving cream like than even the newly opened Starbucks in 92 Chicago, so it would pile up just like the illustration on the boxes of cheap espresso machines.

The second one is that I never much liked the straight espresso, it wasn't as good as Italy or even as Starbucks. One day in 99, some old Italian guy running a red sauce place told me the grand secret: real espresso was made from steam, not water, and nobody in the US brewed it hot enough. So from then on I pulled shots with the machine in steam mode. I didn't think it improved matters and stuck to cappas, but I figured I was finally doing it right.

The upside is that since I now knew the secret, but still didn't like the shot, I decided my machine was obviously deficient, and it was time to do research on a new one. It was 2000, and the first coffee related websites were up (didn't know about the alt.coffee on the usenet back then), so I did some research, learnt some basic facts (from Bogie's FAQ, I think), got a grinder and a Solis, etc. All of a sudden, the espresso tasted kind of nice. Wow! I can make shots as good as Starbucks! I was very proud of myself.

I really didn't go beyond that for a year; till I stumbled onto Sweet Marias and alt.coffee.

The moral of this is that not all old Italian guys know the secret of espresso, even when there are chianti bottle candle holders on their tables.

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.

malachi wrote:In my first barista job, I worked almost 2 months before I found out that I could adjust the grind...

Chris- many of the baristas in the shops locally still haven't "discovered" that one can actually adjust the grinder- I asked a sincere young barista a few weeks ago if he would mind adjusting his grinder for a ristretto shot. The reply was "Nope, the owner told us not to mess with the grinder"...

I learn something great from this site everyday, so I guess in a sense I'm still a "newbie"!

OK, confession time:

Several years ago my first machine was a Starbucks Barista. The daughter of one of my technologists worked at a big mermaid place and she offered me a great deal on one. A reasonable first unit despite its limitations.

One day my wife began to complain about me using her whirly blade grinder for coffee grinding as it gave the walnuts she chopped with it a "bad taste". So... I "ground" my beans on the chopping block using a Chef's knife, sort of like chopping onions! Hey before you all laugh, at least I used a Henkel's Wusthof knife!

No comparision to my current Mini E however-

Mike

k7qz wrote:
So... I "ground" my beans on the chopping block using a Chef's knife, sort of like chopping onions! Hey before you all laugh, at least I used a Henkel's Wusthof knife!

No comparision to my current Mini E however-
Mike

Did Zwilling J.A. Henckels and Wusthof-Trident merge or did you mod your knife somehow? As far as I know they're still separate companies but I may be wrong. Most of my knives are Henckels Pro "S" but I store them in a Wusthof 25 slot block so that's kind of close.

I use the 5 star, I like the ergo handles.

My newbie (that was only a year ago), hold onto you seats, pre-ground illy and an ebay special pump machine. Had a portafilter that was lighter than a plastic tamper. It was made from pot aluminum and I used the bottom of a Tabasco bottle to tamp. It actually fit the basket perfectly.

cannonfodder wrote:I use the 5 star, I like the ergo handles.

And I suppose you have a Wolf instead of a Viking

cannonfodder wrote:My newbie (that was only a year ago), hold onto you seats, pre-ground illy and an ebay special pump machine. Had a portafilter that was lighter than a plastic tamper. It was made from pot aluminum and I used the bottom of a Tabasco bottle to tamp. It actually fit the basket perfectly.

So did you cleanse your palate with Tabasco after those shots or use it to prepare your palate

Nope, GE convection sealed cook top, no gas in my area. Also have a convection oven/microwave, works quite good when I need two ovens.

I have a rather high tolerance for hot peppers, I am a chilly head. Grow my own habanera peppers and make my own hot sauce. Makes Tabasco look like mouth wash. I drank a bottle one day on a bet and was no worse for wear.

barry wrote:I didn't drink coffee.

Depending on why that might be a good thing rather than shameful confession.

I didn't start drinking coffee until age 30 in 1984. Oh sure, tried what was supposedly coffee many many times over the years and it was always vile tasting in varying degrees. Summer of 1984 we were on vacation visiting a friend in San Francisco. We got there early evening and he asked if we'd like some coffee. I declined and Debi said yes. He walked over to his fridge and took a bag out of the freezer, measured out some whole beans into a grinder, sealed the bag and returned it to the freezer, waited a couple minutes and ground then started them brewing. I think it was drip. We chatted while the coffee brewed. Don't have a clue what varietal or if it was a blend or what roast etc. All I know was I started smelling something I'd never smelled anywhere at any time in the first 30 years of my life. It smelled wonderful! When the coffee finished brewing and he was pouring himself and Debi a cup he again politely asked if I'd like a cup. Based on what I had smelled brewing I of course said yes. Drank it black. Never tasted anything like it before in my life. It was GOOD. We visited long into the night with much of the talk around this stuff coffee. My palate was awakened to what coffee could and should be, my coffee education had begun.

When we got home from vacation bought a grinder & coffee pot and been chasing fresh roast whole beans ever since. Never bought pre-ground and or canned coffee in my life. We discussed that type of silly behavior that first night of my education!

So not drinking BAD coffee isn't a bad thing but a good thing! Not drinking good coffee, why that's just not possible.

miKe mcKoffee wrote:Did Zwilling J.A. Henckels and Wusthof-Trident merge or did you mod your knife somehow? As far as I know they're still separate companies but I may be wrong.

We went to a knife show in Solingen and drove past both companies. They have separate locations but that doesn't mean they haven't merged. Me thinks they're still separate. I hope so because I'm partial to Wusthof.

Mates place. Krups steam toy. Whirly blade grinder. Lavazza beans bought from the supermarket in 1 kg bag, kept in the freezer with bag unsealed. Some of the best coffee I had had. I thought, this is it. What great coffee you can make with this set up. It doesn't get any better than this.

Fortunately my wife bought me a real espresso machine and grinder (went out by herself one day and happened to pick up a Mokita Combi and bring it home - truly amazing luck) and pointed to the Forum button on CG one night when I was reading some articles. Thank god for all of that. Not sure that she appreciates the subsequent expense but has been understanding to date.

Though my Silvia came with a 100C thermostat, when I PIDed it, I set it to 230F (boiler) because it seemed like everyone was doing that. Burnt beans much?!!! Now down to 206. Still experimenting!

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!