by shadowfax on Tue Feb 17, 2009 4:14 pm
Nick and Ben,
I bought the app this morning to check out. Looks good. I like the use of illustration, and it would be neat to see it expanded to more explanations as and when you are able.
One thing, you guys have a definition for "purging"/pulling a blank shot in your coffee glossary. Normally, I would call that "flushing." I think that's a more common term at least in the US. I associate "purging" with the steam wand: You purge water and air from the cold steam wand prior to steaming milk so that you don't add unneeded water or large bubbles into the milk, and purge and wipe the wand after steaming to ensure that milk doesn't get sucked back up into the boiler as the wand cools. I believe this is the typical use for "purging" in relation to espresso.
You might also consider a discussion of freshly roasted vs. "freshly" purchased beans, i.e. that optimum flavor is actually obtained about 3-14 days after a coffee is roasted, not after it is purchased, and perhaps it would be interesting, with that, to mention that coffee releases CO2 as it ages, causing it to pressurize slightly in an airtight container, making storage with a one-way valve-sealed container potentially preferable, though certainly not necessary over an airtight one.
I think that sort of observation seems to cover most of the app. The explanation of milk texturing and art pouring is surprisingly professional to me, whereas the espresso preparation-related tidbits seem to have good information paired with what I think are comparatively, ah, 'pedestrian' ideas? I'm not so much talking about them "speaking to a newbie," as that the instruction given is sometimes too incomplete or even a little wrong, like the parts about coffee and coffee freshness. With a little tweaking, I think this is definitely the sort of app that even home barista fanatics like ourselves could fully recommend.
Nicholas Lundgaard
