I thought I'd pick up a book to read before I attend a Barista class this coming September in New York (thanks to all who assisted) and came across David Schomer's book "Espresso Coffee" on Amazon.

Anyone care to chime in who has read the book for a brief review. Are there any other good books worth considering?
Thanks.

You don't need a book to make good espresso; you don't even need a course. The problem is that here in N. America we have been cramming way too much coffee into the PF baskets, much more than the machines were designed to hold. As a result, people have to do all kinds of fancy stuff with the 18 or 20g that they cram into the baskets. The result is inconsistent shots that have no balance and that overwhelm your sensory apparatus. Done properly, with the right amount of coffee, espressomaking is so simple you can learn how to do the basics in half an hour, tops.

My suggestion would be to cancel your barista training course, toss your Schomer book in the dumpster, and spend $30 on a precise digital scale that can weigh in 0.1g increments. Walmart sells a nice kitchen timer for around $6, that's worth buying as well for timing your espresso shots. Assuming you have decent coffee, a good grinder, and a reasonably good espresso machine, you will easily make good to excellent shots as long as you limit your PF doses to a range of 12 to 15, maybe 16 grams; the coffee you are using and your own taste will determine the proper dosage. Use the digital scale to weigh out the same dose everytime after you have selected the right one for your chosen coffee. No one else can tell you which dose of a given coffee tastes best to YOU.

Set your grinder to be fine enough to make a shot that starts blonding at around 25-30 seconds with a produced volume of 1-1.5 oz when the blonding starts. You can use a shot glass to measure volumes and make a line with a magic marker on the cup you are using, to indicate the desired volume. Once you become familiar with this, you will know the level instinctively, and not need the mark any longer. Blonding is where the coffee coming out of the Portafilter loses its multicolored "tiger striping" appearance and becomes uniformaly lighter ("blonder") in color. You will need to adjust your grinder, either finer or coarser, to reach these extraction parameters over time as the coffee ages or the humidity in the air changes. Get a tamper that fits your PF baskets and very gently pack the coffee for a second or two after you have put it in the PF, attempting to level it a bit.

The rest of this barista training stuff is shear nonsense, and all it is going to do is to teach you how to make mediocre and unbalanced espresso shots from too much coffee, while avoiding having coffee spray out in all directions from a bottomless PF.

There you have it, everything I have learned in the last 5 or 10 years of espressomaking, condensed into one post.

ken

p.s. there are additional fine points, such as shot temperature control, that are very machine specific. No barista trainer is going to be able to show you how this is done on your own home equipment, however the answers to those types of questions are easily found by perusing this website.

It's a real good book. I learned a lot. It's even better if you make the trip to Seattle to watch it in full-mode production and to see what one can taste like so you can compare it to your own. It'll give you a sort of "high mark" to start from. You can find it cheaper if you order it from his website.

The book mainly talks about the variables that affect the espresso from the bean, mainly temperature, pressure, and grind. Most of all, it teaches/preaches attention to detail and outlines his history of the coffee making at Espresso Vivace. There is also a section on foaming and latte art, but you can get that on this website. I would add that some of the chapters in his book are articles he has written in the trade journals and can be read from his website as well.

Thanks Ken, "Jarno", and Jim for your quick responses. Of course, there is no substitute for experience. Whether its 15 minutes or 3 hours of instruction, for a Newbie such as myself, I do need the hands-on experience. No doubt, HB's forum is a godsend. And since I've caught the espresso itch and have become drawn to the accoutrements that come along with it, I thought I'd pick up a book to read before I attend a class. The book was never intended to supplant the actual learning experience. Remember it will be about a month before I actually get to work with a machine for the first time.

Having said all that, is there a good book anyone would care to recommend?

If you live in a coffee hellpit, Schomer's book is one of the best investments you can make. I've learned more things that aren't discussed on CG or HB from Schomer's book than anything else. His book is very concrete, but you can still adjust to your technique. Things like "only tap once" for tamping make a ton of sense once you practice it, as does "steam so your milk is swirling counter-clockwise." His tips tend to actually work for me, even if I'm not going to get a static-pressure tank with a machine that maintains temperature to the tenth of a degree Fahrenheit.

And, comparatively, it's the only book on the market that's worth anything. I've been reading a lot of books on starting a business or that are aimed for people that own shops, and they tend to be pretty miserable (2 ounces in 17-23 seconds).

Another good book:

Barista Manual 1.0 available from here - http://www.gimmecoffee.com/index.php

Click on learn coffee and have a good read. I am a great believer in learning from a multitude of sources and trying numerous ideas to see which one(s) work for me.

Sticking with a particular bean and dosage amount are great suggestions until you get your feet really wet.

I tend to agree with Ken here in as much that there really isn't a book that's overly worth it and nothing can replace the element that is hands on learning. In short, read up here on this site and you'll learn what you need to know. You'll just have to work your way through it. It may take some time, but in reality it shouldn't take too long. Its like I've said before good espresso isn't overly hard, but truly exceptional espresso isn't always easy. You'll do fine, consider most any other reading material entertainment rather than informational.

In my opinion the true cutting edge of home espresso in the US (and maybe even the world) is here on HB. What book is going to compete with that?

perstare;

If you don't mind me asking where you taking the class and how much $$. ( I was the one that suggested those espresso bars in your other post)

I wouldn't mind taking a class if it isn't too much, just for the fun of it. All coffee experiences are good, right guys? Who cares if you tap your pf one, twice or none at all. As long as you like the taste of what you are making.

I think a class would be fun and a chance to possible gain some tips and see some new ways of doing things?

-craig

Ken Fox wrote:My suggestion would be to cancel your barista training course, toss your Schomer book in the dumpster, and spend $30 on a precise digital scale that can weigh in 0.1g increments.

<snip rest of rant>

Ken, PLEASE calm down, take a few deep breaths, and try to get some rest.