R.I.P. the Ristretto - Page 6

#51: Post by **Marcelnl** » April 18th, 2016, 3:04 am

Mrboots2u wrote:What's the ratio of sugar put in espresso in Italy though ..?

For a ristretto 1 to 1 of course (or at least it looks like it to me, never use it)

Some people seem to try to make a saturated solution....

#52: Post by **Beaniac** » April 18th, 2016, 6:30 am

Ive seen then toss two scoops or even sachets in a single espresso but then not stirr. Leaving a icing fondant like cake at the bottom. Silly Italians

#53: Post by **ungabunga1989** » April 18th, 2016, 6:55 am

What would the following be called?

19.5g beans
30.0 - 31.0g drink
26-28 second pull

The "ratio" is roughly 1:1.56 (on average). I got there by simply tasting many different ratios when I first started brewing espresso at home and found that the stuff with ratios between 1:1.5 and 1:1.6 tasted best to me. I use Espresso Vivace's Dolce and Vita (for milk-based drinks). I never tried pulling it at 1:0.45 the way a previous post says they do at Espresso Vivace, but since I thought that 1:1 was "overkill" for my palate, I can only imagine what 1:0.45 might taste like.

I think that the words sometimes get in the way as I figure the goal of being a home barista is to brew what each of us personally likes most, right? The whole 3rd wave thing was, for me, The Emperor's New Clothes -- but I have lots of friends who simply love that style. More power to 'em. The ultimate gift is to know your own palate and be skilled enough as a barista to dial in your brew to perfectly match your palate...no matter what the resulting shot is called. IMHO, of course.

Regards.

#54: Post by **Mrboots2u** » April 18th, 2016, 7:35 am

Coffee ? Espresso ? And hopefully tasty .. Beyond that does it really matter ?
We are all just making coffee we enjoy hopefully , in emperors new clothes or not .
if farmers are getting a better deal and there is more choice of great coffee , however you want it roasted then these are good things - third wave or not

#55: Post by **Ingrid** » July 18th, 2016, 3:37 am

I have always been informed that coffee connoisseurs or makers view it strangely to even add sugar or milk and that mostly in Italy they drink black. Than in the afternoon it is against the norm to even think of coffee with milk also. Why? Apparently it is unsettling to digestion when drunk in the afternoons!

#56: Post by **RioCruz** » July 18th, 2016, 3:19 pm

Ingrid wrote:I have always been informed that...mostly in Italy they drink black.

Ummm...not in my experience. My experience in Italy as well as other Latin-based cultures is that espresso is almost always taken with sugar...in many cases, lots of sugar. Sugar-less coffee is something that, I think, started in the U.S. once "white death" was deemed public enemy #1, and once coffee fundamentalists decided that sugar was gauche. But others may have a different take on it...

On the other hand...there is the morning "café con leche," "café au lait" and "caffè con latte" etc...but they aren't "espresso." Mostly in those places, an espresso is simply a "café" or "caffè."

#57: Post by **dominico** » July 18th, 2016, 6:20 pm

From my experience living in Italy the "with sugar" / "without sugar" ratio is about 70 / 30. This could vary from region to region. A few of my friends always take it macchiato - which is not the starbucks kind, it is simply an espresso with a dollop of milk added to it.

cappuccino and caffè latte are generally not drank in the afternoon. Although this may change with the advent of Starbucks opening its first shop in Milan shortly.

#58: Post by **Marcelnl** » July 18th, 2016, 7:01 pm

I always saw my Italian colleagues being puzzled when I did not take sugar in my doubles (usually ristretto's which also appeared non standard). The amount of sugar they took varied from a teaspoon to a truckload

#59: Post by **baldheadracing** » July 18th, 2016, 8:15 pm

Ingrid wrote:I have always been informed that coffee connoisseurs or makers view it strangely to even add sugar or milk and that mostly in Italy they drink black. Than in the afternoon it is against the norm to even think of coffee with milk also. Why? Apparently it is unsettling to digestion when drunk in the afternoons!

Unlike Northern Europeans, a good proportion of Italians are lactose-intolerant. One cappa's worth of milk (whenever) is just about all the lactose that can be handled in a day. The lactose from a second cappuccino could very well be ... unsettling, unless one took some lactase.

#60: Post by **James Mulryan** » July 18th, 2016, 11:16 pm

Sugar is good for those of us who have a genetic aversion to bitter. Might be an evolutionary advantage--considering lots of bitter things in nature are poisonous???

I can't have coffee without a couple of teaspoons, know this is considered lame and gauche in some circles, but when your genes are trying to protect you, a little sugar makes the medicine go down...