As I have mentioned (too many times) I am still on the long upslope of getting the handle on the Vibiemme Domobar Super manual machine, learning the ins and outs of an E-61 brewhead, and figuring out how to best use the stream of data from Eric's excellent thermometer adapter set up which I installed about a week ago. Even with that, I am making the best espresso I ever have on a regular basis, with only one or two morning's having shots that would not have made the grade as straight espresso, but worked OK as cappas.

The pulls from two days ago were a bit fast, so at the end of the session I clicked one step finer on Rocky. Yesterday morning I ground, visually under-dosed (thanks again to Mr. Fox), and used the Joystick distribution using the tamper- I first tap the outer sides of the portafilter while holding the portafilter at different angles to get as even and flat of a distribution as possible. I then use the tamper in a circular, joystick motion to compress the outer edges of the coffee a bit more than the center (maybe 5 to 10 pounds of force at the most). Then I tamp straight down at about 15, tap the sides to loosen the stray grounds, then gave a good, Gorilla tamp (the Handstand Tamp as Barry describes it). I have also been using a bottomless portafilter that I had made from an old, discard that my coffee-roasting buddy gave me years ago. Two days ago I got some sprites, but yesterday the flow was so thick and rich I could literally hear the espresso plopping into the cup over the sound of the vibratory pump, and the taste was just as thick and rich.

Today we change gears. I am about 80 miles from home, sitting in the motorhome in Quincy, California, using an open wireless connection, at a BMW motorcycle gathering (no bike today). For a weekend trip such as this I just bring my Baratza Virtuoso and the Aeropress. The blend is a home roast of about two parts Colombian and one part Tanzanian peaberry, and I dare say I am enjoying the best coffee in the place, particularly when compared to the "famous CCBR Coffee" being prepared in the urn from "Folger's 100% Colombian."