Do you guys add your espresso to water or water to espresso?

I made a video of an extraction on my PID silvia (med school setup) and thought it was pretty interesting how the espresso diffuses into the cup.

There was way too much water (ratio was off) and I ended the extraction a little late, but still tasted great (and helped me study!) It is kind of cool just watching the espresso disperse though

I add espresso to water.

I grab my cup/mug of choice, and fill it with water from the water-tap on the machine.

Then I build the shot. By the time Im ready to extract, the water in the cup has cooler slightly, and is at the right temp. Pulling a shot into too hot water is akin to pulling a shot with using too high of a brew temp..Burnt Taste.

I draw 4-5 ounces from my boiler on my HX Anita into a room temp cup. The cup brings the water down from the super heated state of the boiler and then pull the espresso into that. Makes the hot water wand extremely useful.

Oh and to play it safe every few days I draw some water from the boiler, let it completely cool to room temp than taste for any off flavors. So far so good. I make it a point to flush my boiler on a regular basis too. I mention this because some folks get funky water from their boilers. YMMV

Espresso with water added = americano.

Water with espresso added = long black.

Very similar; I prefer long black. They're prettier.

I stir the long black, making it an Americano?

TimEggers wrote:I stir the long black, making it an Americano?

Egads! What's next, skimming the crema?

To be honest, I normally stir a little as well, but I try to leave some pretty crema intact around the edges.