Occasionally I have had good espresso made by decent barista, but never by the barista the pro's would go to as Jim described. What is the reference? What am I trying to achieve?

Well, this weekend that changed. I visited the coffee shop of Tim Wendelboe. I tasted two shots, one blend and one SO from Panama (lot #14). Both had a lot more acidity to them than I expected, especially the SO. They were great though. Extremely good to be honest. Since I left the shop I have not been able to stop thinking about it... Even though they had some bitter tones they were still so balanced and complex. Exceptional!

Conclusion: I thought I was searching for sweet espresso without the acidic spark. I wasn't, its actually a bit boring when the acidity is missing. One dimensional. I guess its like wine, a German Riesling can have a lot of sugar but it still tastes great if its got a matching acidity level. Without the acidic spike it would taste horrible!

To my taste buds the SO espresso can often times seem really acidic at first but I had one heck of a ristretto pulled with Conscious SO Uganda and I figured out on the second shot that it wasn't all acidity I was tasting but more of a salty overtone. It changed as the shot cooled but after getting the ol taste buds to tease the acidity and the salt from one another I realized that there are many times when I zone in on the acidity and don't taste some of the other flavors. I've been trying more and more to tell myself "it's not acidic, it's not acidic" until I can't convince myself otherwise. Seems to help me get the flavors a bit straighter. Problem with acidity is that tends to get me at the front of the mouth and overwhelm the sides and the back of the mouth. Just my experience. Don't know if anyone else has had the same experience.

S