malachi wrote:I would humbly suggest that simply being fresh does not guarantee the results will be excellent.
And, of course, would also suggest that tamping is over-rated (but distribution is under-appreciated and mis-understood).

Agreed. Fresh coffee in and of itself won't guarantee great crema/coffe. Same thing for tamping alone. One needs the right combination of grind, dose, and tamp (plus fresh beans ) to get excellent results.

I would classify the distribution as part of the tamp process. The physical tamp is relatively easy after a bit of practice. The old bathroom scale is a wonderful teacher. If you subscribe to the light tamp or heavy tamp methodology, consistency is the key.

The proper distribution and volume are much more involved and often overlooked by the new home barista (which I still am), and quite often the pro poser at the local cafe. That was a grossly simplified list, most of which is on the handle side of the system.

I would prefer to be a skilled barista with 'average' equipment than a bad barista with top of the line equipment. I completely agree, fresh beans are not necessarily good beans, nor do they ensure a quality shot. But without fresh roasted coffee from good quality beans roasted and blended by a skilled roaster, you will never get good results. One of the key variables in the espresso formula.

I move my beans to the emergency back up bin after 7-8 days. It's amazing to do a comparison to, say 15 day old beans versus 2-3 day old beans. It nearly resembles the posted photos. Once beyond the month period, the degradation is less noticeable because it's already degraded. Most non obsessed coffee drinkers have never entered the sub month timeframe so they don't even know how good it can be. For you, who usually gets something fresh and good like Black Cat can never go back to what the rest of the world suffers through in ignorance.

And yes (to respond to other posts), technique is a huge factor but no expert barista is going to be able to coax a delicious shot from two month old SMoreBux coffee.

I'd recommend that you slightly overbuy your beans to ensure that you never run out again. I give away my backup beans to less discerning friends who will use it for drip. So nothing's wasted in the end. They're happy because my "old" beans are better and newer than their freshly bought ahem, gourmet beans.

speaking of... i need a macchiato right now.

HB wrote:My justification at the time was that I'd need it for consistency in reviews of grinders, close comparison tests of espresso machines, etc. Abe swears by his auto-tamper, but I recently noted cobwebs on mine. I dusted them off and moved it to my desk for decoration. Selling it would make more sense, but would prove that the initial investment was unnecessary, which I loath to admit.

(I make similarly unwise decisions in the stock market, please don't ask for details).

Who ever talked about selling?

How about mutual gifting? How does that sound to you... You can, in a way, consider it a 0 quantity donation to someone to would want such tamper (note... ME...) such as it were. How about "distribution of knowledge." I like that one...

If it were, that you would distribute such hands on knowledge, what would it cost? I'm curious...

Sincerely,

Namson