I am with Jon on this one, quality over quantity, or speed. It would better to slowly serve your guests one glorious drink at a time than a handful of mediocre drinks at the same time. Some things are worth waiting for. Down side (or upside), after they finish that wonderful drink, they may come back for more and you have to pull another round.

roblumba wrote:I think the traditional cappa is with singles. There's another thread going about what is a traditional cappa and it's apparently a single.

Grazie, Rob,

I'd forgotten that people used to have to ask for "double capps" -- in a lot of venues, the double has become the default, just as with straight espresso shots. Well then, no need to re-name anything.

JonR10 wrote:I just make the drinks one at a time using a double basket and the 12-ounce steaming pitcher. Guests have conversation and after-dinner drinks and basically wait for me to "take their order". I serve one drink and then ask "who's next?"

Good point, Jon & Dave. I always find it harder to achieve good results when rushing; I'd be happy just to increase my efficiency while maintaining the quality. This morning I made my 2 double-capps, steaming milk in the 12 oz. pitcher before pulling each shot. The foam quality was noticeably better than when I do twice the amount in a 20 oz. pitcher -- and it really doesn't take that much more time to steam for each drink.

No wasted time or motion -- yet graceful & fluid... One can still carry on a conversation... it's a path of mastery, for sure.

Two summers ago I had the same problem. My o. Cremina was up and running and I just made them one at a time. One of the guests was converted and is now a "geek". Let them taste real coffee.

Marvin