Made a quick stop at Blue Bottle in Brooklyn while taking a lazy Sunday stroll with my lady and I noticed they had a 3 group Urania pulling shots.



I was pretty exited since this is the first time I've seen a commercial lever machine in person and the first time I was served a shot from one as well.

Sadly, I didn't care for the Ethiopian that was served. Even with the pre-closing rush, the barista took her time to delicately prep and pull the shot (had a scale to weigh the grounds and the final product) to a 17.5/18.5 ristretto. I now understand what people mean when they complain that they are being served "lemonade." I also had a cortado on the LM and didn't really enjoy it either. Keep in mind, I'm a self-proclaimed acidity fiend but I guess I'm still nowhere near this extreme with my in-home prep.

So far, the only two cafes that have pulled tasty Ethiopian SO espresso have been Grumpys in Greenpoint (on a Synesso) and Culture in Midtown (on a Strada).

Anyways, the point of this post isn't to complain as I still enjoyed the experience and gave a good tip with a smile. Although it is a 20 minute walk from my apt, I only come in here once a year. I think my tastes and skill with my domestic levers and the mighty Pharos have vastly improved in 14 months I've been working on home espresso to feel like I am close to top quality. Of course, I have to do a much more complicated dance but I feel good about what's in the cup. I feel the Pharos is the most important piece of the dance. Alright, enough of my rant.

I'll end with: how many out there fantasize about being able to sneak into a cafe and play with all the commercial machines?

Very cool machine! Thanks for sharing the pics. Too bad about the ristretto though as that would have been the perfect ending.

that's indeed a beautiful machine! maybe the second oldest in the U.S. in commercial operation!

my experience though is, couple of years ago i went there maybe 8 times, that the baristas don't like to work with the machine and i had the feeling i got some eye-rolling from them.
definitely they didn't rack up much experience/knowledge. there is not really a reason to mess up several shots before getting it right. that was always the case when i was there.
the same is true of their SF location at the mint (newer la san marco lever).
it was my impression the machine is there more for show.

the opposite is true of their ferry building location. at the side window they have a KvdW idrocompresso and they delivery very good espresso, especially when A.K. works!

how many out there fantasize about being able to sneak into a cafe and play with all the commercial machines?

What's weird about that?

But honestly I don't dream of sneaking in. I have no problem with the others being around while I have a go with the varieties of machines. But I've only gotten permission once and the proprietor nixed it pretty quick unfortunately. I guess that's what HB get togethers are kind of about. (Don't happen around here, though...) Coffeefest and SCAA would be such a chance though.