After another collection of espresso crawls, some 'hints' are becoming obvious for how to recognize places where even considering ordering is less than worth the gamble. (not sure if i'm posting this in the right place so feel free to move to knockbox if that is more appropriate)

Here were a few indicators i've been using or recently experienced...

- barista describes the offerings as a dark and lighter roast. When queried about the origins in the blends, you get a 'deer in the headlights' look.
- beans in the hopper are starbucksish, dark and oily looking
- you can't find a satisfactory looking grinder anywhere in the shop
- there aren't any porcelain espresso cups to serve your shot in
- it's early morning and few customers are in the shop
- they offer more than 2 espresso selections and have only one grinder or actually they offer more than 2 espresso choices, period.

anyway always looking for other clues to save the frustration of having to throw away whatever it was that landed in that cup you ended up holding...

was wondering if others had amassed any similar clues.

objective1 wrote: - they offer more than 2 espresso selections and have only one grinder or actually they offer more than 2 espresso choices, period.

I'm not sure this one is fair. For example, in Denver there is a shop called Amethyst, which serves something like 6 different coffees prepared any way you like, including espresso. I haven't been there yet, but I've heard good things about them, and never heard anything bad related to the coffee quality.

My guess is they are single-dosing, and can thus make adjustments if necessary for their different beans.

exactly some of the feedback i was looking for...

my premise for adding that note was that a shop which had many selections may likely not have them as well dialed in as if they had dedicated grinders and groups...

and actually in retrospect... maybe a more positive version of this same post would have been better...

"what hints tell you that ordering is a good gamble"

- barista knows the origin(s) of the beans in the blend
- beans in the hopper look like a reasonable roast for the origin
- there is a line and others are ordering espresso

I'm pretty confident if there is a very high end machine/grinder on the counter. I've yet to see a cafe buy a slayer without properly training the baristas. If you watch the dose/distribution routine and how they steam/pour milk you can get a very good idea of drink quality as well.

I'm not a huge fan of talking to employees then bailing, so that is pretty much the extent of the analysis I do. If I'm feeling really picky I will request a specific milk/espresso ratio instead of gambling on what they call a cappuccino or macchiato.

Sadly, I don't have a winning formula in Chicago. Most places have the best equipment you can buy. However, I find most places don't rinse filters before pourovers so I get that papery taste that ruins the cup.

For espresso, I usually ask them about the coffee and if it passes the bull sniff test i'll order it. haha

This question was posed by Mark prince in a blog on coffee geek a while ago. I can't find it right now but Here's some of my own. Ground coffee in a doser. Burnt milk on a steam wand. A prolonged screech from a steam wand left near the bottom of a milk pitcher. A running steam wand left unattended in a milk pitcher.

Macchiato on the menu -- in 12, 16, and 20 oz sizes!

Jack

I found the GG article To which I alluded in my previous post.

https://www.coffeegeek.com/opinions/cof ... 03-27-2014

objective1 wrote:
"what hints tell you that ordering is a good gamble"

- barista knows the origin(s) of the beans in the blend
- beans in the hopper look like a reasonable roast for the origin
- there is a line and others are ordering espresso

Good gamble?: Someone from HB was there before and recommended.


"Don't bother" ?: more than 6 syrups on the counter / inverse relation of different( especially non-coffee) beverages/food offered to quality of espresso / the word 'espresso' not found on the menu as separate item.

I agree that once you are at the counter , it feels quite rude to just walk away.

Funny that 2 of you pointed to a 'not walking away once you start a conversation' situation...

My wife was wondering why i went ahead and ordered after i started talking to the barista at one place...

He was a nice guy... It took a while for the focus to move onto to others in the shop where i could get over to the bussing area and dump my cup and the muffin...

Just don't see any sense in working to ruin someone else's day