How do you serve coffee for guests? - Page 4

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HB
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#31: Post by HB »

In that case, I offer a "mini" macchiato, call it dessert and point out that it has less caffeine than a Diet Coke. Half change their mind right away and another quarter change their mind after hearing the comments of the first half.
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Psyd
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#32: Post by Psyd replying to HB »

I've just decided to find some decent decaf beans. I too, would enjoy an espresso before bed, but have turned to herbal tea just because I don't want to try to fight the buzz to get to sleep. I'd have better dreams, I think, as well!
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Vater5B
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#33: Post by Vater5B »

Whenever I have multiple friends over, everybody's drinking pressed coffee. In fact, more often than not, I usually just make pressed coffee whenever I have company. It's much less invasive I think than preparing espresso.

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#34: Post by roblumba replying to Vater5B »

Wow, this is reviving an old thread. Over 2 years old? I must be getting old because it was like DeJaVu when I started reading the beginning again. It took me a while before I realized it was a very old thread.

Anyhow, what do you mean by invasive? People hang out at coffee shops all the time and those espresso machines and grinders are pumping out drinks while people chat and talk.

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WilsonHines
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#35: Post by WilsonHines »

Great thread and great question:

I serve guest once about every two weeks and I would serve more if I had a more regular schedule.

Family "get together": I introduce everybody to a French Press of something fantastic, never mediocre or average in any way. Not just an Ethiopian Yirg, but a Ethiopian Ididio Misty Valley or a Biloya. Also, usually speaking, with my family I don't do much more than make the press pot and have the cups already on the table at the place settings. If they want it, they can ask for some when I start pouring mine. It is a family thing, I don't want anybody to feel pressured. Believe it or not, my parents don't like the taste of specialty coffee such as Biloya or anything like that. That call it "strong" and such. They are crazy and don't know how to describe it, so they call it "strong." I will fire up the espresso machine for espresso and capps for my wife and myself; Again, I never offer, and wait for somebody to ask me for one. They always do. ;)

Friends: Here I am more aggressive. I have had three dinners at my home with friends and no family, last August. My wife made a nice three course meal and we used the China, including the saucers and cups. I made several French Press pots and there was Biloya, Kenya, Brazil and Guat represented. Everybody went nuts and loved it.

Frequent Coffee Guest: I have one person in my church that doesn't live that far from me and she will come over and the wife and I will make several shots of espresso and several capps for all of us. Usually she will come over after I have made a order, about once every two weeks. I always get her a bag of something and she is there partly to pick up her bag and partly to take advantage of a two group Faema in a friend's house! LOL I have take out cups and all. In fact, the bag of Guatemala Finca I just got for her will be delivered to her office in town with a take out capp! :) Figured I would bring one of those McDonald's four cup trays and put three extra capps in there for her co-workers.

I would actually like to have more of the "Frequent Coffee Guest," not just this lady but others as well. I just enjoy doing the work of a barista and seeing people excited about what I am doing. And hearing comments like "This kills Starbucks coffee" makes me feel like a champ!
Anyhow, what do you mean by invasive? People hang out at coffee shops all the time and those espresso machines and grinders are pumping out drinks while people chat and talk.
I think invasive because, especially with where I am from in rural Eastern North Carolina, espresso is a very, very new thing. In fact, even progressive high schoolers and college folks still don't really "like" espresso because they only have been exposed to $B espresso (dark roasted, bitter, crap). So, when you just pull a shot for somebody and sit it in front of them A) they feel like they HAVE to drink it. B) They feel like they HAVE to say something nice. The lady that I spoke about that comes to my house to drink espresso? It took her three visits before she would say, "Now that is a good shot!" She was very wary of raw espresso. I think you just have to respect people's "personal space" for taste and expectations. You need to figure out how to introduce them to espresso on an individual basis. With her, Nikki (my wife) had to actually make some comments on what she could expect to experience and taste verses her preconceived notions in her head.

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JohnB.
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#36: Post by JohnB. »

I fall into the "mostly make it for myself" group when it comes to espresso as I find its one of those things that you just can't even give away with our group of friends. My wife will now drink an Amercano or nice s/o served black but most guests want a flavored latte or if they are feeling adventurous a cappuccino.

I did have a couple of old friends drop by recently who were interested in good coffee. Both had sampled espresso previously but only in restaurants. We had a good time pulling shots from a couple different blends & one nice Terroir s/o espresso. Both were surprised to find out that Espresso can not only taste good but that there are many different flavors to be found in each shot. They also got to sample some of this years Esmeralda which neither had ever heard of before. Again they were amazed at all the different flavors in the cup & how it was night/day different from any black coffee they had tasted before. It was a pleasant change to make coffee for guests who actually enjoyed drinking what I like to serve & wanted to hear all about what they were drinking.

While I will make a guest what ever type of coffee drink they chose I do have one house rule. If I serve an Americano or nice s/o brew they MUST taste it before reaching for the cream or sugar. This has been an eye opening experience for a few of my friends. Of course there are others that I've learned not to even bother bringing out the really good stuff for as I can't bear to watch them destroy a wonderful cup of coffee.
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WilsonHines
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#37: Post by WilsonHines »

JohnB. wrote:While I will make a guest what ever type of coffee drink they chose I do have one house rule. If I serve an Americano or nice s/o brew they MUST taste it before reaching for the cream or sugar.
Same here. It is like my "Nick Cho Coffee Nazi rule." :twisted:

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#38: Post by zin1953 »

zin1953 wrote:It all depends upon one's focus, I suppose, and one's machine . . .

Mostly I make espresso/cappuccino/latte for my wife and I. After 35 years in the wine trade, I, too, have a relatively nice wine collection and we often spend time after dinner finishing off the bottle or over some Porto. That said, this is (in all seriousness) the primary reason I'm looking to upgrade from my Gaggia -- I can't make espresso/cappuccino for company . . . at least if we have more than one other couple over, and even then, only if I don't mind having my espresso after everyone else has finished . . .

I thought company was what the French Press was for!

And while I thought I wanted an e61, I can't get past the thought of wasting all that water "surfing" . . . .

So what's the solution? I know: either a true commercial machine (but even the La Marzoccos on eBay are ridiculously expensive), or a La Spaziale S1. After all, even with a double boiler Brewtus II, you still have to surf, don't you?
OK, well, obviously I have to revise my answer! This may well have been my very first post on HB -- I wrote this one day after joining this board, so if it's not the first post, I'm sure it's one of my first five or so . . .

Two years and eight months later, I have an Elektra T1 plumbed into my home water supply with a Cimbali MaxHybrid and a QuickMill Doserless to accompany it, and an Olympia Cafferex in my office paired with a Nuova Simonelli MCF, and I haven't used my French Press in well over a year.
hbuchtel wrote:How do you all serve coffee? For a spouse, for friends, for guests . . .

Does everybody crowd around and watch? Do you go off to the kitchen and come out with the prepared drinks? Do you 'take orders' or give everybody the same drink? Do people often come over just for coffee or do serve it after a meal?

My weekday routine is to get up, pull a double ristretto, and then feed the dog. Then, I make a latte for my wife, Lynn, and a cappuccino for myself and bring them back to our bedroom.

In the office, I'll make a double after lunch for myself, as well as offering lattes or espressos to clients who come in . . . a few actually drop by just to have coffee! Then back at home, I usually pull a single for myself after dinner.

When we have company, there have been times when I'll make a number of different (why would you serve the same drinks to everyone) drinks and someone will bring them into the dining room, but more often than not -- especially when it's more casual -- people just gather around the machine . . .

Cheers,
Jason
A morning without coffee is sleep. -- Anon.

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WilsonHines
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#39: Post by WilsonHines »

zin1953 wrote:And while I thought I wanted an e61, I can't get past the thought of wasting all that water "surfing"
I have a 2 group Faema S87 plumbed in and wired 220v. A little bit different of a group head from an E61, but I have a set and solid way of finding the temperature. I am sure a E61 would have a similar way to find the right temp just as easy.
Method: Set a timer to 45 second and start the right pump first and immediately (as fast as you can hit the button) start the left pump. This gives you 200 degrees on the money. Of course more time is cooler and less time is hotter. But, it has been calibrated with a Scace Device (http://tinyurl.com/7b7rb) at 45 seconds as suggested.

Now, what is your excuse in not getting that E61 now? :roll: :D

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Psyd
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#40: Post by Psyd »

Uhm, Mr. Wilson? I think that there are a few steps missing in the description of your technique. Like, which one is the PF locked into, and what happens with the 45 second timer? So, start both pumps, one right after the other, and what, the second group is at 200*? At the end of 45 seconds of flow? If I'm pulling from two heat exchangers, one on one group and one on the other, how does pulling one group affect the other?
It might be because I'm a bit slow today, but I need a few more details to make sense of this.
What am I missing?
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