Article delayed by house move.

Hello All:

I've been looking forward to doing this article, something I'll enjoy a lot, especially with all of your great questions! But I must put it off for a couple of months because two weeks after I planned to write this my wife landed a great job on the other end of the SF Bay Area, so we've put our house on the market and are in the midst of moving from north of the Golden Gate Bridge to the Silicon Valley. At least I've come up far enough on the learning curve to fuel this busyness with decent espressos in my home and office!

Gary

When you do go, please tell Chris, Brian and Heckie from MPLS say "Ciao amico!".
Chris is a one of a kind and a gracious man! He's a gem and great to talk with. Yes he is.... ECCENTRIC but we need more folks like that! As far as them not carrying parts from machines they used to sell eons ago, Whatever! I am sure rather than speculate on that, if anyone here wants to know they could call & leave 'em a message

Nice sentiments, Heckie. We survived a buyer's market and are just moving tomorrow. I've been in touch with Chris, he helped me with restoring my Europiccola. And yes, he's a really nice guy and your description otherwise fits. Sorry it's been such a delay.

Gary

I agree Heckie! I was planning to stop in to see Christopher tomorrow to pick up some parts, but may not make it now that other stuff has come up. He's a great guy. My family has been buying from him since his father started the shop.

Hello All:

This post responds to some of the questions and concerns expressed when I offered to interview Christopher Cara. It also describes the experience of visiting his shop, it shares what I learned when he tutored me in pulling shots and texturing milk, and it offers some maintenance tips.

Now that the first part of our move is over, I've visited with Christopher Cara a few times. He helped restore my La Pavoni Europiccola Millennium model, and I now have a machine that's better than factory spec after he replaced the plastic piston with a brass one. He also guided me through restoring a rusted drip tray and replacing o-rings in the steam mechanism. I'll write that up on another thread and link it here when it's done.

Throughout, Christopher has generously advised me in person and by phone. Once my machine was in working order, he offered to tutor me in using the machine for $95.00, a real bargain. But I've had the most fun just getting to know Christopher and watching the scene in his shop.

When I started this thread, Christopher had reluctantly expressed his willingness to be interviewed. He now says he doesn't feel comfortable with that, so I told him his friendship is more important than an interview, and I continued to enjoy my visits, my learning, and my lever machine. But I don't want to disappoint you either. So I'll share my impressions and espresso lesson.

The Shop Experience

Some on this thread have expressed frustration that Christopher's shop isn't open throughout the week or that it's closed for vacations. But those who've visited the shop can see that Christopher works hard at this. Just remember you're dealing with a sole proprietor. E-mail or call ahead, and he'll set an appointment where he'll give you the help you need. If you just drop by, you might face a gruff reception if he's in the midst of something. But don't let that put you off. There's no bite behind the bark. If you have to wait, you're in San Francisco's famous North Beach Italian neighborhood. Consider taking a break for some wonderful Italian food! A good measure of what it's actually like doing business with him is his overall five-star rating on Yelp, based on 17 reviews so far. See: http://www.yelp.com/biz/thomas-e-cara-ltd-san-francisco.

Christopher enjoys his business and is devoted to it. He says, "I like to think of myself like a veterinarian. These espresso machines are like people's pets, and I help them with their care and feeding." You can see his caring attitude when an old customer visits for beans or repairs and he teases them or coaches them on maintenance. For repairs, Christopher is an experienced craftsman. Rest assured that if you've got a La Pavoni home lever model needing repairs, your machine is in very good hands. But he doesn't try to be all things to all people. He only works on machines his family sells so he's not overwhelmed with support and repairs and can fully serve his customers. If yours isn't a machine he maintains, there are other excellent resources who are well-known on this site, especially Doug and Barb Garrott of Orphan Espresso http://www.orphanespresso.com/ or the authorized sellers and distributors of particular brands, such as Stefano's Espresso Care http://www.espressocare.com/, where Stefano himself has been very helpful with advice and parts for my discontinued Isomac.

"It's the Coffee!"

Much of this site is devoted to discussing espresso blends or single origins, degrees of roasting, fine-tuning the shot to bring out flavor profiles, and the difference between current, third-wave specialty roasters and traditional Italian practices. Jim Schulman started a recent thread discussing those differences in roasting practices here: Thoughts on an Italian Espresso Blend .

Christopher expresses playful disinterest in such fine-tuning and says with a twinkle in his eye that when it comes to good espresso, "It's the coffee"! This is a tongue in cheek remark, of course. As you read further, you'll see that he has a relaxed attitude about making espresso and doesn't preach a "right way" to do it.

Many of you may know that the coffee he sells is a secret, traditional recipe that can only be obtained at his store. It's a dark roast, and the bags don't carry a date. But not to worry, he only orders enough for a week so it goes fast and you'll always get a fresh supply. They're dark enough that when ground, the coffee has an oily feel to it, but my current batch doesn't have oil droplets on the surface. So my best guess is it's somewhere between City + and Full City Roast as defined here: http://coffeecuppers.com/RoastStages.htm . As Christopher tells the story, "My father was in Italy during the war, out in the country, and he tried a delicious espresso blend that he got "from a generous Neapolitan gentleman." The recipe was stored in a safe. When Christopher redesigned the shop, he discovered the recipe and they tried. The rest is history.

I really enjoy his coffee. It doesn't have the over-roasted, acidic flavors of Starbuck's or Peets but is more refined. My impression, given a novice vocabulary and taste buds, is that the flavor of the roast itself is prominent but not overbearing. It's dominated by a bittersweet chocolate flavor, a peppery overtone and a hint of black currant. Christopher pulls it hotter than I like. But he encouraged me to make it to my taste, which is much cooler to avoid the acidity and bring out a leather mid-range flavor with a buttery mouth feel. Despite my beginner's description, it's the best dark roast coffee I've had, and the caffeination seems moderate, which suggests it doesn't have much or any robusta in the mix. But espresso only smells good until you pull a shot, so here's what I learned about that from Christopher.

(Thanks to Dan's suggestion, I'm splitting off the lesson portion of this thread, which he has posted under FAQs and Favorites. See A Lesson from Christopher Cara in Using a La Pavoni Home Lever Espresso Machine).

Wrapping Up

Some of you wanted me to ask Christopher about the history of the machines he and his family have serviced and imported over the years. I did ask about a couple of the historic Faemas he has on his shelf, and he briefly mentioned a design flaw with spring placement, so he obviously knows them well. But he's expressed discomfort with the "espresso expert" pedestal and with recounting family history. I respect his choice to maintain a low profile and keep his business small enough to have a life outside of it. I appreciate his expertise, his helpfulness and humor, and can't help but enjoy anyone who's found his vocation as a "veterinarian" for people's pet espresso machines!

Gary Seeman

Thanks much Gary for your post. I had a feeling when you initially mentioned you were going to see him that you might have mistaken him for another chris in SF. The Chris we have come to know is a character.. as I stated earlier and a magnet for big personalities alike! I appreciate what he does for customers, and yet he maintains a no nonsense attitude for certain peoples antics. It's a great balance and he's a true entrepreneur, wish there were more small business owners like him. And the fact that he obviously has a life outside of his business, is assuring to all us aspiring business folk:)

I was at friends house a very long time ago and got introduced to all of this when he pulled me a shot fromt a La Cara machine, i inquired where he got it and went forthwith to Cara's store to buy one

Thomas Cara informed me that it was no longer made (there was some trouble over copying the pavoni i think) so i asked him what else he had, this way maybe around 1980-85, can't remember exactly

he offered a Cremina about which i knew nothing at the time, and it cost an arm and a leg - about $275.00, new of course, i think he was doing the 120V conversion in his shop

i used it for many many years through only a few repair cycles, then went to a pump machine about 8 years ago and was never happy compared to the Cremina

now i have two of them refurbished, one as a back up

i got some of Chris' coffee once from him at the store, i don't think at that time he was selling coffee (it was more than 10 years ago) or had resurrected dad's recipe, the coffee was quite amazing and i still recall it well

his current offering is available at a local store from time to time and is a bit dark for my taste but my wife really likes that style and i enjoy too now and then, will try the cooler shot tip i learned here

Hi Dennis,

Nice story. The latest I hear from Christopher is that his coffee is only available in his store. You could recently get it at Birite but no longer. $275 for a Cremina? Highway robbery!