Eastsideloco wrote:The best advice I ever heard RE: adding sugar: "Good coffee doesn't need sugar; bad coffee doesn't deserve it." I was hoping my wife would remember where we heard this. It might have been a Dutch barista.

Well I'm not a big fan of dogmas.The moment I hear or see one I feel the urge to break it.This Dutch barista probably meant well but it's just an opinion.Just like mine.

espressotime wrote:Well I'm not a big fan of doctrines.The moment I hear or see one I feel the urge to break it.This Dutch barista probably meant well but it's just an opinion.Just like mine.

Is it doctrines you find fault with? Or is it really dogma?

You are absolutely right.I mean dogma.I'll change it.
Thanks.

TomC wrote:Of all my tips I could ever share with someone looking to make better tasting espresso, every single one of them pale in comparison to just telling them to let the shot sit for at least 2 minutes and let the darn thing cool off. I don't think I've ever encountered an outlier to this rule of mine. They're always better, sweeter, less metallic and sharp tasting once they've cooled down to just above warm.

I agree--now why did it take me years to figure this out! I went so long drinking espresso just after making it. But a short cooling period makes such a difference.

Eastsideloco wrote:The best advice I ever heard RE: adding sugar: "Good coffee doesn't need sugar; bad coffee doesn't deserve it."

I love this. It's funny, I agree with it, and I will repeat it!

Thanks for sharing!

+ 1 on cooling.

I laugh at all of the gear I've owned. I have settled on a soon to be 50 year old machine that is about as analog as it gets that I bought for $1000.00. And I've lost all grinder-itis on the Major-e; I have no interest in upgrading.

There is something going on with the Club's low pressure profile on dark roasts. It may be the espresso version of cold brew. The grouphead doesn't appreciably accumulate coffee tar deposits.

When the taste is a bit too bright I down dose - my current shots are produced by 15g of grounds - down from 18g earlier this year. If the shot rests in the fridge for 4 hours they are so smooth it's jaw dropping. My wife now saves 1/2 of her morning shot for the late afternoon as a cold shot. They are so sweet it's like sugar was already added.

I think I've gained some enlightenment by each purchase and the hobby's product sure as hell beats the swill from Charbucks.

Re-read this thread tonight and decided to post. Seems a bit contradictory with other posts about cooling, but my best tip is pre-warm the cup.
I am using Nuova point and Espresso Parts cups which are thick porcelain.
It honestly took some time before I realized how big a difference this makes with thick cups.
Previously, my espresso immediately was too cool (at least for my taste).
Now I pre-warm the cups for 35 seconds in microwave while grinding the shot, and the heat retention is so much better.
I do have a warmer on top of the BDB, but takes too long to have an effect.
I still let the shot cool for a few minutes as others have suggested, but it is nowhere near as cool as it was previously.
Am I alone in doing this?

I straight up pre-cool the cups a lot of the time in addition to waiting, pour some cold water in em, dump it out, and dry. Started doing it for Turkish and it carried over to shots and brewed coffee. But I like coffee best just sliiightly above body temperature. Lowest differential between myself and the coffee for the least amount of temperature sensation interfering with taste sensation. Still usually end up a touch warmer for espresso, but certainly nothing anyone would call hot.

i'm definitely pro cooling and don't even preheat my cups anymore.

Last month travelling in London i went to a fantastic coffee shop called Hagen Coffee project. I was interested to see that before serving the espresso they whacked the cup on the counter a few times, i'm guessing to "densify" the crema and pop larger bubbles, but were also sure to point out to stir it before drinking so you don't get wholloped by the intensity of the creama.

I would say two things.

#1 limit/control the variability in your process - in my case, my tamping was the biggest variability from shot to shot so I bought a palm tamper and tamp pretty firmly. Shots are amazingly more consistent now. Distribution was already good so no issues there. Grind I keep quite fine and just updose or downdose to get desired result, anywhere from 16-20g.

#2 find a brew ratio you generally like. Sweet spot for me is somewhere in the 1:2 - 1:3 range. After straying away from the 1:2 range, my shots have been wildly better, more rounded, and far less tangy.