Arpi wrote:well, there is theory and then there is truth. The practical truth is that I get excellent flavor out, so you guys may consider revising your "stale theory"

I believe you! What you describe (chocolaty taste, mellow, no brightness) sounds about right for Lavazza, but that's not something that excites me. For what it's worth, my tastes have changed over the years. What I considered the cat's meow years ago now seems a bit boring.

I know what you mean. When I first started with espresso, I had little tolerance for brightness and acidity. After many straight shots I got used to that. But if I give friends now a bright shot they make strange faces meanwhile I tell them that I 'know' that's good and that's supposed to be like that. There is a certain evolution to the appreciation of espresso. As long as you like the beans enough to go back and back for more, then I would consider that as a sign that those beans are good for the time being, but maybe not forever.

Cheers

So, 30 mL out of 10-11g of coffee in 40 s? It sounds like a ristretto, but I believe your brew ratio indicates something more like a lungo, or perhaps right on the cusp of normale and lungo. I'd be impressed if you can get that long without blonding, but I guess that's why you got the Compak K10.

If you enjoy it, good for you. If you like that profile (heavy chocolate, no brightness), I strongly, strongly recommend Gizmo Espresso from PT's. It's like a magic bean; I've never had something roasted so dark taste so good. It's chocolate like your notes, with super-heavy sweetness. I think you'd like it in a shot... I liked it in a macchiato/short cappuccino best. I bet your K10 would render it like my Robur, with just a slight hint of well-controlled acidity that makes it much more interesting.

Thanks for the recommendation Shadowfax! Looks like that would be my personal predilection at this time.

Cheers

Hi Rafael, Its great that you have found a coffee you enjoy, thats the goal of a lot of the people here.

Arpi wrote:I know what you mean. When I first started with espresso, I had little tolerance for brightness and acidity. After many straight shots I got used to that. But if I give friends now a bright shot they make strange faces meanwhile I tell them that I 'know' that's good and that's supposed to be like that.

Everyone goes through different "stages" of coffee bean exploration and you are taking some first steps that is always interesting to experiment with. I think that after some time you may feel you want to try other blends or types of coffees to see how they might fit or expand your taste.

shadowfax wrote:
If you enjoy it, good for you. If you like that profile (heavy chocolate, no brightness), I strongly, strongly recommend Gizmo Espresso from PT's. It's like a magic bean; I've never had something roasted so dark taste so good. It's chocolate like your notes, with super-heavy sweetness. I think you'd like it in a shot... I liked it in a macchiato/short cappuccino best. I bet your K10 would render it like my Robur, with just a slight hint of well-controlled acidity that makes it much more interesting.

I agree with the recommendation of shadowfax about PT's Gizmo Espresso. I've tried it a couple times and enjoyed the chocolate notes with a little bite on the end. I have a tendency to get bored easily and want to try something new, so I order something different every couple of weeks from various roasters just to see whats out there, buts thats just me.

A couple more beans that you might want to try that I have really liked are Caffe Fresco's Ambrosia Espresso Blend and Counter Culture Coffee's Espresso La Forza blend. Another one I highly recommend is Paradise Roaster's Espresso Classico, more of a medium roast but some VERY interesting flavor combos, one of the best in my book. I think you'll find these fun to try and experiment with and who knows, you may go back for more!

Arpi wrote:I am not saying that fresh beans are bad. Maybe I have a 'personal' predilection for this flavor, that's all.

That could be! We all have our own personal taste preferences -- that's why no one size fits all . . .

On the other hand, you ARE the only person on record for preferring stale Lavazza over freshly roasted beans. This could/should give you something to think about, as well as explain why are the rest of us continue to be skeptical and/or offer suggestions of specific roasters to try.

Arpi,

Remember when you thought your Breville was delivering good shots? Because you had not had better you had nothing to compare what the Breville was delivering in the cup and thought it was good stuff. Then you splurged and upgraded A TON!! Now you have an extremely capable machine and grinder and are getting the most out of what Lavazza has to offer. You've just upped your baseline for what constitutes a good shot. Now you owe it to yourself to branch out and try some of the suggestions above...and let me add one more - Cafe Fresco's Daterra Reserve; great as a straight shot or macchiato.

Using Lavazza beans in your setup is like having a Ferrari with a restrictor on the gas pedal, only allowing partial throttle. If you hopped into it from a Geo Metro you'd no doubt think you were now flying. You'll find the difference between Lavazza and high quality artisan beans about the same analogy wise. Like others said, you need to try the good stuff (fresh beans), but be forewarned that you'll need to adjust your grinder to a more coarse setting that what you are using for the Lavazza or you'll most likely end up choking your machine.

Enjoy the journey.

But I've already tried _many_ fresh and famous blends. The second I like most 'at this time' is Blackcat but only in Lattes (double basket). I am too lazy to try to convince people that know a lot!

I have an even sillier Lavazza experience... preground Lavazza on a Synesso.

My sister-in-law was recently given some Lavazza pre-ground, carried from Italy by some of her relatives. Knowing that I am an espresso aficionado, she kindly sent me some. Unsolicited, of course.

The package has a blue label. All writing is in Italian, and I could not clearly identify a roast or "use by date." Hard little brick of ground coffee -- the vacuum had not been broken. Good.

I opened the bag. There was almost no odor. Not a good sign. The colour was appropriate for Northern Italian style roast. The fineness of grind was appropriate for, if fresh, a low dose extraction. I had no illusions of freshness here, so I filled the Synesso double basket, leveled, tamped and locked.

My line pressure is at 3.5 Bar, approximately. Flow occurred immediately on preinfusion, and got faster when turning on the pump. Biggest gusher EVER. Luckily it all went down. I pulled a 60 mL double in 4 sec. Impressive! *bux should do this to improve throughput. White bubbles of faux crema (almost none) the likes of which I have not seen since my Krups Novo days, before making the PF bottomless and unpressurized.

I tasted it.

Let me be very clear here. This liquid was not espresso, or anything like it. It reminds me a bit of Aeropress coffee, but weaker due to staleness. There is no mouthfeel whatsoever. No oil, no acid, no crema. All base notes. Chocolate and indistinct sweetness only. Actually very nice tasting, sweet boring coffee. There was nothing bad tasting about it. It was not espresso by any definition, but it was pretty good coffee. Not in the academic, analytical sense, but just in a nice warm, sweet, "tastes like coffee" kind of way. If I had the opportunity to try the same coffee as whole bean, fresh, I would. It might actually be good, if you like that kind of coffee. (I really don't, preferring complexity and high notes.)

I could not taste any robusta nasty flavor. Perhaps this had evaporated as well.

I tried an updosed triple, just using preinfusion, and it came out in 8 seconds 60 mL, tasting identical. This will never be espresso, clearly. I'll use the rest in an Aeropress or as food for the worms. Any good espresso machine is overkill for this coffee. Maybe it works better with steam toys and PPFs or Moka pots.

And now... back to the good stuff! (presently Caffe Fresco Ambrosia- mmmmmmmm)

-Mike

I did had a similar experience one time Don't remember the exact blend, maybe CC Toscano, It came out fast and watery, light colour, no much crema, but somehow it was as if I had washed the sugar out of the beans. If anybody had seen in life it would look as if it would taste really bad. That would have been a very challenging shot to prove with theories jeje

Cheers