I spent this morning introducing espresso to a friend who's a regular coffee drinker, but limits himself to espresso with milk and sugar. The video below is his discovery of good espresso through a progression from latte to macchiato to straight espresso. I hope you'll find his observations and my commentary helpful in your attempts to convince others that coffee doesn't need to be "tamed" by loads of milk and sugar.
The next "newbie" video of this series, Barista Mechanics, focuses on the basic steps of making espresso at home. It was my intent to prove that 80% of the effort can be reduced to rote steps just about anyone can do. If members are interested, Phillip has agreed to return in a few weeks for a more advance diagnostics session.

Dan, that was great.

I'm really glad you did this video. It's really nice to see someone come from a SBUX/Keurig background and immediately transition into appreciating good espresso and steamed milk within 15 minutes. Nostalgic, really. I think that this is a great hands-on intro. Thanks for doing this.

-Dave-

That was great. I really liked the part where you said "now that we're off camera..." It was interesting to hear his thoughts in a more casual way. And he seemed to have a really positive reaction to both the latte and straight espresso.

I've tried to do something similar, but less structured with friends and family, and I think choosing the right blend to start with is very important. Really looking forward to the next video

An enjoyable watch. I got a chuckle when "Newbie" came up the credits.

Dan, well done. And what a Genius idea, taking someone through the progression in one sitting.

Id be curious to find out where Phillip takes his coffee from here. Will he buy into a home espresso setup and insist on fresh coffee all the time, OR, will he stay where he's at now, but acknowledge your drinks are superior. I am very interested to see what happens.


And flippin jealous btw! what a killer home setup!

As others have stated: Kudos for the great idea and execution! Very valuable on a variety of fronts!

Dan, this is a fantastic video! The idea is great and it was cool to see Phillip enjoy each drink. I had a similar experience over the weekend when I made a latte for my gf and I made microfoam for the first time. Maybe I can get her to enjoy espresso one day

beer&mathematics wrote:Maybe I can get her to enjoy espresso one day

Good luck, I've heard that one before

Nice Video! On a side note, I'm curious if that is your normal setup? It is sweet! A question, though, is without curtains on the windows your coffee beans are stored in direct sunlight...do you use just use them up so fast that it doesn't matter? I thought that sunlight hurts the beans.

excellent video, I truly enjoyed