Making coffee is cathartic. Some people do yoga, some people meditate, I just like to make espresso. There is just something so soothing about the entire process. The meticulous nature of weighing your coffee to the nearest gram and grinding it at a specific RPM. The magical transition from grinds in a portafilter, to syrupy espresso...
I've seen a lot of espresso trends come and go... but one recent thing that seemed to make a quick re-emergence, and then subsequent disappearance, is the idea of compound chilling. The name itself may not ring a bell, but the image of syrupy espresso running over frozen steel whiskey ball seems to have made its...
Since the Lelit Bianca landed on my bar... I have had a lot of requests to put it up against my daily driver, the La Marzocco GS3MP. On their face they appear to be two very different machines at two completely different price points; there's a $4,500 difference between them. But, going head-to-head, spec sheet to...
After some time and a lot of requests... I finally got my hands on the Lelit Bianca. This popular prosumer espresso machine has been around for quite some time, and boasts a handful of features that puts it on the top many home barista's wishlists. Things like stainless steel dual boilers, PID temperature control, a rotary...
The perfect espresso brew pressure... doesn't exist. That's just the truth, but if you search for it that online, you'll quickly find a lot of opinions. Many of those opinions are based on the tradition of a 9 bar extraction, but the source of this number is widely debated. Some say it dates back to some...
Did you ever look at the Linea Mini... and say to yourself, "I really wish this was smaller"? No? Me either, but just about a week ago the folks at La Marzocco Home dropped something brand new; the Linea Micra. If it looks familiar, that's because its more or less the spitting image of the Linea...
After four full weeks of in-depth... coffee content, reviews, and data I was in need of a reset. Plus, I haven't done coffee routine video featuring my morning workflow for some time now, so it felt like the perfect way to get me back into the mindset needed to delve into the last weeks of 2022....
If there’s one thing in coffee... I’m always impressed by its the ingenuity of manual espresso machine design. I’ve used the press, I’ve used the twist, and now with the Superkop, I’ve used the ratchet. And if your first thought during that last sentence was "superwhat?" I was right there with you just a few months ago. I...
When it comes to espresso grinders... the options are seemingly endless. But there are a handful that seem to continuously garner praise among the home barista community, and one that really took off in 2020 was the DF64. It hit the market when single dosing, home grinders were in high demand, and the Niche Zero had...
After the latest espresso anatomy... episode featuring the Slayer shot there was quite a few comments asking for the next entry to be a deep dive into blooming espresso. So, ask and you shall receive. Of course, the concept of blooming coffee isn't brand new, but when it comes to doing it with espresso, that is...
As much as I love a classic... pump driven machine, there is nothing quite like the manual espresso maker experience. Each unit is unique in its design, method, and manufacture, but all of them aim for the same outcome: a proper shot of espresso. Over the last few years I've had my hands on quite a...
It may sound intimidating... but the Slayer shot is actually surprisingly gentle since it utilizes a considerable amount of low-pressure pre-infusion, and when I say considerable I mean essentially half the shot time; but I'm getting ahead of myself. As you may already be aware there are many different forms of espresso, the classic double, the...
Over my time as a home barista... there are a handful of machines that get brought up in nearly every espresso conversation, and one of them is the ECM Synchronika. This makes sense because on paper it's a needle in a haystack. It comes with dual boilers, PID for consistent temperature control, the legendary (but divisive)...
Getting into home espresso... can be an intimidating experience. There are thousands of options that range in everything from price to performance. Going online in search of answers can can only make the choice harder. Scrolling through forums and blog posts can give you an even mix of horror stories and happy endings, but there is...
When it comes to espresso... there is one variable that I think is undeniable in its importance, and that is an even distribution. Having a puck of coffee grinds that is not only uniform in depth but also in density ensures that when the water pressure is applied the flow rate is equal as it travels...
If you've never heard of... the El Rocio Zarre V2 you wouldn't be alone, its a brand and machine I've only recently been seeing over the past couple months. The main reason for this is El Rocio is a Korean made machine and up until their partnership with Prima Coffee Equipment wasn't available for the US...
If this title looks familiar... its not just your imagination, its not deja vu, I did a video of the exact same title almost exactly three years ago. In that time not only has my espresso game evolved, but so has the whole industry along with most of baristas (home and cafe) use on a daily...
In the world of espresso... there are very few things that the majority of baristas agree is a necessity, but one of those things I thought we could was tamping, or at the very least adding pressure to your grinds in one way or another. But after a short video of mine exploring one of the...
I'm sure you have heard... how important water quality can be to your coffee, and unless you're new here you've most likely you've heard it at least a few times from me. Now its something that I understood on a very surface level. For example, too many minerals can create a bitter cup, and too few...
On a cold January day in 2017... much like this one, I brought home my brand new La Marzocco Linea Mini. This was almost exactly five years ago, and at the time I was just a new coffee enthusiast looking to learn the craft, but little did I know that it would take me where I...
I've said it before... and I'm going to say it again; espresso is a finicky beast. Anyone who's made it, even just once, has experienced how many variables are in play. Even though getting a tasty shot is based almost entirely on personal preferences, there are still some golden rules to process, and one of them...
Espresso drinks aren't all that complicated... and even though there is so many you could fill a small book with them, they are made up of two ingredients, espresso and milk or water. In this case I'm talking about the latter, more specifically the Americano, and by association the long black. Now, these two have very...
Latte art was my first love... when it came to getting into coffee. There's something so appealing and calming to the process, but it is indeed a process. Learning how to consistently steam silky, wet paint-like textured milk was the first step, and that took me years to master. From there a barista's work isn't over....
I think it's pretty clear... that there is no shortage of accessories on the espresso aftermarket. Each one claiming better taste here and more extraction there, and I've tried my fair share of these accessories and shared my tests and thoughts. It should be no surprise that not all of them can be winners, but that...
Just when you thought espresso... can’t get any more intricate and labor intensive something else crawls out of the depths of coffee forums, so today let’s talk about the staccato shot. The word staccato translates from Italian to English as "detached". Which in this case means each grind size are detached, or in other words separated...
As you may already know... espresso comes in many different shapes and sizes. Its an ever-changing, ever-evolving beverage, and now things that were once considered mistakes have become something we aim for. In the not so distant past a fifteen second shot of espresso would go right down the drain, but today we call it the...
Are you ready to take the plunge... into the world of espresso at home? Well, incase you haven't noticed I've done that myself, and I get a lot of questions from folks looking to do that exact same thing. I personally made some mistakes myself, and since then I've talked many friends and viewers through the...
Thinking about espresso... is what I do with a good amount of my time, and if you're reading this its fair to say it may be something you spend time doing as well. There is a wide array of espresso options out there, and in my espresso anatomy series I've covered a lot of them. The...
When it comes to espresso... experimentation is half of the fun, at least to me it is, and since you're here reading about some seriously nerdy coffee stuff you likely feel the same way. So in the spirit of experimentation and my own personal curiosity I decided to test something I've been wondering about for awhile....
Home espresso machines... are a growing market, and one of the newest additions is the chic and modern looking Kickstarter funded Xbar. As of this writing its campaign has been funded nearly twenty times over, and still has about a week left to pick up some early bird deals. Like most, if not all, espresso machines...
The internet is full of... articles, blog posts and videos talking about all the espresso rules you should follow for the best possible shots, but I'm here to tell you; the rules were made to be broken. In the world of espresso, and all of specialty coffee for that matter, there are very few rules that...
As if there weren't... enough tools and accessories out there for pulling shots, it's time to look at yet another advertised as your fast pass to better extractions; the Bplus espresso puck screens. Of course, many of us espresso nerds have heard all of this before, many times over. So I'm sure you could understand my...
Now well into the... fourth year of this humble coffee blog we're really starting to dig into the minutia of brewing, and in terms of espresso talking about shower screens is really getting into the weeds. Otherwise known as dispersion screens, these little discs of metal and mesh play a surprisingly vital role in the espresso...
If there is one thing... I look forward to every day, its a quiet morning coffee and today I'm sharing that experience with you. There's clearly a group of folks out there who love these kinds of videos, and you may be asking what kind of video. Well, this is my first, and very possibly final,...
When it comes to espresso... and my series of videos taking deep dives into the many forms of this beloved beverage, I feel like one very important option is missing. Whether you call it the double, the normale, or embrace your inner Italian and call it a doppio, it's time I dive into the most common...
If you've worked in a cafe... you've likely heard the term "dying" or "dead shot" in reference to a pull of espresso that sits on the bar for a certain period of time. It's rumored that this trend came from Starbucks training, who gives a shot only 10 seconds after its completion before it's considered dead. Other...
If you're a coffee lover... you're also likely a lover of arguing the semantics and definitions of certain coffee drinks. One of those hotly debated espresso based beverages is the globally popular flat white. Some claim it is all about the addition of the legendary ristretto shot of espresso. Others say it is just a basic...
I promise you... this will be the last distribution tool review I'll do for awhile. It just seems like when it rains it pours, and recently a Duomo The Eight poured into my possession thanks to a lovely local espresso lover named Josh who was willing to part with it while I made a review. At...
Many of us enjoy... a nice shot or two of espresso on a daily basis, and spend a lot of our time and hard earned money trying to get the good shots. Yet, how many us can name and break down each of the three layers of espresso? We all already know a shot is pulled...
In a world... and industry that is increasingly becoming more and more automated, the market for hand-pressed espresso machines is still only growing in popularity. In that market the Cafelat Robot is one of the premium players, and having paid nearly $500 for it also costs a premium. It's unique vintage 1950's sci-fi movie robot styling...
I've said it before... and I'll say it again, consistently steaming glossy, smooth, microfoam is one of the hardest parts about being a barista. Even I have my off steams, but now there is a new product that claims to help you get that treasured latte art capable foam and it fits in the palm of...
If you haven't noticed... specialty coffee culture has a dump-truck sized notebook full of colorful lingo, and one of the most popular terms you'll likely hear is the "god shot". This blanket term is used to describe a shot of espresso so perfect, and so delicious that is it is basically an enlightening experience. The term...
With the ever growing popularity... around the world of specialty and third wave coffee, light roasts are becoming more and more common in cafes and kitchens. With lighter roasts come not only more unique flavors that can really showcase the coffee's origin and the roaster's skill, but they can also be somewhat tricky to brew well. Not...
Making a passable espresso on the Aeropress... is one of those horizons many have attempted, but no one has yet to really nail it. Even coffee industry heavy hitters, Fellow Products, took a swing at it with their Prismo attachment. Now, fast forward to today and the Joepresso is newest contender to enter into that arena...
Long before the days of caramel and whip... the macchiato was a mainstay on espresso bars around the world, and in most cases it still is. Yet like many drinks in the world of specialty coffee there are multiple ways to make it, and of course some debate. This small but mighty espresso based drink not only carries...
When it comes to espresso... there is one brew type that tends to be forgotten. The lungo espresso garners very little interest over the standard shot, and the notorious ristretto. Personally I rarely if ever see it on a menu, and when I asked about them on an Instagram poll many people mentioned having never had...
There are few words... that strike as much anger, post traumatic stress, and caffeinated rants in specialty coffee circles as Starbucks. It brings up a lot of feelings. For some its memories of our first barista job while being berated by angry Karens. For others it's the frustration of explaining to someone that a macchiato is actually...
Cold press espresso... sounds nice in theory. As the weather warms up the idea of an iced drink for espresso lovers sounds pretty amazing. I've heard whispers about a thing called cold press espresso, and it sounds like the perfect option. But is it really possible? The answer to that is actually a bit more complicated...
The single shot of espresso is one of the rarest... if not the rarest espresso drink in all of modern coffee and cafe culture. Ever since I began learning about and working in the specialty coffee industry (which is a paltry five years) a single shot has been a split double. That basically means you're likely...
Espresso myths are made to be busted... and that's what I'm going to do in this video. Of course there are far more than three myths about espresso. Yet the myths I decided to bust in this video are the ones that are pretty persistent and should really be put to rest once and for all....
The ristretto shot has had a wild ride... over the past ten to twenty years in the specialty coffee industry. In the early 2000's it was called the future of espresso. You'd find it in many cafes, and some who were even pushing the envelope and innovating in the industry. Espresso Vivace is the first that...
Since it's quarantine season... and I'm spending 99.9% of my time at home. So I figured there is no better time to do a video that's been highly requested, for some reason I don't fully understand. Yet, here I am and I'll be going over my morning routine. As a bonus, not only will I be...
