Yield time. I don't know whether it differs from company to company but I remember I pulled a shot for 36 seconds and compared to a shot that was brewed at 30 seconds. I found the 36 seconds shot has the most impressive taste profile that was buttery, chocolate, and rich compared to a 30 seconds shot that has a slight bitterness but lively and still drinkable. I might add that the espresso beans has been sitting on 6 days shelf life from the roast date.
Yield time is super interesting because, to me, that seems like a space for personal preferences to come in. I think of yield as kind of like adding ice or water to whiskey — I think a larger yield gives the coffee room to be expressive, but is it one drop of water? One piece of ice? Two? There's a lot of room to play for sure!
Love this article! I don't remember when we transitioned from an industry of creativity and individuality to blindly following the prescriptive directions from those who spoke the loudest. The best coffee is the one that sells and there are innumerable ways to produce and prepare coffee. In my judgement, the message of hospitality is not giving the guest a reason to go anywhere else, however the secret to success is actually the intersection of personality and desire. The personality of the seller in the form of location, atmosphere, customer service, variety and quality, and the desire of the buyer in the form of location, atmosphere, customer service variety and quality. then there is overlap business will flow. Find your personality and the coffee that sells will be your best product!
I think a lot of it has to do with how little we know about coffee and how little is documented. It's hard to discern what's a fact (the espresso machine was invented in whatever year) versus opinion sometimes and I don't think we do a lot to document experimentation or why a trend or practice works/doesn't work.
Jul 28, 2022·edited Jul 28, 2022Liked by Ashley Rodriguez
Espresso ratios are a great example of this and the way they've fluctuated in the short and long term. Sometimes this is momentary due to something we all saw, or a simple cyclical resurgence of an old idea made new
1:1 or 1.5 or 1.75 or 2.5 or 3 are all enjoyable with the right coffee.
Just interesting how entrenched some stuff can be.
I'm fairly certain someday I'll be a very old man and still be telling people about 25g 400 out v60
RIGHT! I remember a time where 18/30/30 was gospel, but I didn't necessarily understand why or how to experiment with ratios. It's funny how much I would have only stuck to a recipe versus considering the coffee and how it could taste different using different ratios.
Maybe the idea like the one you mentioned but when an espresso shot is pulled that if it sits for more than a min that it “dies” vs the concept that it simply “ages” and the whole crema dissipating affecting the overall experience
Great idea! In some barista competitions, folks encourage the judges to skim the crema since that stuff is bitter, but many customers have been taught that crema is a sign of freshness and that a shot is "bad" if it has no crema.
Temperature and freshness have always confused me. My bf keeps his coffee in an air tight container (he is not as obsessed as me) and it's still pretty good! I also don't know if temperature makes a huge difference. Will 1 degree make my coffee undrinkable? I doubt it. But then it's a Zeno's paradox of coffee temperature!
Temperature is so complex! I feel like I barely understand it too, but I'll look into it and see what I can dig up! There are roasters who really advocate for freezing coffee (roasted, ground, green, etc...) and George Howell is one of the first folks, at least to my knowledge, who really pushed this idea: https://www.georgehowellcoffee.com/knowledge/notes-from-george/
Tell me how it goes! It'd be interesting to maybe pull some of the green out of the freezer, keep some in, let it sit for a bit, and then roast them side by side and see if the freezer protected the green at all?
100%! Freshness is so complex, and we tend to ascribe these really simplistic rules to understand it. And what blows my mind is that it's such an easy thing to test: all you have to do is try grinding coffee and...leaving it alone for a period of time. I love saying cheesy shit like coffee is the easiest science experiment you can do with food but it's true!
Yield time. I don't know whether it differs from company to company but I remember I pulled a shot for 36 seconds and compared to a shot that was brewed at 30 seconds. I found the 36 seconds shot has the most impressive taste profile that was buttery, chocolate, and rich compared to a 30 seconds shot that has a slight bitterness but lively and still drinkable. I might add that the espresso beans has been sitting on 6 days shelf life from the roast date.
Yield time is super interesting because, to me, that seems like a space for personal preferences to come in. I think of yield as kind of like adding ice or water to whiskey — I think a larger yield gives the coffee room to be expressive, but is it one drop of water? One piece of ice? Two? There's a lot of room to play for sure!
Love this article! I don't remember when we transitioned from an industry of creativity and individuality to blindly following the prescriptive directions from those who spoke the loudest. The best coffee is the one that sells and there are innumerable ways to produce and prepare coffee. In my judgement, the message of hospitality is not giving the guest a reason to go anywhere else, however the secret to success is actually the intersection of personality and desire. The personality of the seller in the form of location, atmosphere, customer service, variety and quality, and the desire of the buyer in the form of location, atmosphere, customer service variety and quality. then there is overlap business will flow. Find your personality and the coffee that sells will be your best product!
I think a lot of it has to do with how little we know about coffee and how little is documented. It's hard to discern what's a fact (the espresso machine was invented in whatever year) versus opinion sometimes and I don't think we do a lot to document experimentation or why a trend or practice works/doesn't work.
Espresso ratios are a great example of this and the way they've fluctuated in the short and long term. Sometimes this is momentary due to something we all saw, or a simple cyclical resurgence of an old idea made new
1:1 or 1.5 or 1.75 or 2.5 or 3 are all enjoyable with the right coffee.
Just interesting how entrenched some stuff can be.
I'm fairly certain someday I'll be a very old man and still be telling people about 25g 400 out v60
RIGHT! I remember a time where 18/30/30 was gospel, but I didn't necessarily understand why or how to experiment with ratios. It's funny how much I would have only stuck to a recipe versus considering the coffee and how it could taste different using different ratios.
Maybe the idea like the one you mentioned but when an espresso shot is pulled that if it sits for more than a min that it “dies” vs the concept that it simply “ages” and the whole crema dissipating affecting the overall experience
Great idea! In some barista competitions, folks encourage the judges to skim the crema since that stuff is bitter, but many customers have been taught that crema is a sign of freshness and that a shot is "bad" if it has no crema.
A very eye opening piece! Thanks for sharing these stories
Thank you! I appreciate this comment so much!
Temperature and freshness have always confused me. My bf keeps his coffee in an air tight container (he is not as obsessed as me) and it's still pretty good! I also don't know if temperature makes a huge difference. Will 1 degree make my coffee undrinkable? I doubt it. But then it's a Zeno's paradox of coffee temperature!
Temperature is so complex! I feel like I barely understand it too, but I'll look into it and see what I can dig up! There are roasters who really advocate for freezing coffee (roasted, ground, green, etc...) and George Howell is one of the first folks, at least to my knowledge, who really pushed this idea: https://www.georgehowellcoffee.com/knowledge/notes-from-george/
I have a whole bean Guatemalan coffee that I got in Guatemala that is vibing in my freezer. I might have to bust it out
Tell me how it goes! It'd be interesting to maybe pull some of the green out of the freezer, keep some in, let it sit for a bit, and then roast them side by side and see if the freezer protected the green at all?
YES! The idea of freshness (and grinder timing) has always interested me as a total novice. Thanks for breaking it down a bit.
100%! Freshness is so complex, and we tend to ascribe these really simplistic rules to understand it. And what blows my mind is that it's such an easy thing to test: all you have to do is try grinding coffee and...leaving it alone for a period of time. I love saying cheesy shit like coffee is the easiest science experiment you can do with food but it's true!