If you follow this blog, you know that I’m like a guy that has discovered water or air. For the most part, I think people are pretty much at peace with coffee, so this wild-eyed excitement about espresso seems pretty weird to most of my friends and family. I mean, really; there’s nothing new to discover with coffee, for crying out loud. My wife Kathy was telling me that an acquaintance of hers had seen this blog and said, “so…your husband …likes coffee…” I think she felt a little defensive and said, well, he has a project. Yeah.
When I talk to someone about espresso who has no idea what it can be like, who has a vague notion that it’s a nasty, over-strong coffee preparation method that they would just as soon leave alone, I encourage them to go down to one of our local establishments like Valhalla Coffee Roasters on 6th Ave., and order a macchiato. The beverage you would get at Starbucks by ordering an espresso macchiato is not even close. The art, the passion for excellence has been lost, forgotten at Starbucks. It’s funny, I keep giving them the benefit of the doubt, and I’m always disappointed. We were on the road heading for camping, and I stopped at Starbucks and ordered an espresso macchiato. It was literally nasty and undrinkable.
In contrast, a barista like AJ at Valhalla is extracting espresso with care and passion. First of all, the coffee itself is a well-crafted blend, roasted with great care, right there in the store, usually only a few days before it’s served. The machine is clean, the grind is perfected, the water is the correct temperature and pressure, the method of preparation is exact, the barista is bright-eyed and passionate about espresso, and the outcome is remarkable. It is not bitter, it’s not sour, it’s not dirty-tasting, and it’s not burnt tasting. It’s brilliant.
So the best way to discover espresso is to go find someone who is passionate about it. Don’t go down to target and buy a Mr. Coffee “ espresso machine,” like I did, thinking that you’re going to give espresso a try. The coffee you will make will first of all not be anything remotely like espresso, it’s something else altogether. And it will be disappointing. Go find out how good it can be.
After probably a year of steam-extracting coffee with that little pot, I walked into Valhalla and ordered a latte. It was very good, so I stopped by there occasionally until one day, the fellow in front of me ordered a macchiato, and I was intrigued by the little cup and his excitement about it, so I asked him about it and ordered one for myself. That was the moment I discovered what good espresso tastes like. I sat down to enjoy it and picked up David Shomer’s book there on the counter, Espresso Coffee, Professional Techniques, and I was inspired to try to combine all these elements myself.
So yeah, I like espresso. I like the challenge of it. If it were simple, what would the fun be?
[buy a gaggia classic machine - you won't regret it]
