Espresso Roots
It looks like the future of Coffee for Connoisseurs is now assured.
My son Marcus is already in the beverage industry as a part owner of a bar in Gertrude St. Fitzroy, a Melbourne inner suburb, called "Ends & Means". He and his partner will gradually be taking over the physical running of the coffee business in the next few months, leading up to my official retirement at the end of June.
I'll still be on call for the occasional consultancy but will no longer be involved in the day-to-day running. Marc has considerable form in the coffee business, having first been introduced to it at the age of 3 weeks. Some really long term customers may still remember him sitting up in his high chair clipped on to the end of the counter in our original shop.
There is still a very large heap of form filling, accountancy and legal stuff to wade through but practically speaking most of the daily stuff is now in Marc's hands.
Anyway, during the past month I had an opportunity to taste an "espresso" made on commercial equipment to the recipe set out in the "Systematically Improving Espresso" study, i.e. coarser grind, lower dose, lower pressure, faster extraction.
The resultant drink had good, simple flavour clarity but to me lacked one important espresso attribute, the rich, unctuous body which coats the palate and lingers after the shot. In fact it reminded me more of an Aeropress brew than anything else. It was smooth, mild and inoffensive, and bore absolutely no resemblance to an original Italian espresso.
It's important to remember that espresso was originally just the method used to make caffe, and what we recognise as modern espresso was first produced by Achille Gaggia in 1948 and was called Crema Caffe. Cream coffee referred to the rich layer of crema produced by the spring lever machine invented by Gaggia.
Before this invention "espresso" machines were basically giant moka pots, forcing steam driven boiling water through coffee at low pressure. It was the higher (6 - 9 bar) pressure and 92⁰C temperature achieved by lever machines which extracted and emulsified the oils necessary for crema. The coffee oils also
produced the heavy body and mouth coating flavour.
The popularity of Crema Caffe compared to the bitter, thin, tannic drek made by the older machines was also driven by the Italian palate. We forget that the majority of Italian espresso drinkers were also chain smokers, and their cigarettes were the equivalent of unfiltered Camels or Gauloises. Cue the nuked taste buds. The thick texture and penetrating flavour combined with the tiny drink and low
price to make espresso successful.
The beans used were blends of cheap Brazils, Ethiopian naturals and West African Robustas. Rich flavour, huge body and a certain amount of bitterness (good for the digestion) were appreciated. Sugar was (and still is) added as a matter of course. Subtle hints of fruit, nut or flower were totally ignored, and mostly still are. So-called 3rd, 4th and 5th wave espressos have drifted a long way from the original.
This month's special is one of our most requested of all time:
$60 Per Kilogram
Strong
Our most requested special of all time. Properly Costa Rica Coope Tarrazu Tirra Estate Red Honey. As usual it offers the most intense “pure coffee” flavour experience.
Next newsletter should be May (although there might be a short note before that if we get the website rebuild finished).
Alan
