Stumptown hairbender

[spazheadnewb]

Have any of your tried the stump town hairbender?

I was as a cafe in NYC and they were brewing hairbender on a la marzocco strada

Seems like that is the machine of choice for most serious cafes in NYC.

The shot I tasted was one of the best I've ever had. I could taste the chocolate notes and it had a velvety consistency. The taste lingered for quite some time. Most of my shots on the Vivaldi don't have this same texture and I'm wondering of this has to do something with the manual paddle on the la marzocco . In any case I have been achieving between a 1.6 oz to 1.8 oz in 30 seconds with 16 grams of ground coffee at 94c. I picked up a scale so I've been measuring.

Any input welcomed.

Thanks in advance

[LDT]

I am very close to where Stumptown is roasted. If you like Hairbender, you may also like Stumptown's Holler Mountain. Most coffee shops that buy from Stumptown, have La Marzocca or Nuevo Simmoneli. It may be a requirement to use their coffee, but I am not sure.

[spazheadnewb]

Thanks LDT for the suggestion on the other stumptown blend

How do your shots compare with the cafes nearby ? Do you have a similar texture and taste?

Trying to replicate the la marzocco shot taste on the mini vivaldi but it maybe an exercise in futility but I'll keep trying to get it as close as possible.

Should have asked the barista for his shot parameters but I can always go back and get that

[Endo]

Trying to replicate the la marzocco shot taste on the mini vivaldi but it maybe an exercise in futility but I'll keep trying to get it as close as possible.

I had always been after the shot taste I got from a local Synesso (mostly mouthfeel and body differences). Then I changed to a titan class grinder and realized that made up for about 80% of the difference I was tasting.

I then brought my Pharos over to a friend who owned a Vario. You should have seen the look on his face....it was like a revelation!

[LDT]

I don't think I have ever purchased an espresso drink locally - always get cappas or lattes. With milk added it's harder to tell.

If a grinder makes that much difference I may have to place my pre-order for an HG-1!!

[spazheadnewb]

Thanks for the replies

Looks like my next toy is a Pharos since a compak k10 or robur are out of my espresso budget for the moment and due to the wife factor even if I get a used Titan class grinder within budget it will be sitting in my basement

Endo: do you use the Pharos for certain blends or is it better suited for certain blends?

My understanding thus far from what I've read on hb is that the conical burr brings out more of the fruit notes and less of the chocolate notes.

In any case I'm looking forward to trying the Pharos

[spazheadnewb]

LDT

Thanks for the hg1 suggestion

I took a quick look and $250 is just the deposit and $840 is the price.

It is a nice looking product and similar to the versalab

[Endo]

A little off topic but....

At $250, the Pharos is definitely worth it. Some (like me) might complain about its inconvenience, but there is no denying how good it is in terms of taste and how incredibly consistent and forgiving it is in terms of grind. If only to keep your taste buds calibrated, or to keep you from buying a Synesso , it's definitely worth it. HG one looks great as well, but at $840, it's much less of a no-brainier.

[michael]

try the hairbender at 93 degrees, 20gs of coffee for 1.5 oz

[spazheadnewb]

Thanks everyone

Bracing for the hurricane. Hopefully no power outage but that doesn't seem likely

Endo: thanks for input on the Pharos.

Michael: I will try 20g and 93c to see how that comes out

[Endo]

try the hairbender at 93 degrees, 20gs of coffee for 1.5 oz

Triple basket I assume? I need to give that thing a few more tries.

[michael]

triple basket; im using the one with the bottomless portafilter i got from cc a while ago, its a little larger than some of the earlier ones i have

i got the recommendation from someone at stumptown in response to my e mail; i generally drink hairbender when im at home in nyc

let me know what you think