Check out these interesting set of espresso videos on the Discovery Online Channel. I especially like this one showing "over extraction" (a common naked portfilter mistake....taste like crap, but makes a prettier picture). Note the simple dosing technique as well.
http://videos.howstuffworks.com/discove ... -video.htm
Discovery Channel
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fiddlefly
Re: Discovery Channel
Makes me think about what you mentionned about Anthony @ Myriade!
I mean these guys pull shot upon "god" shot so easily and without fuss, and yet we are there trying to find THE way to pull the best shot...
I mean these guys pull shot upon "god" shot so easily and without fuss, and yet we are there trying to find THE way to pull the best shot...
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Endo
Re: Discovery Channel
You can take it even one step further. The 2009 Western Reginal Barista Championships are going on right now and you can see it live on the web. Most of these guys don't even level the grounds. They just dose a big mound into the basket, tap it once on the table and then a quick tamp.fiddlefly wrote:Makes me think about what you mentionned about Anthony @ Myriade!
I mean these guys pull shot upon "god" shot so easily and without fuss, and yet we are there trying to find THE way to pull the best shot...
Compare this to how we prepare shots here: scales, cooling flushes, removing baskets, Stockfleth moves, WDT, nutation. I'm gonna cry now.
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RapidCoffee
Re: Discovery Channel
Aw, quit yer bawling, and carry this train of thought to its logical conclusion.Endo wrote:You can take it even one step further. The 2009 Western Reginal Barista Championships are going on right now and you can see it live on the web. Most of these guys don't even level the grounds. They just dose a big mound into the basket, tap it once on the table and then a quick tamp.
Compare this to how we prepare shots here: scales, cooling flushes, removing baskets, Stockfleth moves, WDT, nutation. I'm gonna cry now.
The competitors are barista champions, some of the best at pulling shots on the planet. They have access to top-flight equipment. As pro baristas, they probably pull more shots in a day than us amateurs do in a month.Think about any other skill that requires hand-eye coordination: playing a musical instrument, competing in a sport, etc. Do great musicians and athletes make you want to cry? Does your technique necessarily match theirs?
Emulating pro baristas is natural, but almost certainly wrong. The home environment is very different from a busy commercial cafe.
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Endo
Re: Discovery Channel
I'm not so impressed with the technique of the pros. Come on, they're pushing a few grounds into a cup, they're not playing in the NBA finals or doing Rachmaninoff Concerto No. 3. 
My pours look and taste exactly the same when I use their gear.
On the other hand, I am VERY impressed with their ability to multi-task (talk, work a cash, clean, pull shots). Man, I can't even talk to anyone when I'm in the "espresso zone". I'm not kidding, this is where the true skill of a pro Barista comes in.
(Many pros have told me this as well).
By the way.....my favorite quote about Rachmaninoff No.3 comes from concert pianist Gary Graffman; "I wish I had learned this concerto when I was a student....when I was too young to know fear".
That pretty much sums up my espresso experience.
My pours look and taste exactly the same when I use their gear.On the other hand, I am VERY impressed with their ability to multi-task (talk, work a cash, clean, pull shots). Man, I can't even talk to anyone when I'm in the "espresso zone". I'm not kidding, this is where the true skill of a pro Barista comes in.
(Many pros have told me this as well).
By the way.....my favorite quote about Rachmaninoff No.3 comes from concert pianist Gary Graffman; "I wish I had learned this concerto when I was a student....when I was too young to know fear".
That pretty much sums up my espresso experience.