lino Senior Member Joined: 4 Nov 2004 Posts: 1 Location: Raleigh, NC Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Home Built... Grinder: Estro
Posted Thu Nov 4, 2004, 1:54pm Subject: Re: An Espresso Glossary by Mark Prince
Hello Mark,
I'd like to put in my two bits on a couple definitions, mostly technical minutia, but this seems to be the forum to embrace that, anyway FWIF...
Grouphead: The E-61s are *technically* passively heated... Actively heated would imply ether a heating element in the grouphead or a pump to circulate hot fluid in. Essentially, to be "active" you must be expending energy to complete the task.
SSR: (if you include it) stands for solid state relay, please don’t call it an "SSR relay" it's tackily redundant, like saying "salsa sauce" or "pizza pie"
Crema: perhaps someone can explain this to me. The Italian word for foam or froth is schiuma, pronounced "ski-uhm-ah" (roughly), why do we call it crema (Italian for cream) when the foam on top has nothing to do with cream or milk? My understanding is that in Italy is that it's called schiuma (on espresso), though I'm not perfectly informed of this. Perhaps it is just harder for the English speakers to butcher the word crema? Schiuma has (to me) a pleasant sound in Italian, as does crema, but when pronounced in English, crema remains pleasant, while schiuma turns quite cacophonous.
webidiot2 Senior Member Joined: 27 Jan 2005 Posts: 3 Location: Seattle, of course Expertise: Pro Barista
Posted Thu Jan 27, 2005, 1:27am Subject: Re: An Espresso Glossary by Mark Prince
I have a comment on "Brew Time". I work at Tully's (A coffee shop here in Seattle) and our brew time is between 20-25 secs, and you said 25-30 is the proper length for a shot. I believe that brew time is all a matter of opinion and should be stated around 18-30 secs.
alanfrew Senior Member Joined: 19 Dec 2001 Posts: 596 Location: Melbourne Expertise: Professional
Posted Thu Jan 27, 2005, 3:19am Subject: Re: An Espresso Glossary by Mark Prince
webidiot2 Said:
I have a comment on "Brew Time". I work at Tully's (A coffee shop here in Seattle) and our brew time is between 20-25 secs, and you said 25-30 is the proper length for a shot. I believe that brew time is all a matter of opinion and should be stated around 18-30 secs.
Sorry, but just because a U.S. company (be it Tully's , Starbucks, Vivace, Peets or whoever) says something about espresso is THEIR standard, that doesn't make it so. Espresso is an Italian invention, and the standard definition is at click here. Sub-25 second shots are about "productivity" rather than perfection.
expobar Senior Member Joined: 25 Mar 2004 Posts: 3,003 Location: .
Posted Sun Jan 30, 2005, 8:17pm Subject: Re: An Espresso Glossary by Mark Prince
I've heard 22-27 seconds is the acceptable range. I prefer 25 second shots, but have even had good 17 second shots. Barista's Daily Grind uses a 27 second shot, and they have great espresso. Really, it's based on the bean and personal preference, as everything in culinary arts really is.
Sure, good point. But the idea that there should be a norm for Italian espresso isn't silly either. You might prefer other coffee drinks which might be done with the same basic technique (i.e., an espresso machine) but would not be the same thing as Italian espresso. As to what to call it, well... We could agree that it's still "espresso" though not traditional Italian espresso. Or we could give it a new name. If it tastes exactly the same as normative Italian espresso and is made in, say, 15 seconds, it probably should be called "Italian espresso"...
Beer brewers have the same set of issues with beer styles. If you're a purist (which can be a very appropriate thing to do, like this Italian espresso board), you care about designations and may condition your taste on them. If you're a hedonist, however, you may come to appreciate all the nuances of what coffee can provide, from a traditional Italian espresso to some of those "fancy" coffee drinks.
In fact, if Italians have a very specific thing with coffee, does it mean they're the worldwide/global authority on everything coffee-related?? ;)
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post
Forum Rules: No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards. No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum. No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum. Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards. Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics. Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies. Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies. Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts. Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.
= No New Posts since last visit 