Posted Fri May 18, 2012, 3:27pm Subject: Wooden Espresso Gear
I enjoy a scoop or two of sugar in my espresso to cut the bite a bit. I have become a stickler for the perfect cup--and if it ever pulls sour I dump it and start over, (I didn't spend over a thousand dollars for crap coffee). I feel as though the cup warmer above my Silvano doesn't make the cups hot enough--so as I grind my coffee I pull a blank shot of hot water into my cup. Before pulling the shot I dump the water and add my sugar--allowing a few seconds for the hot cup to warm the sugar. Then I pull the shot. Finally when I have removed the portafilter and turn the machine on to clean the grinds off the group I put my spoon under the hot water to warm it--then stir the sugar and coffee together. This has become to much of a hassle--so recently I hand carved a small spoon just for stirring my espresso--I suppose i'm really becoming a coffee geek. I put no finish on the spoon which I carved from a beautiful piece of walnut. Every time I stir coffee I use a paper towel to rub the coffee oils into the wood to cure it. I hope over time the oils from the coffee will seal the wood. The spoon works great--because wood is insulated it doesn't every get cold and doesn't need to be heated. This makes me think--maybe I can carve espresso and even cappuccino cups out of wood as well. I was wondering if there were any thoughts on this--or perhaps there is a wood worker who does this? Aside from keeping the coffee from going sour I feel as though they would be way more aesthetically pleasing than my boring white cups: and the "designer" cups out there are just too tacky. Hoping to get some feedback on this: good idea? bad idea? been done?
(Click for larger image)
"Coffee should be black as Hell, strong as Death, and as sweet as Love."
I, too, use the Silvano and was not satisfied with the temp of my double espressos. Problem now solved. I pull a blank shot of 4-5 oz into a heavy Italian 6oz cappuccino cup. Then grind, tamp, and insert. But before adding sugar which is in a metal container on top of the Silvano keeping the sugar warm, I steam the water in the cup for 6-10 seconds making the water extra hot. Dump the water, wipe cup dry, and pull shot into a very, very hot cup with warmed sugar. Stir with plastic spoon. Voila! A pretty hot double shot.
Even with the sugar warmed you don't feel like pouring sugar in after the shot is pulled kills off most of the crema? Even stirring settles it quite a bit. I enjoy a good coffee mustache after my beverage.
"Coffee should be black as Hell, strong as Death, and as sweet as Love."
conversely, my cheap saeco espresso machine leaves me a shot that i would wish was a bit cooler(my tongue is finally healing). i may need to start using cooler shot glasses.
you definitely don't wanna do that--cold glasses will put the espresso into "shock" and cause it to sour. I find its best to let it cool down on its own: although at 197 degrees my coffee is usually not scalding hot. What temp does your saeco actually output?
"Coffee should be black as Hell, strong as Death, and as sweet as Love."
Couldn't you just keep your metal spoons in a cup on top of the machine so they would be warm? I would think the wooden spoon is pretty but I would think the coffee oils would go off over time...... Maybe a horn spoon like they use for caviar.
Coffeenoobie
Buying advice: GRINDER GRINDER GRINDER. Don't cheap out on the grinder. My coffee treasure map... Click Here (maps.google.com)
Posted Sat May 19, 2012, 12:22pm Subject: Re: Wooden Espresso Gear
CaffeineFiend Said:
you definitely don't wanna do that--cold glasses will put the espresso into "shock" and cause it to sour. I find its best to let it cool down on its own: although at 197 degrees my coffee is usually not scalding hot. What temp does your saeco actually output?
i dont know what temperature it exactly outputs at. i'm temp surfing at the moment and will start my brew a few seconds after my heater turns off. the routine is usually to flush the head until the heat element kicks on then shut off the water and wait until the element turns off before i start my extraction. The saeco has a 95C(203F) thermostat so i'd guess when the element shuts off, i'm at 203F. A few seconds later i should be at around 200F. This is all just my hypothesis, though, since i dont have a temp probe inside the group.
I don't think Dave makes espresso spoons, but I bet if a lot of people asked for them he would consider it. His work is beautiful. The set you see in my profile pic is from him, and I received it less than a month ago. I couldn't wait to install it all, so I had the pf locked into the group and the group lever knob on within about 5 minutes of opening the box, and I had the steam and water knobs installed the next day.
I have a set of stainless espresso spoons that I use for food sampling while I cook. I like Helen's idea of putting them up on the cup warmer. However, I have a large collection of wooden "espresso spoons" hand-imported from Venezuela by my in-laws. I've got short ones that go nicely in cappuccino and latte cups, to really long ones that are nice in to-go cups. I also have a several really small ones that are perfect for demitasse cups. They're great...and I would recommend using wooden spoons, as suggested by the OP. The oils are not a problem at all, in fact, "food oils" are used through the wood working industry to keep woods looking and performing great (of course, most of those come from nuts, not coffee). But yeah, the coffee oils may even help keep the spoons in shape. However, I do find I have to occasionally rub them down a minute or so with fine finishing sand paper or a heavy duty scotch pad to smooth out the surface. If I get a chance within the next couple of days, I'll post a pic including one of each size.
I would love to see a photo of your spoons Emradguy. Put a coin or a ruler in the shot so we can tell the size. And the wood handle guy just told me has a 3 month back log. I want a tamp stand for my naked portafilter. I can't seem to hold it level so I want a block with a hole in it so the ears hold it level for me to tamp.
I had no idea wooden coffee spoons were a thing, so if OP turns out spoons he might have a good market.
Coffeenoobie
Buying advice: GRINDER GRINDER GRINDER. Don't cheap out on the grinder. My coffee treasure map... Click Here (maps.google.com)
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