JohnLyn Senior Member Joined: 15 Aug 2011 Posts: 228 Location: Golden, BC, Canada Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: La Spaziale Mini Vivaldy Grinder: Vario Drip: Bonavita Roaster: Toastess popper
Posted Sat Feb 2, 2013, 9:59am Subject: Wowing the european
A lot of us have had a lot of fun entertaining and wowing people with good coffee. I remember the first time I had been wowed, it was at Cafe Italia in little Italy in Montreal about 26 years ago that my eyes were first open to the world of good espresso. I take great pleasure in seeing people in my home drinking my coffee and having exactly that kind of moment. How often have we heard "OMG, this is the BEST cup of coffee I have ever had!".
I thought I would share a recent experience. I live in Golden BC, a kick ass little ski town with big terrain that attracts people from all over the world. In my opinion there is no good espresso in town but there is some decent drip. Anyway, a friend comes over for dinner and he brings a friend from switzerland. He pretty much immediately notices the espresso machine and later in the evening we get to talking. He has been very disappointed in canadian coffee however, he had not yet been to any of our great cafe's because it takes research to find them. It was a great moment of talking about the coffee culture in North America and how it differs from europe and especially how the the flavour preferences and roast profiles are different.
Then I pull a shot of Phil and Sebastian's Costa Rican for him. He sits down ready to appreciate and I watch him take his time and savour it. He asks for another and lets me know that this is the first proper espresso that he has had in Canada. It was like I had brought an end to his painful experience of coffee of canadian coffee. He loved it and said that the North American style flavour profile that we had discussed was evident.
I'm probably pumping my own tires here but I was really satisfied to provide a good introduction to the NA espresso style and to have it appreciated.
Posted Sun Feb 3, 2013, 10:22am Subject: Re: Wowing the european
I don't know about wowing the european, but I wowed a neighbor one day. After roasting about 5 pounds in my grill, I noticed my neighbor outside working on his yard. I put about 1/2 pound in a ziplock bag and walked over and told him that I couldn't roast a bunch of coffee without giving my neighbor some.
Well a few days later I heard some commotion outside ... he was working on a friends car and it rolled up and knocked him to the ground. He was out cold for a very short time. Quite a racket, his wife yelling at his friend, the neighbors gathering around. He got up, looked around, said nothing and walked straight over to me (I was about 20 feet away). He came up to me and said, "Len, I could have walked from here to the other side of the United States and I wouldn't have had a better cup of coffee than yours."
I'll remember that for the rest of my life.
Len
"Coffee leads men to trifle away their time, scald their chops, and spend their money, all for a little base, black, thick, nasty, bitter, stinking nauseous puddle water." ~The Women's Petition Against Coffee, 1674
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