Regarding the Metro. Mkt, Mandolin, Shakabrah, etc, just a couple updates:
The Metro. Mkt is now getting coffee off site, still alright, but really depends on who's pulling. The previous roaster now owns his business, inside of the Mandolin, so they are separate, but they seem somewhat dependant. He sells elsewhere, too, and frankly, he's one of the best local roasters in the area - really knows his stuff. Shakabrah dropped Lavazza a few months ago, and now gets coffee from another local company, Pioneer, who roasts to order and pulls any unused beans each week to ensure a fresh product. With more experienced barristas, Shakabrah has kicked it up a knotch, and it's a better cup, now. I'm still a little biased toward Grandfields, if not for quality, for convenience. And the girls know what they're doing. Nice to see, in a world consumed my coporate coffee...
So, what I mean to say is, keep buying the little guy.
Update to Ristretto Quest. Yesterday I read this forum posting and so today I went on the expedition to locate a well pulled Ristretto in Tacoma. My first target was Martin Henry on River Road in Puyallup. I found their location but discovered a renamed cafe in their place which itself was up for sale. I called Martin Henry HQ and learned they now have two drive-thru locations in Puyallup but not a cafe. Drive-thru to me generally means LattesOnly. Stumped, I proceeded to The Commencement Bay Coffee cafe in downtown Tacoma. It was open but I was the only one in there at 10:30am. This gave me pause. I've been to Espresso Vivace in Seattle at all hours and have found it continually busy. The next pause came when I asked the girl behind the counter when last the coffee was roasted which they have bagged and for sale. She didn't know. Guessed probably over a week ago. Next I ordered an espresso. I didn't have much hope but I was happy to learn that I could get one, thinking this to be a leg up on everyone else. However, the brew wasn't worth drinking. It lacked any crema other than a thin white surface cover, and the liquids were scalding and flavorless. I'm still pursing blisters on my tongue. I returned home despirited. Please redirect. I brew at home and need beans. I travel too infrequently to Seattle and run out of Espresso Vivace's Dolce Blend between visits. I'm looking for someplace closer to home to enable my Ristretto addiction.
I can give you a couple places that may help. The Mandolin Cafe' on South 12th and FORZA coffee.
FORZA just opened a new place on 21st. and Pearl. However, they have a barista at there 27th and Bridgeport location that has placed in the top 5 of the nation for the National Barista compotition. She is the whole package when it comes to a ristretto shot and latte art. Check them both out and tell me what you thought.
Thanks for the tip. I visited Forza at 27th and Bridgeport yesterday and found my thrill. Not only did they pull a very nice shot but the friendly baristas and cozy atmosphere coaxed me to hang around a bit longer than usual for me. All they need now are porcelain tazzinas in which to serve their flavorful pulls. Mine got served in a 12oz paper cup. I purchased half a pound of their espresso blend for home and will try some later today. They outsource their roasting to Dillanos but the blend is their own. Fresh roast comes weekly Thursday afternoons.
I am glad to hear you enjoyed FORZA. I think you should try the Mandolin cafe as well. AJ does his own roast there and it is not outsourced from a large roaster. He roasts in small batches.
It is wonderful to find a fellow coffee freak who will travel many a mile to acquire a true GOD shot. LOL
Tacoma is a hard place to find a consistant shot but when you find a place you want to share with everyone! if I hear of any new places I will be sure to let you know.
I went to Forza on Bridgeport today after reading the positive recommendation here.
The cafe is beautiful inside with a pleasant atmosphere for the locality. The employees were very courteous.
I ordered a double tall mocha. It was pretty bad. No micro foam. Really big bubbles. The espresso had a bitter flavor which over powered the entire drink. I could not drink it.
Update to Ristretto Quest: After brewing up the remainder of the FORZA beans purchased during my last visit, and finding them generally bitter in the after-taste, I thought to regroup and reassess the direction of my quest. First I studied the FORZA beans. I didn't think that my brewing techniques were producing the bitterness since it was a consistant element unchanged by changes in my techniques. FORZA calls their espresso roast "Sicilian." I recall reading somewhere that Southern Italians tend to roast their beans thoroughly, until dark and oily. The Sicilian beans from FORZA are in fact roasted thoroughly and have a sticky sheen of oil on their surface. I also recall Southern Italian espresso being described as having bitter elements. So in the end, I'm concluding the FORZA roast as simply being one that will give more bitterness than not. To check my theory I thought that'd I obtain a medium roast espresso for comparison. In Gig Harbor there is a coffee shop by the name of Cutter's Point whose espresso drinks I've always found to be fairly mild. I checked their website and found that their espresso blend called "Discovery" is a medium roast. It is also the one that they serve up at their locations. I talked to the barista over the phone and found out that they receive their fresh roast on Thursday, so I visited on Friday to have a shot and to puchase some fresh beans. The shot was a beauty, and lacking any bitterness. I followed with a dry cappuccino which was equally as good. Since then I have been brewing up the Discovery roast I purchased and am satisfied that the beans have made the difference. Discovery is never bitter. If anything the pulls can have an element of sourness. Pulls being equal I am finding that I prefer to risk an element of sourness than of bitterness. The beans themselves aren't roasted nearly as dark as the FORZA beans, nor are they covered in the sheen of oil. I'm not sure that I ended up with the freshest beans the last time I was there. My pulls sometimes rendered a shorter shot volume and the crema sometimes not richly colored. I've since returned to Cutter's Point again to test their consistancy and am happy to report that their pulls have again satisfied me. This Friday I'll be returning to purchase more beans, asking specifically for beans that came in the night before. I'll keep you posted.
The Tacoma Ristretto Quest has been successful in the past year, with the opening of Black Water, just up Fawcett from 9th Street -- Synesso open-basket machines, their own Valhalla espresso blend roasted for them (at Mandolin).
I'm told there's a good place on the UW Tacoma campus ("Metropolitan"?), but haven't been there yet.
But today sees the opening of the Satellite Cafe, on the corner of Division & I, up the stairs. Stumptown coffee & technique. See a bit about them HERE.
May I suggest that there are drawbacks to ordering a "ristretto" without considering what the normal preparation is at the shop you are visiting? There seems to be a mistaken presumption around CoffeeGeekLand that ristrettos are a sign of special care or quality at a coffee shop. This is nonsense.
They don't fit any institutionally recognized definition of a proper espresso and are not allowed in competitions. Some people think ristrettos are a kind of cheat for people who can't make a decent "normale." Still, some great shops do feature ristrettos. I had a very nice one at Caffe Luxxe yesterday.
My point is that the fineness and quantity of the grind (and possibly the pressure of the machine) must be set specifically for a ristretto. If you go to a shop that normally serves 2 oz. doubles and order a "ristretto," it will just be an underextrated espresso that is cut off half way through the pour. It will probably be heavy on sweetness (the earliest flavors extracted) and light on complexity.
Let me suggest you will get the best out of a shop if you simply let them pour whatever style they are set up to pour.
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