There we were, outrunning the bushfires in Gippsland, so we awoke at 6 am, packed, skipped breakfast to save time..... and by 9 am were almost a safe distance away... but starving.
So we stopped at a bakery in a major Gippsland city.
I love to judge these country kitchens by the offing: jam tarts, funny faces, meringues, lamingtons and the like generally spell bad news, whereas croisants and danish pastries are a good sign of having unshackled themselves of bleak 1950s regional Australia.
This shop had the jam tarts etc, but at least they had a reasonably- looking 2-group coffee machine. And we were starving.
Two lattes and toasted fruit bread, please.
The young girl put some milk into a stainless jug, sat it on the drip tray and left it while she.....flushed the portafilter from the machines hot water tap, then stuck it under the grinder and dosed, water still dripping from the spouts.
Oh-oh. Alarm bells.
Minutes later, she brought to the al fresco area: fruit bread white as snow, not even a hint of browning, limp as a dead fish handshake.
Lattes without even a hint of foam --- flat.
Lifted the cup to my mouth and ZZZZZZZZZing.
Ouch, burned. (that was seven hours ago, and the tongue is still sore).
I went inside and spoke to her.
"Excuse me, but that latte was so hot it burned my tongue. It should not be made that hot. When you make it," I somewhat rudely proceeded to tutor her, "put your hand under the pitcher and when it starts to feel hot, stop steaming. If its too hot to touch, imagine what its going to do to the tongue."
Perplexed, she said "thats the way weve been taught to do it."
"Well, youve been taught wrong," I said, and stormed out.
Her supervisor came out and apologised, also explaining "thats the way weve been taught".
Again, I repeated that theyd been taught wrong. Damned. Here it is, Saturday morning in a pleasant area and the place should have been teeming with customers. Not so. No need to guess why.
I said 60 degrees should be max. Above 80 and the protein disintergrates.
"But weve been told to steam to 90 degrees," she said.
My urge to go inside and give them a gratis lesson on latte-making was strong --- but we had bushfires to outrun, and time was getting on. Let their lack of patronage be their "punishment".
--Robusto
So we stopped at a bakery in a major Gippsland city.
I love to judge these country kitchens by the offing: jam tarts, funny faces, meringues, lamingtons and the like generally spell bad news, whereas croisants and danish pastries are a good sign of having unshackled themselves of bleak 1950s regional Australia.
This shop had the jam tarts etc, but at least they had a reasonably- looking 2-group coffee machine. And we were starving.
Two lattes and toasted fruit bread, please.
The young girl put some milk into a stainless jug, sat it on the drip tray and left it while she.....flushed the portafilter from the machines hot water tap, then stuck it under the grinder and dosed, water still dripping from the spouts.
Oh-oh. Alarm bells.
Minutes later, she brought to the al fresco area: fruit bread white as snow, not even a hint of browning, limp as a dead fish handshake.
Lattes without even a hint of foam --- flat.
Lifted the cup to my mouth and ZZZZZZZZZing.
Ouch, burned. (that was seven hours ago, and the tongue is still sore).
I went inside and spoke to her.
"Excuse me, but that latte was so hot it burned my tongue. It should not be made that hot. When you make it," I somewhat rudely proceeded to tutor her, "put your hand under the pitcher and when it starts to feel hot, stop steaming. If its too hot to touch, imagine what its going to do to the tongue."
Perplexed, she said "thats the way weve been taught to do it."
"Well, youve been taught wrong," I said, and stormed out.
Her supervisor came out and apologised, also explaining "thats the way weve been taught".
Again, I repeated that theyd been taught wrong. Damned. Here it is, Saturday morning in a pleasant area and the place should have been teeming with customers. Not so. No need to guess why.
I said 60 degrees should be max. Above 80 and the protein disintergrates.
"But weve been told to steam to 90 degrees," she said.
My urge to go inside and give them a gratis lesson on latte-making was strong --- but we had bushfires to outrun, and time was getting on. Let their lack of patronage be their "punishment".
--Robusto


...but I usually flush the portafiller from the grouphead and wipe dry. Usually too there is water dripping from the spouts but by the time Ive loaded and locked it in, the water has emptied out of the portafiller. Be thankful that they even bothered to clean it out. Most wouldnt.


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