About timings, sizes, measurements...

[oton]

I have a bunch of questions. Hope you can help.

Acording to INEI, an italian espresso should be 25ml brewed in 25 secs. However Ive read in a lot of sites (mostly from USA) 30ml (1 oz.) in 30 secs. 30ml is the espresso size for America or in Australia is the same?

Im aiming to 25ml in 25 sec for 14gr of coffee. However my Spaziale Mini Vivaldi have a 6 seconds of preinfusion... so, it should be the total time 25 seconds or 31 secs (25 + 6)??

What about cappucinos, flat whites, machiattos, caffe lattes, americanos... which should be the proper measure for these drinks? Anyone have a chart or something?

Thanks  

[fringe_dweller]

Re: About timings, sizes, measurements...

From memory, you have a SpazII.

From the HB review (http://www.home-barista.com/la-spaziale-vivaldi-ii-review-espresso-performance.html) they recommend 16g for your machine. As always YMMV.

The "Golden Rule" is more of a "Golden Guideline". Some shots can be much shorter or longer and still taste fantastic. I tend to watch the colour and flow rate - once it goes blond or starts racing I cut the shot.

Ill leave the drink descriptions to the baristi amongst us as Ill probably make more of a mess of that than what I have above

Grant

[blanyon]

Re: About timings, sizes, measurements...

Oton,

You are right about the pre infusion being added on as there is no extraction taking place in that time, a guide is that the shot should start flowing about 5 seconds after the pump kicks in. The golden guideline is right follow that for a while and then start experimenting with shorter restricted shots and see what happens if you let the shot blond. As for the definitions of those drinks some everyone agrees on others are up for interpretation ie latte is generally 1 oz of espresso topped with textured milk served in a 240 ml (ish???) cup with about 10mm of froth on top. Machiattos however are a little more up for discussion with my take being 1 oz of espresso with a stain of milk, others are served with more milk, hot water etc.

My opinion play around with getting the shot right then figure out if you like milk and how much and make what ever it is makes your tastebuds sing.

[Intellidepth]

Re: About timings, sizes, measurements...

Oton: Ive sent you an email about ratios for drink types. Opinions vary, and always will.

In brief:

ESPRESSO: A single shot of espresso coffee (25-30ml).
RISTRETTO: A restricted single short shot of coffee containing the essential oils (~20ml).
ESPRESSO CON PANNA: A single shot of espresso coffee stained with cream.
FLAT WHITE: One part espresso, five parts lightly textured milk.
CAPPUCCINO: One part espresso, two parts textured milk/microfoam.
CAFE LATTE: One part espresso, four parts textured milk/microfoam.
PICCOLO LATTE: One part espresso, two parts textured milk/microfoam.
SHORT MACCHIATO: Equal parts espresso and textured milk/microfoam.
LONG MACCHIATO: Two parts espresso, four parts textured milk/microfoam.
LONG BLACK: Two parts hot water, one part espresso.
AFFOGATO: Espresso extracted over quality ice-cream.

Different coffees/roasts are best extracted in different ways. Some I drink with a ristretto base, for some I use full-length espresso.