Personally, straight espresso is an acquired taste for me, my early plunge into espresso wilderness was filled with memory of bitter tastes which overpowered any other tasting notes that i suspect were always there, but unrecognised by my (still) unrefined palette. I think general bitter taste always features in any espresso beverages, overtime i just get more appreciation of its other nuances, my tasting notes at the moment is limited to yum and yuck but I am enjoying the ride
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Exactly what my niece said until she had one done properly. It changed to "Hey, it is not bitter at all" (shocked look) then to "Can I have another one, please?". Current status: walks in door, demands coffee (but ever so sweetly), often espresso.Originally posted by Bazooka View PostPersonally, straight espresso is an acquired taste for me, my early plunge into espresso wilderness was filled with memory of bitter tastes which overpowered any other tasting notes that i suspect were always there, but unrecognised by my (still) unrefined palette. I think general bitter taste always features in any espresso beverages, overtime i just get more appreciation of its other nuances, my tasting notes at the moment is limited to yum and yuck but I am enjoying the ride
Short version: if it is bitter then something is wrong somewhere in the chain.
TampIt
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some people are just conditioned to very bitter coffee due to instant/POD coffees they been drinking all these time...
an example was when one of my missus's friend came over for a visit, and asked for a coffee... my Giotto only had around 10min of warm up time, and is not ready... but since he insisted, and I didnt really like the guy anyway, so I pulled a double shot for him... and sure enough, the shot was not the normal syrupy run, was slightly watery, and had very light coloured crema... normally a sink shot... and funny enough, the guy loved it.... he said it was the best espresso he ever had so far...
... or maybe he was just too polite to say my espresso tasted like crap
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Hi okitokiOriginally posted by okitoki View Postsome people are just conditioned to very bitter coffee due to instant/POD coffees they been drinking all these time...
an example was when one of my missus's friend came over for a visit, and asked for a coffee... my Giotto only had around 10min of warm up time, and is not ready... but since he insisted, and I didnt really like the guy anyway, so I pulled a double shot for him... and sure enough, the shot was not the normal syrupy run, was slightly watery, and had very light coloured crema... normally a sink shot... and funny enough, the guy loved it.... he said it was the best espresso he ever had so far...
... or maybe he was just too polite to say my espresso tasted like crap
The whole pod / capsule thing: My nearly-local roaster (50km north) is well on the way to taming pods. I suspect he will have it all nailed by Xmas (taken him about a year so far). You take your Nespresso / whatever pod machine in & he sets up the exact grind /dose /load & seal pods for that machine. Then he just hammers them out. On a good day, he is perilously close to a great espresso (surprised the hell out of me with the quality). I would be a little circumspect in dismissing that technology so casually. He is still awaiting the automatic machine he ordered, as the time he is spending doing pods is becoming prohibitive. Of course, it also means you can chose any of his daily roasts for the pods (a range of about 15 medium SO's plus a few assorted blends / darks & one light). If you are referring to the stale, mostly over roasted pap that is commonly on the market, yes they are truly awful. You have probably noticed I didn't mention instant.
normally a sink shot: Cracked me up. Of course you really cared which alternative applied, didn't you?
Cheers, you made my day
TampIt
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I take back this statement. When I sample the straight espresso, I take the tiniest sip from the top of the shot. I don't stir it first like I've seen in the barista championships. This is most likely the reason I think the two taste different - I am getting different parts of of the shot in each sip.Originally posted by Journeyman View Post@Darkfalz - here is the puzzle. Look at your double spout PF. Think about how the coffee goes into the bottom of the PF through the filter. Now ask yourself, how is it possible that one side of the double spout could possibly get a preferential version of the pour.
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