Probably one of the most important things in that photo is the roasted on date. Beans with no roasted on date, in my opinion, should be avoided.
Anyway, on to one of
@Shrink favorite topics,
me.
Being that I ran out of the Black Cat beans last night, I used the Dessert Oasis beans this morning, roasted 3 days ago. The cup was magnificent to say the least. The Machine is wonderful and I can actually notice a difference in the quality of the shots and the taste compared to the Gaggia. That's not to say the Gaggia is a bad machine, because its not. But after using the Gaggia for more than a year and a few days with the Expobar, I can already see that the Gaggia is less forgiving when it comes to tamp pressure, weight of grounds and grinder settings. If I didn't get it dialed in just right, I wouldn't get a good cup. So far, every shot I've pulled with the Expobar has been respectable and required very little adjustments to my techniques.
I think I've come a long way since my first espresso machine.
View attachment 639727
Delighted to hear that you are deriving great enjoyment from your Expobar espresso machine. It is gorgeous, and looks as though it will serve you well for many years to come.
Well, when I am in the mood for a leisurely cup, or two, I use the French Press, especially if I have the time.
So, just now, I prepared a long, leisurely pot of coffee - grinding the beans, heating the pot (and the mugs) as the substitute carer loves coffee, too. Ethiopian beans, (Aramo and Kochere, both from the Yirgacheffe region), the OE Lido grinder cheerfully making light work of the beans, Le Creuset pot and mugs heating.
And a lovely cup - or two - of clean, bright, coffee.
Unfortunately, I forgot about Andrew Marr's programme (Sunday mornings on BBC)- I could kick myself.
However, I did manage a leisurely late breakfast of freshly squeezed juice (grapefruit, two oranges, one lemon), a pot of coffee with freshly ground Ethiopian beans, and some toasted French bread - (yesterday's French bread is lovely toasted today), with cheese (Gorgonzola, Camembert, and Teleggio - not at the same time, on separate small slices), and then, with homemade (but not by me) raspberry jam and butter.
Now, to the Sunday papers.
Mother used to be a brilliant tennis and table tennis player in her youth; (in the early 50s, she played at just under international standard), and so, we will put on the tennis for her this afternoon, as the final - the men's final - of Wimbledon will be broadcast.
To be honest, I am not sure how much tennis she will be able to follow, but, between the Tour de France (hunky men, fast movement, great scenery), some tennis, which she used to love and was able to read games in a way that some of the commentators never managed - and ABBA (which I can hear playing upstairs, Mother sings along and marks time - waving both hands - to the songs), I am sure that she will be fine.
Re the date on that coffee, - when I checked again - I did see that strange notation used by Our Transatlantic Cousins when rendering dates in writing, the sort that always has me blinking when I read it.
[doublepost=1468155035][/doublepost]
While I like a good deal of information about the beans in a bag, I completely agree that the most important bit of information is the roast date. Without that one has no idea if the beans are stale or not until one is already paid for the bag and brewed up some coffee.
I can't tell you how happy I am that the Expobar has worked out so well and please's you so much. After a heavy investment of hard earned funds it is a shame to feel anything less then great pleasure with the new piece of coffee hardware.
I also think it's important for someone learning the espresso skill set to start with a modest machine. As you point out, it is less forgiving and therefore requires the newbie to learn the small, but essential, skills necessary for making the espresso. Call it an initiation rite, or perhaps more accurately a steep but extremely important learning curve. For me it was difficult, and at times frustrating, to learn to control the variables (grind, tamp, dosage, extraction time, etc.) but ultimately rewarding. Slowly upgrading the essential hardware, grinder and espresso machine, gives one an increasing appreciation of what is gained using better and better equipment… but all resting on the acquired skills of the individual.
Enjoy your new machine, friend
@SandboxGeneral, and the wonderful coffee it produces in combination with your hard-earned skills.
Agree - heartily - with the sentiments of delight expressed re
@SandboxGeneral's brand new Expobar. It is brilliant that he is enjoying it, and I am sure that most of us are more than happy to take vicarious pleasure from his unalloyed joy.
However, re-reading this post, I am intrigued to see that you recommend a 'modest machine' for those starting out mastering the espresso skill set and they set about trying to make their own espresso.
Hm.
