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Espresso Enthusiasts

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The first post of this thread is a WikiPost and can be edited by anyone with the appropiate permissions. Your edits will be public.
GrayFlannel said:
Americano - add espresso to a mug and add hot water.
Long Black - add hot water to the mug, gently float espresso across the top.
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I think I'm not really having a long black. Even though I pour the espresso in after the water, I'm not gentle. Also, I use way less water than what I've read about online. My drink seems very close to a plain espresso, just 40% of it is water.

It all started after a mistake. I had been heating up my cup with water from the wand, tossing it out, and then pouring in the espresso. One day, I forgot to pour it out. I liked that I had more to drink, so I kept it up.

And then there's the variant that I switched to that probably has no name; I call it the "Medium Chaos". I add a small amount of warmed half-and-half to my cup. Then I use the steam wand to shoot the water into it. Finally, I pour in the coffee. I get creamy, bubbly froth intertwined with strands of crema. I think it's lovely and delish; I might be alone in that.

Today I messed up. I added the coffee to the half-and-half. Then I realized I had forgotten the water. So, I shot in the water. The coffee frothed up with the half-and-half; it wasn't very nice, but I forced myself to choke it down. I call that one the "Medium Mistake".
 
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svenmany said:
I think I'm not really having a long black. Even though I pour the espresso in after the water, I'm not gentle. Also, I use way less water than what I've read about online. My drink seems very close to a plain espresso, just 40% of it is water.

It all started after a mistake. I had been heating up my cup with water from the wand, tossing it out, and then pouring in the espresso. One day, I forgot to pour it out. I liked that I had more to drink, so I kept it up.

And then there's the variant that I switched to that probably has no name; I call it the "Medium Chaos". I add a small amount of warmed half-and-half to my cup. Then I use the steam wand to shoot the water into it. Finally, I pour in the coffee. I get creamy, bubbly froth intertwined with strands of crema. I think it's lovely and delish; I might be alone in that.

Today I messed up. I added the coffee to the half-and-half. Then I realized I had forgotten the water. So, I shot in the water. The coffee frothed up with the half-and-half; it wasn't very nice, but I forced myself to choke it down. I call that one the "Medium Mistake".
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I so rarely ever drink coffee away from home, so what’s in a name anyway?
Plus the names and recipes are not set in stone and will vary between regions and cafes.

I generally make flat whites and if a guest wants a regular coffee I just add hot water to a double espresso aka Americano.
 
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No decaf espresso here, but I get the reason for sure.
I stay out of espresso some days here and there to improve sleep etc.
Detoxing from caffeine is not bad at times. I have tried decaf beans and I can’t say it was worth it as espresso substitute to me. I rather skip it altogether and enjoy with caffeine instead, and have caffeine-detox days.

Sipping on a great espresso at the moment 😋
 
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Lioness~ said:
No decaf espresso here, but I get the reason for sure.
I stay out of espresso some days here and there to improve sleep etc.
Detoxing from caffeine is not bad at times. I have tried decaf beans and I can’t say it was worth it as espresso substitute to me. I rather skip it altogether and enjoy with caffeine instead, and have caffeine-detox days.

Sipping on a great espresso at the moment 😋
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believe me, i want to drink regular espresso. but i have the slow caffeine metabolism gene and as i've gotten older even one double shot in the morning affects my ability to sleep. thus the quest for a decent-tasting decaf espresso...
 
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I'm not too sure about the effective difference between adding water to coffee, vs adding coffee to water. Hopefully someone can enlighten me.

However, in my household, someone who will remain nameless (but not me) doesn't like "bubbles in her coffee". Consequently, I rarely steam the milk.
I put milk in the cup, then microwave it to the appropriate temperature, then put a single (occasionally double) shot of coffee in the milk, stir and drink.
Apart from 'heresy', is there a name for that type of coffee?
 
DaveFromCampbelltown said:
I'm not too sure about the effective difference between adding water to coffee, vs adding coffee to water. Hopefully someone can enlighten me.
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Americano (adding a bunch of water to a couple shots of espresso) is just a regular cup of coffee.
Long black is floating espresso and the crema across the top of a small cup of water. It is a more espresso forward drink. Hope that helps.
 
GrayFlannel said:
Americano (adding a bunch of water to a couple shots of espresso) is just a regular cup of coffee.
Long black is floating espresso and the crema across the top of a small cup of water. It is a more espresso forward drink. Hope that helps.
Click to expand...

So with Long Black, you start off drinking coffee and end up drinking water?
 
DaveFromCampbelltown said:
the effective difference between adding water to coffee, vs adding coffee to water
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I'd say it's about the level of control over the flavor of the end product. Since every shot of espresso is slightly different, adding a variable volume of water to a shot makes producing a drink to one's taste easier than starting with a fixed amount of water and trying to produce the perfect shot to complete the drink.

But having said that, people who are big fans of crema, which is a leading indicator of a well-made shot, probably will prefer carefully pouring a shot on top of hot water in order to maintain the integrity of the crema as much as possible.
 
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I usually had some coconut-milkpowder in my espesso's, before my Sage Express.
But the crema are so good now, so I skipp it (mostly) now.

Sipping on a great large espresso, between laundry, and watching Diamond League in Silesia.
 
svenmany said:
Every time you post something to this thread, I find myself getting up to turn on my espresso machine. Curse you!
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You know how they say that "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery"?

So, thank you.

Meanwhile, do enjoy whatever coffee you have decided to make.

And, as it is Sunday, I may very well take my own advice, and prepare another mug of coffee, to sip, savour and enjoy.
 
Scepticalscribe said:
You know how they say that "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery"?

So, thank you.

Meanwhile, do enjoy whatever coffee you have decided to make.

And, as it is Sunday, I may very well take my own advice, and prepare another mug of coffee, to sip, savour and enjoy.
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IMG_0461.jpeg


My fresh cup, in your honor.
 
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Scepticalscribe said:
Thank you.

Looks absolutely delicious - what beans did you use, in other words, where is the coffee from/grown/processed?

Do enjoy.
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I don't know too much. I have a subscription with Peet's Coffee; they deliver two pounds each month. It arrives two days after it's roasted. Even though Peet's is an enormous chain, I'm loyal to them since I've been a customer since when they had just one Berkeley store. I was buying their Espresso Forte blend, but I've since switched to their Italian Roast. All I know is what I see on their website:

Type: Signature Blend (so, no information)
Origin: Americas, Indo-Pacific (so, almost no information)
Process: Washed and Wet-Hulled (so, it's not too dirty and it's stored in some boat somewhere on the water)

I'm not fancy.
 
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svenmany said:
I don't know too much. I have a subscription with Peet's Coffee; they deliver two pounds each month. It arrives two days after it's roasted. Even though Peet's is an enormous chain, I'm loyal to them since I've been a customer since when they had just one Berkeley store. I was buying their Espresso Forte blend, but I've since switched to their Italian Roast. All I know is what I see on their website:

Type: Signature Blend (so, no information)
Origin: Americas, Indo-Pacific (so, almost no information)
Process: Washed and Wet-Hulled (so, it's not too dirty and it's stored in some boat somewhere on the water)

I'm not fancy.
Click to expand...
The key thing is that you enjoyed it.
 
svenmany said:
Peet's is an enormous chain
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So big now, in fact, that it’s time for a pop quiz, coffee hot shots!

Q: What do mascara and Peet’s Signature Blend have in common?

Peet's and Cover Girl are both owned by the same company! And an additional coffee/fashion fun fact: Peet’s parent company used to own Jimmy Choo as well.
 
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KaliYoni said:
So big now, in fact, that it’s time for a pop quiz, coffee hot shots!

Q: what does mascara and Peet’s Signature Blend have in common?

Peets and Cover Girl are both owned by the same company! And an additional coffee/fashion fun fact: Peet’s parent company used to own Jimmy Choo as well.
Click to expand...
I must admit that I have absolutely no idea.
 
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KaliYoni said:
So big now, in fact, that it’s time for a pop quiz, coffee hot shots!

Q: What do mascara and Peet’s Signature Blend have in common?

Peet's and Cover Girl are both owned by the same company! And an additional coffee/fashion fun fact: Peet’s parent company used to own Jimmy Choo as well.
Click to expand...

in addition to what's in your spoiler, the internet tells me they both have caffeine
 
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