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CaliforniaJed
[Purist]
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CISdom!

Sancerre recently posted about his quest for great brewed coffee and espresso in the home.  Like him, I made a recent purchase of espresso equipment for my home -- an upgrade to my previous grinder and espresso machine.

We’re all familiar with the path toward WISdom, but I find myself following a parallel path into "CISdom".  Yes, I am coining the term “coffee idiot savant”!  More specifically, over the course of the past few years I have become obsessed with pulling the perfect shot of espresso (known among coffee geeks as the “God shot”).  In all candor, I suppose I am less concerned with the God shot and more interested in consistently pulling really go[o]d shots of espresso.  What are the characteristics of a really good shot?  Well, in simplest terms, it tastes the way fresh coffee smells when ground.  Without getting into too much detail, coffee beans are grown in a region on either side of the Equator known as the coffee belt and beans from different regions exhibit specific qualities, body, flavors, finish, not dissimilar to the way wines are described.  In addition, single origin coffee beans are blended (think Scotch) in specifc ways to produce espresso blends.

What affects the way espresso tastes?  Aficionados refer to the four “M’s” -- Miscela (coffee blend), Macinacaffe (grinder) and Macchina (espresso machine), and the skills of the barista’s hand --  Mano. Briefly, espresso is made when water is heated to between roughly 90 and 96 degrees Celsius and then pushed through a puck of finely ground coffee beans at a pressure of roughly 8 or 9 bars.  There are many types of grinders and many types of machines designed to produce espresso.  The best examples of both grinders and machines can be adjusted in myriad ways and are capable of pruducing stable, repeatable results that allow a skilled barista to tweak the grind and dose of the beans, and to adjust  the temperature, pressure and volume of water in order to emphasize the good qualities of the coffee (e.g., chocolate and berry flavors) and minimize bad ones (e.g., bitterness, sour notes).

It all starts with the beans.  There are great roasters in almost every city.  It is imperative, though, to use only freshly roasted beans, typically no older than 3 or four weeks.  I am presently using a blend called Delirium from Compass Coffee Roasters in Vancouver, Washington.  They ship the day of roast, and the beans arrive within three days.  I frequently buy beans roasted locally in Los Angeles by both Supreme Bean (Dolce Terra blend) and Intelligentsia (Black Cat).

For a grinder, my choice is the Mazzer Mini E Type A.  Mazzer machines are found in the best espresso bars all over the world.  The Mini E is a “doserless” version that uses burrs as large as those found in the larger Mazzer commercial grinders, but a less powerful motor.  You can program both a single and double espresso dose and initiate the dose with the push of a single button, or you can manually dose as well.  (A double espresso is often 14-16 grams of beans, though updosing is fashionable.)

I recently purchased an espresso machine called a Vivaldi II (“VII”) made in Italy by La Spaziale.  The VII is a single group machine capable of commercial use, but generally purchased for the home.  It has been in production for 6 or 7 years and has a stellar reputation among home baristi.  La Spaziale manufactures heavier duty commercial machines as well, but its reputation in the commercial market is not particularly great.  (La Marzocco seems to be the clear leader there, though newer machines from companies like Slayer and Synesso here in the U.S. are challenging La Marzocco.) 

The VII  is a dual boiler machine.  The group boiler that heats the water for the espresso extraction is relatively small at .45 liters.  This allows the barista tom make quick adjustments to temperature in one-degree increments, and it also means that the boiler regains temperature quickly after a shot is pulled.  The steam boiler, used to steam milk for drinks like lattes and cappuccinos, is massive at 2.5 liters.   A dual boiler machine allows the barista to steam milk while the shot is being pulled without affecting the temperature or pressure of the water in the group boiler.  The large size of the steam boiler in the VII creates massive amounts of pressure, which makes the steaming process quite fast. 

The adjustability of the VII is fantastic, too.  One nice feature is adjustable, passive pre-infusion of the ground espresso prior to the extraction.  Pre-infusion wets the espresso “puck” with line pressure prior to commencement of the pressurized extraction.  In the VII, the pre-infusion time can be set from zero to 8 seconds.

Another distinguishing feature of the VII and many dual boiler machines is that it is capable of being plumbed-in rather relying on a water reservoir that must be re-filled by the barista.  The VII, in fact, must be plumbed in.  I was able to do this myself with ease by using tubing and fittings manufactured by a company called John Guest.  Because Los Angeles water is hard, which can cause a build up of scale in the boilers, I also plumbed in a softener and carbon filter.  Because the water pressure in my home is quite high, I installed a water pressure regulator to bring the line pressure to the machine down to a constant 30psi to benefit the passive pre-infusion.

Below are a couple of videos of both grind and pull of a shot.  Apologies in advance – the reflection of a shockingly bald barista appears at a couple of points in one of the videos!

If you are a fellow espresso enthusiast, please share your thoughts, experiences, set-up.  If you’ve not had the pleasure of a really good espresso, I urge you to find the competent espresso bar(s) in your hometown and enjoy.  Or better yet, start pulling your own shots!

Next time:  latte art!

Best,

CaliforniaJed

Untitled from CaliforniaJed on Vimeo.

Grind from CaliforniaJed on Vimeo.