Gurus.net: How to Use a La Pavoni Manual Lever-Piston Espresso Machine by Daniel Ho - How to... (#)

„Warm up the cup and filter by running some heated water through an empty filter into the cup and discarding.  Fill and tamp the filter.  Then, wipe any stray grains of coffee off the top of the filter before placing it under the group head and tightening. When the proper temperature is achieved, raise the handle to the "up" position.  Count 10 seconds to allow water to fill the brewing chamber and pre-infusing the coffee before pulling down on the handle.  Likely, by this point, there is some rich dark espresso dripping into your demitasse and covering the bottom.  Although I didn't expect it, the pressure required to pull the handle down is quite hard.  I haven't measured this yet, but it feels almost as hard as the pressure required for tamping.   Don't force the handle down, but rather press down with CONSTANT heavy pressure.  The espresso should be thick and start flowing straight down in a heavy stream from the spout and you should see crema forming.  The whole process from start to finish should take around 20-30 seconds. A variation on this is to partly lift the handle (but not to the top, or you'll have water flooding your work area!) BEFORE putting your filter in.“

http://www.gurus.net/pavoni/howto.html - Cached

The Coffee Review - the world's leading coffee buying guide (#)

„While larger companies like Starbucks may be on the way to replacing the skills of the barista with automatic machines, other independent, smaller cafes and chains have fueled a worldwide movement to dignify and professionalize the job of barista by instituting barista competitions, informal barista "jams," and by the recent establishment of the Barista Guild, now under the auspices of the Specialty Coffee Association of America. These barista competitions not only encourage skill in producing espresso and espresso drinks and an elegance and economy of gesture, but also - and more to the point here - an appreciation of fine and distinctive espresso blends. Those interested in the contemporary barista movement will find information on the Barista Guild at www.scaa.org/related_organizations.asp “

http://www.coffeereview.com/article.cfm?id=89 - Cached

Home Espresso FAQ (#)

„Who writes this stuff? Espresso is horribly over-extracted at that point. No wonder your guests squish up their faces when they sip your "expresso."     There is an astounding number of diverse ways in which the variables of roasting style and degree of roast, blends of single source or varietal beans, freshness and quality of the beans, grind, volume of dose, tamping pressure and accuracy, water temperature, water delivery pressure, water quality and softness, length of pour, and even relative humidity can conspire to botch our espresso. The home enthusiast has little or no control over most of these factors but she can learn to compensate so that every shot is as close to perfetto as possible..“

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Virtual Coffee: The Espresso Drive-thru and its Place in the Specialty Coffee Industry (#)

„The future of the espresso drive-thru industry looks very promising from both the owner’s and consumer’s view point. The specialty coffee industry is growing at a healthy pace and the drive-thru market is still virtually untouched, especially as you move east across the country. If you want to be self-employed, enjoy working and interacting with people, and have the persistence to overcome the business challenges, an espresso drive-thru business is a rewarding and profitable venture to pursue.“

http://www.virtualcoffee.com/may99/ may_drivethru.html - Cached

:: Confusion About Infusion :: (#)

„For those of us who didn't attain Ewan's degree in Food Science, it can be simplified thus: Adding some of the brewing water to the wad of coffee grounds makes them swell up, and this change in particle size and extraction results in your brew having a different taste and mouth feel. From a sensory point of view, then, a careful use of pre-infusion can optimise your cup of espresso if necessary. It ought to raise the perceived body of the drink whilst also reducing acidity. But one has to be careful, as it is all too easy to ruin the character of the blend.“

http://www.matthewalgie.com/find_out/ lab-confusion.html - Cached

Tea & Coffee 11/03 - Is Espresso Good for Coffee? (#)

„The quality of the coffee used is the key." Perry is a believer that making a great espresso depends on his coffee blend being the best it can be. He starts at scratch with his espresso blend every year, experimenting with different roasts and different origins, because "we are dealing with coffee, an agricultural crop that changes from year to year." Perry continues: "we don't have the restrictions that big corporate coffee companies have with price points and large volumes; we only strive to have quality coffee year round."“

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Different Coffeehouse Archetypes (INeedCoffee.com) (#)

„Cardamom, not plain." Apparently Your Best Friend "Dude, can I borrow your phone, use your bathroom, take this paper with me, bum a cigarette, and oh, I just want water." The Legally Blind "Where's your menu?" You point to the huge menu directly behind you. "Do you have espresso?" You point to the huge $14,000 espresso machine next to you. "Where are your prices?" etc., etc.,.... The Smart-Aleck We Can All Do Without "Do you guys sell coffee here?“

http://www.ineedcoffee.com/99/10/archetypes/ - Cached

CoffeeGeek - Espresso: General Discussion, Pulling perfect espresso (#)

„The optimum temperature is somewhere around 92-95C or 195-203F; sour shots tell you that your brewing water is likely too cold, and bitter shots tell you that your brewing water is likely too hot. You can finesse this particular variable in your espresso ritual if you brew at the same point in the boiler cycle (e.g. time when the boiler ready light turns on, which is when the brewing water is at its hottest). Playing around with this will give you different brewing temperatures and hopefully a tastier shot.“

http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/espresso/general/ 106159 - Cached

Tea & Coffee 06/02 - Baristas: Coffee’s Unsung Heroes (#)

„He believes that the necessary skills can be passed down from one generation of baristas to the next. If the owner of a coffeehouse knows how to interact well with both his machinery and customers, he can share this knowledge with his barista staff and give them a starting point from which they can learn the craft work of espresso. In addition, the barista himself must also be enthusiastic and dedicated to his work. According to Oosterhof, “You cannot define yourself as a barista just over night.“

http://www.teaandcoffee.net/0602/special.htm - Cached

Electric Coffee (#)

„The motor is powerful and grinding is quiet. It has commercial grade 50 mm flat burrs and 55 grinding adjustment steps, enough to pinpoint the exact grind requirement for the most particular espresso machine. And it covers a full range of grinds from fine to coarse, from Espresso to French Press. (I wouldn't say that the coarse grind is its strong point though.“

http://www.sweetmarias.com/ prod.electricmills.shtml - Cached

Espresso Tutorial Chapter 5 - coffeecrew.com - victoria, b.c. canada (#)

„I am going to assume that you have the espresso coffee ground to the suitable specifications. At this point I will state that the finished product; espresso, cappuccino or latte, depends entirely upon the quality of the main ingredient. That ingredient is the coffee of course! Espresso coffee is brewed when water, below the boiling point, is passed through finely ground coffee.“

http://www.coffeecrew.com/articles/.../ espresso-tutorial-chapter-5-2.html - Cached

Virtual Coffee: Judging Expresso Extraction by Crema (#)

„After about one-half to three-quarters of an inch of crema has accumulated in the bottom of the cup, you should see the crema change to a lighter, off-white color. It is just before this point (which should occur at 25 to 30 seconds from the push of the button for espresso extraction) that the flow should be stopped, since any more liquid allowed into thedemitasse equals more acidity and bitterness.“

http://www.virtualcoffee.com/judge.html - Cached

CoffeeGeek - How to review Domestic Espresso Machines (#)

„The final part of a review should then be able to assemble all of the data generated above into comprehensive summary of the pluses and minuses of each machine and generate a recommendation based on actual performance. It’s wise to remember that at this point of the process the OTHER important part of a domestic espresso machine review, the milk frothing capabilities, haven’t even been addressed.“

http://www.coffeegeek.com/opinions/alanfrew/ 08-22-2003 - Cached

Amazon.com: Books: ESPRESSO! Starting and Running Your Own Specialty Coffee Business (#)

„This book barely skims what you will need to know to open a specialty coffee establishment. If you are interested in opening a cart or kiosk or are just toying with the idea of opening an espresso establishment; then this book is a good starting point. If you are planning to open an espresso shop or drive through then I suggest that you put your money elsewhere.“

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/047112138x/ ref%3dsim_books - Cached

The Espresso Pages from Sweet Maria's: Espresso: Specific Techniques (#)

„There's a lot of ways to achieve great espresso. Its fun to experiment and I don't know if there is some terminal point where you achieve the perfect trans-subjective espresso. These recommendations reflect my biases, of course.“

http://www.sweetmarias.com/ espresso-specifics1.html - Cached

The Universal Espresso Maker Manual - coffeecrew.com - victoria, b.c. canada (#)

„As your machine warms up, you will hear a rumbling sound. This is the sound of water approaching the boiling point and your unit is now ready to brew espresso or steam milk. If there is a valve adjacent to the steam wand, turn it. Steam should whoosh out.“

http://www.coffeecrew.com/articles/.../ the-universal-espresso-maker-manual.html - Cached

The Coffee Review - the world's leading coffee buying guide (#)

„I need to point out to readers that evaluating espresso coffees is a particularly nerve-racking and demanding undertaking, presenting many more difficulties than evaluating coffees intended for other brewing methods.“

http://www.coffeereview.com/article.cfm?id=7 - Cached

Untitled (#)

„An Espresso is a ritual that brings comfort and pure pleasure, and in order to ensure that it is appreciated in all its intensity, the following five-point plan should be followed.“

http://www.briel.pt/eng/brinet3_f.html - Cached

CoffeeGeek - Espresso: Machines and Grinders, ASTRA GRINDER  USERS ! - please help!!!  (el cafe tranquillo) (#)

„Once you find your zero point, you should try grinding for espresso at about 6-8 steps more coarse.  I think mine is about 7 clicks from zero.“

http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/espresso/machines/ 99215 - Cached

CoffeeGeek - The First Look (#)

„Coming in as an underdog, price-point leading consumer espresso machine, the Innova Arc shows a lot of promise in this First Look. Read more... “

http://www.coffeegeek.com/proreviews/firstlook - Cached

View topic - Best Quality Home Espresso Machine - Coffee Forum (#)

„Only drawback is the one hopper/grinder, does not allow easy change for decaf or other beans. But what's the point of decaf espresso?“

http://www.coffeeforums.com/ viewtopic.php?p=7194 - Cached