Epiphany

This morning I dialed in the grinder. I believe the aim is for 30ml in 30 seconds or so - of course I am using a double basket, so into 2 shot glasses of 30ml each. The first pour was too fast and not great so went down the sink. I tightened up the grind. I have to say this was a moment of epiphany, as I had thought that talk of smooth espresso without any bitterness was a whole lot of B.S. I was completely wrong, this was tasty - it wasn't sweet, but it wasn't bitter and had such complex flavors. I have never had a coffee like it in my life. The beans were roasted 3 days ago and I only used a very light tamp (I have been reading how tamp pressure doesn't matter). I was so enamored that I made a second pour, and it was just as good, I took a video this time (why do espresso machines sound so loud in videos? Its not that loud in reality)...

Considering how much I like my milk - this is quite a turn up for the books. I am a bit wired as I write this, 1 cappuccino and 4 espressos before breakfast is not something I am used to.

Some things interesting that I observed over both pours. The material of the cup really seems to make a difference. I used two different shot glasses, one was a graduated plastic shot glass, the other was straight glass. Both pours, the glass shot-glass had mottling, whereas the plastic shot-glass didn't. However, both pours the espresso from the plastic shot glass tasted better. Not by much, but definitely noticeable. I can only think that it is to do with thermal conduction being greater in the glass shot-glass. I was guilty on that first good pour of not warming the glasses (I didn't think I would be drinking it). I don't think I did for the second good pour either (I was a bit excited) - so I guess I need to experiment here. I think I might also try very slightly coarser on the grind as the pour might have been a touch slow.

Wow. This has been a rather interesting development for me.