Question for newbie on espresso.

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Permalink Reply by Jason Haeger on April 28, 2008 at 3:48pm

Could this flavor be described as astringent?

Sometimes, this can be the product of a fast roast (aka, underdeveloped bean interior), under-extraction, or a combination thereof.

Try bumping the temperature just a bit to see if that helps. It may not, but it's the first step I think I might take. It's hard to tell without being able to taste it myself.

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Permalink Reply by Matt Milletto on April 28, 2008 at 4:02pm

Hey Barry,

From your post, I am gathering this is something you are experiencing with the said "espresso" not all coffee you have been pulling shots with? There are some super tasters on bX that will hopefully chime in.

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Permalink Reply by Barry Baker on April 28, 2008 at 4:28pm

Yes astringent would be a better description. I tried the Badorf and Bronson "Dancing Goats" and that one did not have the same taste. The one I was trying was some cheap stuff from the local grocery store that my wife picked up for me to play with one the new Aurelia. I knew it was the cheap stuff, arrrrgh.

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Permalink Reply by Jason Haeger on April 28, 2008 at 6:38pm

In that case, I would suspect a roasting error.

Pretty common, really. :-/

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Permalink Reply by Barry Baker on April 28, 2008 at 6:41pm

Thank you, that sound like the problem. I am new to this and at ABC, they only used top notch samples so I did not get to try the bad.

Barry

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Permalink Reply by Denise Smith on May 3, 2008 at 10:13pm

I know what you mean about not having any bad coffees at ABCs. I'm an Oct 2006 grad and I haven't had a great espresso beverage of any kind since then.

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Permalink Reply by Ryan Sellers on May 6, 2008 at 6:59pm

you probably use the same machine i do in my shop.
couple of things:
1. how's your water? better water=better espresso.
2. have you back-flushed your machine lately?
third-ish, 28 seconds is getting near pulling on the long-ish side, even for a double shot(from my experience, a double shouldn't be more than about 24, maybe 26)...i don't know what kind of beans you're using, but try pulling a faster shot and see if that helps.

finally, make sure you're using good quality beans--i may be mistaken, but something from a bag labelled "espresso" doesn't sound like good quality stuff. around here, a decent bag of beans is going to run you $12-15 per pound, so look to spend somewhere around that, maybe a bit more or less for a decent roast.

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Permalink Reply by Jason Haeger on May 6, 2008 at 7:33pm

I disagree with your brew parameters. There isn't one set that's right for every coffee.

It takes playing around with it a bit to find what works best. Sometimes it can be 20 seconds. Sometimes it can be 30+ seconds.

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Permalink Reply by Barry Baker on May 6, 2008 at 9:03pm

My water here is well water that taste really good. I have a filter set up and water softener right at the machine. I back flush the machine after each use and use cleaner every night or at least every other night. I am only pulling 2 to 5 shots a day right now making my wife her lattes.

The bad espresso came from the bulk bin at the grocery store, my wife bought it and did not know any better. The better blend is Dancing Goats and was very good. I had changed the grind and pulled faster and slower and the bad did not get any better.

I am currently looking for roasters to supply my shop when I open around the 1st of November so will be trying lots of better coffee from now on.

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Permalink Reply by Spencer on May 8, 2008 at 5:56am

My two beans worth:

Taste the water - it should be neutral.
Cup the coffee - it should be sweet, and take particualr note of the acidity.
Clean the machines - grinder and espresso machine.

Bright, citric acidity in coffee will produce a very astringent and often unpleasant taste when extracted for espresso. Also, slightly fermented coffee of highky fruity unbwashed coffee can produce this character as well.

If this taste is in the coffee, you may need to change the coffee.

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