THE EDGE OF AWAKE

so, i've been working with the pasquini livia for a few weeks now, and i'm starting to iron out the little quirks of the machine.  one thing continues to bother me, however.

the machine has a funny way of steaming milk.  and by funny i mean annoying.  and by steaming milk i mean not steaming milk.

yeah, basically, i can't figure out this steam wand.  it feels like the machine doesn't have the power to kick up and circulate milk in a way i feel it should.  as a result, my foam is loose, bubbly and virtually unmanageable.

the espresso, on the other hand, is quite another matter.  i'm pulling some pretty tasty shots out of the machine.  it's taken a second to dial in my grind and work out dosing, but the shots are coming around.  i'm getting stable, colorful crema on top of very bright, rich shots.

now if i could just figure out the milk thing.  anyone have any experience foaming milk on a home machine?

also, i had to put together a makeshift knock-box.  i did so out of a retail illy can and a metal chopstick.



-dan

i watched this movie last night.  it was real.

also, i've been sitting on a couple verses for my musical side-project, seven.fifteen.
there are a few online now.

www.purevolume.com/sevenfifteen

enjoy.

-dan

so, i was having a conversation with my coffee guy, ron, the other day about chemex-ing illy coffee, and that perhaps the popular 2-gram per ounce recipe didn't quite fit the coffee.  we experimented with the dose and grind for about an hour trying to get the brew right.

we were at wits' end when we had an epiphany: there must be thousands of coffee folks out there who have the same difficulties dialing in a coffee to our idealized specifications.  better yet, perhaps there is a perfect recipe out there that someone has concocted.

the idea is to gather home baristas under one roof to make a bunch of coffee and see what works and what doesn't.  some shops call these barista jams.  others call them throwdowns, sprodowns, smackdowns and all other manner of -downs that usually end in latte art contests and lots of jittery folks that are lucky to get any sleep at all.  ever.

at any rate, we're going to try it out at my shop, cafenineteen.  we are calling BE YOUR OWN BARISTA NIGHT!!!

the format is thus:

instructions and demonstrations on how to prepare coffee in five manners
   -french press
   -chemex
   -moka pot
   -auto drip
   -espresso

these are, by all accounts, the more popular in home coffee making.

illy caffe will be providing coffee for the night, but if anyone would like to bring their own, it is more than welcome.  we may even throw a cupping in with all the brewing action.

so, this is a first for us here at cafenineteen.  in the future we will try out an instructional on cupping, as well as maybe including other devices, such as single-cup melittas, aeropresses, costa rican sock coffee makers and ibriks.  who knows.

anyways, if this sounds interesting to anyone, please let me know and we'll get crackin'.

-dan