,·1,

ISBN 978-0-646-48632-1

THE

ESPRESSO

QUEST

To Looloo, Ella, Dan, Bonnie and Melchizedek

First Published by Loowedge Publishing in 2008

P.O. Box4178

Copacabana, Australia 2251

Copyright© 2008 lnstaurator

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any

form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including

photocopying recording, or any information storage and

retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher.

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, byway

of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise

circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of

binding or cover other than that in which it is published and

without a similar condition including this condition being

imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

A Catalogue record of this book is available from the

National Library of Australia

ISBN 978-0-646-48632- l

Editors: Laura Everage San Francisco USA and

Emily Oak Sydney Australia

Photography: Adrian Lander

Design: Gentil Eckersley

Printed and bound in China by Hang Tai Printing

www.espressoquest.com

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

PART I: THE TASTE

. The Quest Begins: Espresso Exodus

. My First Godin MyE spresCsou pE xperience

. My First Espresso Bar

. Viva the EspressoT raining Revolution

. Coffee to Espresso Evolution

PART II: THE GROWER

. Cupo f Excellence®G: rowerso f the Future

-Altitude Versus Latitude

. Mountain Top® Coffee Estate

. Growers and Roasters Dance Together

. Processing Like a Winemaker

-The Essential Agronomist

. The Sweet Kiss of Long Ripening

–World Taste Preferences

PART Ill: THE ROASTER

. Arabica Versus Ro bus ta

. Crema is Only Cream?

–Roast Profiling

. Blending: The Fun of the Alchemist

–Decaft hatTastesT oo Good: SWISSW ATER®D ecaf

–Roasting Speed: Which Way Did He Go?

–Body Without Too Much Bitterness

–EspressoT asting for Smarties

PART IV: THE BARISTA

-New Breed Barista

. More Data Free Observations

-Extraction Times

. Crema … Again

. Water: The Great Elixir Base

-Grinding: Unlocking the Coffee Genie

• To Refrigerate or Not to Refrigerate

• Rage and The Machine

• How to Become a World Barista Champion

• Conclusion: How to Make an Espresso Coffee

THE ESPRESSOQ UEST 7

FOREWORD

This book is not just another textbook. Rather, it is a record

and an explanation of my quest to discover the pure joy

found in a cup of espresso coffee. For more than two-and-aha

If decades, I have been involved in the selecting, roasting,

packing, brewing, tasting and marketing of specialty coffee.

Over this time, there have been enormous changes within

the coffee industry; not just in my own country of Australia,

but all around the world.

Why is it, that of al I people, an Australian is writing a

book about espressoc offee?A s it happens,A ustraliae njoyed

a large influx of Italian immigrants after the Second World

War. In turn, they established a vibrant espresso culture

that eventuallyt ook over the landscape.A s a matter of fact,

Australia now has the highest market penetration of home

electric espresso machines in the world. Yes, more than Italy.

Although we can’t claim to be the sole arbiters of espresso

taste, our national verve for innovation, an inclination to

challenge authority, and a solid espresso heritage, provided a

very fertile field for espresso to spring up in this most unlikely

place. Perhaps this humble field down under may provide

a small glimpse into the future, with the rest of the world

FOREWORD 9

following suit and migrating toward espresso-basecdo ffees.

For someone who has made his livelihood from coffee,

true joy boils down to one thing. A few sips of thick, syrupy,

bittersweet nectar that resembles a rich, dark mocha chocolate

liquid mixed with smooth complex spices. This is espresso

coffee. The heart of coffee.

It is this humble espresso shot, a thimbleful of black

coffee poured in front of our eyes, which has become the

foundation of vast coffee empires and complete cafe menus.

It sustains untold households, from the low-paid, humble

plantation worker who picks the coffee, to the hi-tech, chic

cafe society set who consumes it.

Of the thousands of coffees tested by professional

cuppers each year, only occasionally will someone come

across an espresso coffee that has all the elements of

perfection. This sublime taste experience is what some

professionals describe as “seeing God in the cup”.

It is this experience that excites enormous passion.

It drives coffee professionals, as well as many people from all

walks of life, to almost fanatically pursue the experience again

and again. It requiresa n investment in learning, becauseth e

perfect espressoc offee is so confounding and elusive.Justa s

a beautiful mirage shimmers in the distance, or the proverbial

l 0 THE ESPRESSOQ UEST

end of the rainbow beckons, so too often the wonderful taste

of espressoc offee seemsj ust beyondo ur grasp.

Enormous amounts of time, energy and money have been

invested in capturing this elusive taste, not only for personal

joy, but for business reasons as well. For if the espresso coffee

shot is not taken to its fullest potential, the rest of the coffee

menu, and the empire, will falter.

This book is a description of a coffee philosophy,

a muse with a few practical hints and a few personal stories

that could act as a guide to some. This approach differs from

that of numerous textbooks on espresso in that it gets to

the heart and sou I of espresso. I cou Id say it It is a bit Ii ke a

surgeon though, who sets out to use his scalpel to try and

locate a person’s spirit. This was always going to be mission

impossible.

Coffee’s rich history has been told countless times

in books that highlight the romance and reach of coffee’s

past and present. This book is not so much about the exotic

countries that coffee is grown in. Instead, it is about what

makes the difference between two cafes located side by

side. For instance, one may be packed with people, buzzing

with vibrant conversation and electrifying ambience, while

the other lies empty and lifeless.

FOREWORD 11

A certain alluring mystique periodically attaches itself

to coffee. In our current ti mes, that mystique is based around

the relativelyn ew form of coffee call ed espressoT. hi s book is

about embracing the invigorating mystique that is espresso

coffee, while it also sets out to burst the myths that shroud

and hinder the wonderful experience of seeing God in an

espresso cup.

My hope is that this book will inspire you in you_qr uest

for a great espresso.. .a n experiencet hat can seems o simple,

yet is so gloriously complex.

12 THE ESPRESSOQ UEST

PART I

When I entered the coffee industry it was by accident.

I was on holiday from the university where I was studying

for my Bachelor of Arts degree in Australian history, when

my brother asked me to help in his new coffee roasting

business. Here I am twenty-six years later, still doing coffee.

Through the years, I’ve invested more than most do in

the pursuit of great espresso coffee. I have worked as a barista

in my own specialty espresso bars, set up several wholesale

roasting factories, trained coffee staff on a national basis,

developed practical standards in a real-time business

environment and built severals uccessfubl usinessesa long

the way including an international wholesale espresso

roasting businessw hich boastso ver 350 stores. In addition

to building businesses, I developed evaluation tests and

brewing standards for baristas, much of which has been

absorbed into World Barista Championship judging criteria.

I have been involved as a judge, or Executive Director,

THE TASTE 17

—I ::r

(D

—I

CJ

CJ)

r-t(

D

in nearly every World Barista Championship since the

inaugural event in Monte Carlo in 2000. I served as a coffee

judge at the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW single-estate

espresso competition and as the Chairman ofThe Australian

Coffee & Tea Association. My travels have taken me around

the world countless times to learn about espresso coffee and

to visit some of the world’s best coffee farms in Guatemala,

Nicaragua, El Salvador, Bolivia, Brazil, Australia and

Papua New Guinea.

Duringm y journey,I experiencedm y fair shareo f frustration

in the searchf or a sublime espressoI.t is a common frustration

for all of us who desire a simple, repeatable, good espresso

coffee. However, in my quest, I was very fortunate to meet an

intuitive espressog enius who was able to reducet he complex

dynamics of making a humble espresso coffee down to a

simple process. It was this chance meeting that acted as a

catalyst for me to continue my quest for my ultimate espresso.

THE TASTE 19

THE QUEST BEGINS: ESPRESSO EXODUS

I firstm et GeorgeS abadosa t an AustralianC offeea ndT eaA ssociation

meetingw heren ationals tandardsf or espressow hereb eing hammered

out. Aftera yeara nda halfo f passionated ebates,a ndm anyc upso f espresso

later, we finally compromised on a set of guidelines, which have since

been adoptedn ationallyb yg overnmentb aristat rainingc enters.

Coffee has always enjoyed local variations, and there is no doubt that these guidelines will incite

further vigorous debate. There are few hard and fast rules as to what is considered a standard espresso,

and this is evident in different parts of the world. Fast-maturing espresso markets such as Sydney or

Melbourne, and Seattle or Vancouver in North America, each define the perfect espresso differently.

This is true within a single city as well, much like it has been in Sydney for some time (although it

may be changing). In my hometown the harbor where the world-famous opera house sits, divides

the city in two. On the north side of the harbor, espresso tends to be a bit milder than the fullbodied

and powerful Robusta-blend espressos found closer to downtown on the southern side

of the harbor. Regardlesso f where espresso is enjoyed, the indispensable rule is: Alwaysle t your

taste be your guide.

For centuries, coffee has incited numerous controversies and passionate discussions around

the world. I believe that this is healthy as long as it leads to the gathering of wisdom. Unfortunately,

wisdom is so elusive because it is one step beyond knowledge. Knowledge comes from learning

the information, facts, ideas or principles. Wisdom comes from actively applying knowledge

to a practical test. Someone once said that wisdom is 90 percent hindsight. There is a lot of truth

to this. Through experience, a person learns the tricks of the trade to avoid common pitfalls,

and in the process gains wisdom.

George came from the sensory-inspired European school of espresso, whereas I came from

the scientific-based analytical school. This so-called European (or Italian) approach involves more

of the senses, whereas the scientific school is more about measuring grams and liquid volumes in

THE TASTE 21

an attempt to try to record the myriad variables

involved in creating an espresso. Both of us,

however, were united in testing our ideas

through practical experiments.

George and I instantly joined forces. I paid

for him to fly to Monte Carlo and compete in

the inaugural World Barista Championship in

2000. We jumped on the plane together and

proceeded to have a lot of fun as we passionately

discussed our differing views about espresso.

The one thing that united us, in spite of our

different approaches, was that we both always

let our taste guide us.

Being near the Italian border in Monte

Carlo, we came upon many seasoned Italian

espresso drinkers. Upon trying my coffee blend

at our practice sessions they would refuse to

believe that it had been roasted and blended

in Australia. They told me it tasted too good,

therefore it must be Italian. It was a wonderful

compliment. I felt assured they were letting taste

be their guide!

The European school of espresso is evident

in the old school Italian baristas, who can still be

found in large cities around the world, although

you may have to go a long way to find one.

Sadly, I have heard reports that the

professional barista is in decline in Italy. These

good baristas know what an appropriate grind

feels like. They know what a good pour looks

like. They know how used coffee grinds should

22 THE ESPRESSOQ UEST

smell. They can tell if the water is too hot,

the coffee too stale or too fresh, just by the way

the crema looks. Armed with a basic sensory

appreciation, they can produce a sublime

espresso that beats one prepared by a so-called

scientific barista time and again. Unfortunately,

these baristas seem to be a dying breed, as they

are increasingly replaced by fully automatic

machines. Why won’t a fully automatic machine

produce a more consistent espresso than an

imperfect human? We’ll touch on that later.

Regardless of which school the barista

comes from, in the end, good baristas must be

good tasters of coffee. The barista must be able

to recognize how variables in brewing affect

the flavor in the one place it counts- in the cup.

There is no getting away from it. The barista

must be able to taste. Otherwise they are merely

dressing a window. And the customer will never

find what they are looking for in their cup.

The best baristas combine a few common

characteristics. They are curious about what

they don’t understand. They take care to present

their coffees with a unique signature style.

They understand they are performers and their

customers are the audience to whom they

project their personality and passion. Always

strict and severe with their coffee standards,

they communicate this dedication and passion

to their audience through their character, as

well as through their beverage. They can be

Traditional cupping requires

the removal of’crema’ after

stirring and prior to tasting

as it tends to taste a little

harsh and distorts the flavor

profile ofthe coffee being

tasted. Unlike espresso where

the presence of ere ma is seen

as vital to the integrity of

the flavor.

(Le~ to right, top to bottom)

– Roasted beans

• Coarse ground coffee for

a traditional tasting.

–Traditional cupping (water

poured straight onto the

coffee grounds)

-Tasting spoons await their

coffee tasters

26 THE ESPRESSO QUEST

flirtatious, merely hospitable or a downright Coffee Nazi. But most importantly, they always love

tasting their espresso coffees.

Taste is as important for the barista as it is for the customer. When interviewing potential

staff for a position in one of my espresso bars. I quickly learned to ask the hopeful employees if they

liked coffee. Without liking the material you are working with, it is very difficult, if not impossible,

to have a sympathetic understanding of the product and the customer who purchases it. This is one

of the unspoken things customers pick up on. And often without even realizing it, customers will

gravitate towards the cafe that is staffed by baristas who are passionate about their product.

On the other hand, there are also those baristasw ho canc reatef ancyp atternsw ith milko r chocolate

mixed with crema, but sadly they don’t have a fundamental understanding of, and sympathy for, the

brewing of coffee. Their passion for excellence is lacking, which is an essential piece in a larger puzzle.

Without passion, the so-called” Espresso-XF actor,”i s missing. This passion combined with hardheaded,

good organizational skills, is the key to many outstanding and successful businesses and is

the true Espresso-XF actor.

Mys cientifica pproach to espresso came from my training. I learned to carefullya nd laboriously

weigh and set a commercial grinder to dispense a precise weight of coffee grinds, accurate down to a

tenth of a gram. What I have since come to realize is that the trouble with this method is that different

roast colors and blends will have different densities. So, once the grinder is set for a particular roast,

it will need to be reset forone that varies even by a couple of points on an Agtron spectrophotometer

scale. (A spectrophotometer, which measures roast color, is as essential to good coffee roasting as

a thermometer.)

What I have found during my extensive experimentation, is that beans that look exactly the same

to the naked eye, can taste extremely different depending on how those beans have been roasted. The

spread of difference between the color reading of the outside of the bean and the coffee inside, is also

criticalt o good flavord evelopmenta nd can only be measureda ccuratelyw ith a spectrophotometer.

• J also learned during my scientific training that the speed at which the lever on the side of the

grinder is pulled will vary the amount of coffee that drops into the porta-filter. This too will vary

according to the coarseness or fineness of the coffee grinds. Dosing by weight rather than volume

reveals a lack of understanding of the ‘coffee press,’ which is absolutely necessary in order to make

a succulent espresso. This small, but important element, can make the brewing of espresso coffee

a very inexact, frustrating. and elusive science.

THE TASTE 27

In addition to precise portioning of the coffee, the scientific approach also involves setting

an espresso machine to dose a precise volume of water. Once you have locked in the two variables

of coffeew eighta nd liquidv olume,t heoreticallyt he next step is to adjust the coarsenesso r finenesso f

your coffee grind, which will regulate the flow of water as it passes through the grinds in the portafilter.

Howeverd, espite the flawsi n this scientifica pproach, it is better than using no guidelinesa t all.

And so my exodus from scientific captivity began.

For now, I come to my first Godin M yE spresCsou pe xperience.

28 THE ESPRESSOQ UEST THET ASTE2 9

Screening trays. Each number

represents a different hole

size in a screen which allows

corresponding size beans

through and is referred to

as a ‘screen-size’.

An espresso that has been

waiting a bit too long for its

drinker. Note the crema has

subsided slightly.

30 THE ESPRESSOQ UEST —-

THE FIRST GOD IN MY ESPRESSO CUP EXPERIENCE

I have had a handful of experiencesw here I have seen Godin mye spresscou p.

The first one I can remember was when I was working for my brother

Rob Forsyth in Naremburn, an inner suburb of Sydney.

I was on holidays from my studies in psychology

and Australian history at Macquarie University.

I figured he needed a hand, so I began selling

coffee for him. I had very little experience in

the coffee business, so when I didn’t know

are used to denote where a grape is grown,

coffee is referred to by the place it comes from.

In this case, coffee from these three countries,

which are considered the cradle of world coffee

production, used to be shipped through a port

the answer to a potential customer’s question, called Mocha. Coffee shipped from this port

such as “Why is coffee from Ethiopia known eventually came to be known by this name.

as mocha?” I made it a point of finding out the Today, the word Mocha is often used to

answer. (The answer to this is below!) Without refer to a mixture of coffee and chocolate.

realizing it, my coffee knowledgeb egan to grow. (Technicallys peaking, this version should be

Today I am still learning, and I realize how much

more there is still to learn.

When I walked into my brother’s shop

there were many different coffee sacks lying

open against the wall. He would ask me to

go and get some Mocha, for instance, for the

next roast. I would spend the next five minutes

looking for a bag with” Mocha” printed on it.

Of course, I ended up having to ask him which

one it was, because not one bag had the word

“Mocha” printed on it.

He was, in fact, referring to coffee grown

in Ethiopia, Arabia and Yemen. Much like wine

appellations such as Champagne and Burgundy

spelled moccaA.) sm y brother tells the story, a

French king asked his pastry chef to bake him

a new pastry. He came up with a new mixture

of coffee-and chocolate-flavored topping and

called it moccaI.t had little if anything to do with

the origin of the coffee itself.

It was the early 1980’s, when espresso was

still relatively new in Australia, and Seattle had

yet to be considered a coffee destination, that I

tasted a pure Ethiopian Mocha. It happened. It

hit the spot. It was smooth, rich and complex.

ActuallyI, had flukedi t. In spite of my ignorance

ofbarista skills, and coffee in general, I saw

Godinmyespressofworpth e firsttime. ltstands

THETASTE 31

out in my memory, and to this day I still have a

preference for this kind of Mocha.

One of the other features of these early days

was that the standard coffees we used included

Kenya Regal AA, Papua New Guinea Sigri A, and

Colombian Supremo along with several others that

todaya re regardeda s specialtyT. hisi s my brother’s

coffee legacy.W hat is considered specialttoy day,

was our normal, eve1ydayc offee back then.

I loved coming into the factory in the

morning and opening the sealed coffee bins

that contained the coffee roasted the previous

day. The aroma was so intoxicatingly sweet

– much sweeter and more delicate than the

aroma of freshly ground coffee. The marketers

among us know that freshly ground coffee is the

most alluring of all retail aromas, with freshly

baked bread following close behind. But both of

these don’t come close to the fleeting, yet heady,

finesse of whole bean aroma in a sealed bin just

eighteen hours after being roasted.

Coffee aroma is a natural wonder of

God’s design. It is incredibly complex. With

approximately 2,000 compounds, it is

virtually impossible for mankind to replicate.

Unfortunately, too many coffee growers

these days are aiming to maximize yield while

sacrificing aromatic complexity.

I recently experienced the absurd contrast

of roses that had no perfume. When I went to

throw them out, I opened a new plastic garbage

32 THE ESPRESSOQ UEST

bag, which surprisingly had a fake rose scent.

Garbage bags that smell more like roses than

roses?! What a wonderful development! For all

our progress in the modern world, it has come

down to such an absurd point as this. I hope and

pray the same doesn’t happen in the coffee world.

In the early 1990’s I began investing in

coffee prices on the New York Futures Exchange

to see what I could learn. Looking at long-term

graphs, I could see coffee was at a 20-year low.

To my uninitiated brain, I figured the market

couldn’t remain low. I was right. Eventually

there was a reported worm infestation in

Colombia and the market took off This meant

my options quickly became worth enough to

pay for a new bathroom for my wife. I was

satisfied, and to be prudent, I bailed out.

Then I had a dream. In the dream I was

surfing a fast-moving wave. I was having trouble

maintaining control of the surfboard. At the

same time, I was taking advice from some

friends on the beach who knew little about

surfing. One was a tea salesman, the other was

a real estate agent. Good guys, but why would I

take advice from them on a subject which I knew

more about anyway? I interpreted this dream

to mean that I had been paying attention to the

wrong ideas. Instead, I should get back on the

wave and ride it even if it was a little scary.

After having this dream, I clearly remember

driving home along the Pacific Highway and

——

wondering whether to get back in to the market.

Just as I was about to get on the freeway, I called

my broker and bought a couple of new coffee

call options. Soon a double frost hit Brazil and

coffee prices went ballistic overnight. I rode the

wave a 11 the way to the end. It was a revea Ii ng

experience. One moment the market moves up

forty cents and you feel invincible, like you’re

King Kong. The next night, when the market goes

down 30 cents, you lose $30,000 and you feel

like a complete loser. Why didn’t I get out the

night before? Why was I so greedy? Of course

this loss is nothing compared to the hardship

caused by natural disasters in coffee producing

countries. Yet, even for coffee producers, events

like these can be learning opportunities. For

instance, I have heard that growers who live in

particularlyf rost-pronea reas of Brazilw, ho after

experiencing crop losses, have modified their

planting methods to minimize the effects of frost.

I have since come to understand, through

my father-in-law who was a futures broker, that

because of the nature of the business, with all

it’s ups and downs, it is ve1y hard to remain

objective with your emotions. It is a wonderful

exercise in understanding and knowing yourself

under pressure. Learning how to trust your

instincts and back your own judgments, makes

for an exhilarating ride through life at the ve1y

least. In the end, I was fortunate to make enough

money to repay some of our debts and take the

kids out of school to travel around Australia

for eight months. This was my first sabbatical

in fourteen years.

When I came back to my wholesale coffee

business eight months later, I started the first of

my espresso bars. The year was 1995. There was

an existing specialty coffee business in Neutral

Bay, Sydney that offered about eighteen different

single origin and blended coffees in hoppers

on the main wall. On the opposite side was a

tiny La Pavoni single-group espresso machine.

They also sold a nice range of fine confectione1y

and Belgian chocolates, in addition to coffee

equipment and fine bone crocke1yA. s emi-retired

former airline employee ran the shop. A nice

man, but he, and the business, were ve1y tired

and it showed. I was familiar with this business

since I had tried selling my wholesale coffee

to the owner before him. It was a thriving

enterprise back then. Now, I could feel, and

almost taste, the potential.

My parents had been in retailing before

me, having run a successful small haberdashery

and craftss hop in SydneyT. heyo ften complained

that their shop tied them down too much even

though the business itself was a roaring success.

What I did realize was that my father had a flaw.

He was too close to his business. He compulsively

overstocked his small change every day and

insisted that I count every last one-cent coin

each evening as I helped him close the shop. It

THE TASTE 33

used to drive me crazy. But, there is a lesson here. To be successful in retail you have to be very focused

and committed to every detail. A bit offlair, which my mother had in spadefuls, and continually

experimenting and testing new ideas, helps too. I later learned that being too tied down to your

shop is really poor management. Instead, by training other people to perform the time-consuming

tasks of opening and closing the store, you can focus more on building the business in ways that

others cannot do for you. Because I had not yet learned this while on the road wholesaling coffee,

I had a slight aversion to being tied down to retailing.

34 THE ESPRESSOQ UEST

MY FIRST ESPRESSOB AR

Despite all this, I threw myself into the new challenge with all the

refreshed energy I had at my disposal after my sabbatical. To my surprise

I loved it. I loved the immediacy of it.

I would play with placing stock in different

places to see what would happen. It never ceased

to amaze me how, if priced and presented

attractively items would fly out the door, even

products that I sometimes didn’t particularly

like myself lfl got feedback from customers,

I would try and implement their suggestions and

change the store immediately. It often worked.

I ust by taking some shelves, which blocked

customer views, out of a window, our brewed

coffee sales jumped by 25 percent. By putting

in a new three-group machine to replace the old

second-hand, two-group machine, sales shot

up another 25 percent. By putting two tables,

chairs and a sign on the footpath outside, sales

jumped up 50 percent. In retail, the results of

Success at retail is really pretty simple and

comes from following a couple of basic rules.

First, be pleasant and do whatever it takes to

make the customer return. Second, always aim

to exceed customers’ expectations. I was amazed

to find out how true this was. Four years after I

had sold out of the Neutral Bay shop, a former

employee told me a customer relayed a story

to him. It was about how I had installed an

expensive hand-beaten copper jug made

specificallyt o dispense the exact quantity of

coffee beans from the hopper to their retail

pack. I had this jug made specially for the

purpose of showing customers how precious

coffee was, and that it shouldn’t be stored in

grimy plastic containers. It worked. Customers

my efforts were realized immediately. To me, can sniff out sincerity and expertise like a drugthis

was far easier than wholesale where it was sniffing dog at an airport. Customers love it and

a victory justto get in the door and talk to a will go out of their way for it. And pay extra for it.

decision maker. Nearly everyone who walked There is true satisfaction in that.

into my shop was already a customer. And they I like the ancient proverb, “Do you see a man

paid me to sample my coffee. I used to have to who is diligent in his work? He will stand before

give it away as samples when I was wholesaling. kings; He will not stand before obscure men.”

36 THE ESPRESSOQ UEST THE TASTE 37

This constantly reminds me that it doesn’t

matter how humble our craft may be, repairing

shoes or se1ving coffee, the richest, most

powerful and important people in the world

want someone they can trust and who

is dedicated to excellence. As we all should.

In 1997, I went to the Specialty Coffee

Associationo f America( SCAAa)n nual conference

and participated in their Espresso Training Lab.

This is where I began to gather experience with

different espresso styles. In the next two years,

my staff and I raised the amount of coffee sold

as espresso by almost 1,000 percent. This is

not an exaggeration. Yet, despite the fantastic

increase in sales, I kept on being made aware

there was something I was missing out on. I still

wasn’t satisfied with the flavor of my espresso

shots. As a result, I continued down the trail of

seeking to improve my espresso coffee.

A few milestones remain in my memory

from my time at Neutral BayT. he one that was

the most profound occurred early on when

I brewed an espresso from a lightly roasted

sample. It tasted like I had just bitten into a

lemon. The high acidity of the light roast was

accentuated even more because it was brewed

as an espresso. It could have been drinkable as a

drip filter or French press coffee, but as espresso

it was undrinkable. This made me realize how

pi-ofoundlyd ifferent brewing espresso coffee is

from drip or French press coffee.

38 THE ESPRESSOQ UEST

Espresso is far more complex and

demanding. By subjecting the coffee grounds

to nine bars of pressure, instead ofone bar

(i.e. gravity), as is the case with drip brewing,

it exposes much more of the bean to the

extraction process. Consequently, the flavors

that may not be apparent in a drip filter or a

French press coffee ( or even in a professional

cupping), will suddenly appear in an espresso.

Sometimes this can be a bad thing, other times

it can be good.

Soon thereafter, a near Godi nm ye spressColi p

experience occurred. I roasted some Wallen ford

Estate Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee on my

newly acquired Deidrich 2-kg tabletop in-store

roaster. I made a straight espresso shot in a

relatively new machine and it was flawlessly

smooth. It didn’t transport me to places I

have since been, but it was excellent and still

stands out in my memory. What this experience

taught me was that I am more likely to get

an exceptional espresso out of a brand new

espresso machine. Once the espresso machine is

quickly seasoned, you get smooth sweet espresso

very early on in the life of the machine. And that

is exactlyw hat I brewedt his near Godin 1 11_Yespresso

rnp experience in.

It does seem hard, however, to capture this

clean taste lateron in the life of the machine.

Regardless of how fastidious the cleaning

procedures are, in the long run, the coffee oils

left behind after brewing will go rancid and

adversely affect the flavor of your espresso. It is

essential to use an espresso machine cleaningpowder

like Cafetto, but in my experience,

near Godin m ye spresrsnop e xperience repeatable.

If we are patient enough, we can be

rewarded and surprised by people who annoy us.

I remember going to the annual coffee festival

there is only a ve1ys hort time in the life of an in SydneyT. here, a leading barista trainer was

espresso machine when the machine is perfectly making coffeea nd being aggravatinglya rrogant.

seasoned and can produce a perfect espresso.

In addition to the machine, I began to

investigate how the roast affected the taste

of the espresso. Occasionallya, good customer

of mine would sincerely tell me about a cafe in

another part of town who had a better tasting

coffee than I did. I would always go and t1y them

out. In comparison, my espresso coffee was

still not smooth enough nor did it have enough

body to avoid being drowned out by the large

volume of milk being added to it.

At the same time I was running the Neutral

Bay espresso bar, I was still wholesaling coffee

and I was asked to match up a competitor’s

blend of coffee. It was a Northern Italian style

roast, which was slightly lighter than the one

I was roasting at the time. I found I couldn’t

match the good body of the coffee and retain

the smoothness. I had to retreat to the darker

Northwest American-style roast in which I

would sacrifice some smoothness, but the

body would stand out through the milk.

A new avenue of exploration beckoned. I

had to find out how I could recreate a Godin m y

espresrsnop e xperience again. .. or at least make a

He made an espresso for me. He didn’t use a

tamper, which is something we always insist

upon in our scientific training. Instead, he used

the attachment on the side of the grinder. This

is something that any supposed self-respecting

professional barista would never do. Yet the

coffee tasted ve1y good. It tasted much better

than the average coffee I was making.

He understood, or perhaps he had

stumbled upon, a key component in the art of

making great espresso. He properly dosed the

coffee into the handle and adjusted his grind to

suit the strength of his tamping. The brewing

process itself performed part of the tamping as

the coffee expanded while brewing. We’ll get

more into the technical part of this later, but the

fact remained, it was a great tasting espresso.

I had a similar experience during my

daughter’s birthday party that was held at a fivestar

hotel overlooking beautiful Terrigal Beach

north of Sydney. Expecting to be disappointed,

I was served another ve,y good espresso. This

time I noticed the smooth texture of the crema.

It was silky fine. Something you don’t achieve

with a coarser grind and hardertamp.

THE TASTE 41

I suspected that this barista had been trained was no added sugar. I almost cried out loud. It

by the same arrogant trainer who produced such was fantastic. I wanted a bucket full of the stuff.

a delicious espresso for me at the coffee festival

festival as it was the same brand of coffee.

Unfortunately, the barista and trainer must have

moved on, because I’ve been back several times

since and have had terrible espresso coffee.

I also enjoyed an outstanding coffee at a

trade show at Sydney’s Darling Harbor. It was

from another competitor, Illy, and the coffee

had so much body it tasted like a solid, strongbodied

wall of coffee flavor hitting my taste

buds. Dr. Ernesto Illy truly backs up his talk.

His coffee ‘walks the walk’ when made properly.

Whilet hese were only near Godin 1 11yespresso

wp experiences, they were enlightening. My

true epiphany came one day at the Marrickville

Michel’s Espresso when I had one for real.

A barista by the name ofTony Safar was making

the coffee on a three-group commercial

espresso machine. He had European-style

training and an instinctive feel for producing

verys hort Lavazzav olume ristrettos of about

a half ounce (15 ml). We were sampling a

new blend that had been selected by a coffee

committee. Because the majority of customers

in Australia drink milk-based espresso coffees,

he made a cappuccino for me. I was suddenly

transported. The combination of the silky milk

and the ristretto shot was immaculately, almost

unnaturally, smooth, creamy and sweet. There

42 THE ESPRESSOQ UEST

To this day, I have never enjoyed a cappuccino

as much as this one. The only one that has

come close was served to me by the inimitable

showman, and extraordinarily dedicated, threetime

Canadian Barista Champion and inaugural

World Latte Champion, Sammy Piccolo, while

I was working with him at 49th Parallel Coffee

Roasters in Vancouver.

My next coffee epiphany occurred in

nearby Ashfield another suburb of Sydney.

I was with George Sabados at his home when he

made me a double ristretto using an old $300

home espresso machine. He ground the coffee

on an even older wooden hand grinder. The

coffee was a fresh sample of a new, Ian Berstein

Belaroma blend. As the coffee poured out into

a wide mouthed colorful demi-tasse, I once

again saw Godin 1 11yesprewsps.o I was astounded

that a basic home espresso machine could make

a coffee that had such an infinite complexity,

depth and richness to it. I had sold these kind

of home machines to retail customers through

my espresso bars by the hundreds. They were

similar though not as good as the current

Ci)fe Series home espresso machines. I had

conducted training courses on them, but never

had I been able to get one to produce a coffee

miracle like this. What did he do that made such

a profound difference? If it could be done using

l THETASTE 43

such basic home equipment, it surely could be bitterness. It was all smoothness, richness,

replicated using the best commercial equipment and a liquid chocolaty coffee sweetness.

worth tens of thousands of dollars. Couldn’t it? It was espresso coffee made right. It also

There have been plenty of times since, has a lot to do, I suspect, with a slightly lower

when I have enjoyed very good espressos at brewing temperature curve. But that epiphany

Bill & Tony’s and Bar Coluzzi in Darlinghurst in had yet to come.

Sydney, where they produced consistently good

old-world espresso coffee. These experiences

reminded me of the time I was setting up

another old Bezzera machine for the wholesale

customer Passalis & Sons. The coffee that slowly

oozed and trickled out resembled the texture

of thin strands of dark honey, curling in the

rounded bottom of the cup with the lighter

swirling crema mixing in. There was no undue

44 THE ESPRESSO QUEST

I had to know what the difference was.

What were these other baristas doing differently,

and seemingly so effortlessly? I suffered many

ashy-tasting espressos that were produced in

machines I knew to be clean, and from coffee

that was freshly ground. These other espressos,

no matter what blend or brand, never suffered

from that.

VIVA THEE SPRESSOT RAINING REVOLUTION

One recurring theme in all this is the training of the barista. If baristas can

be trained to consistently produce good espresso, then we will all be a lot

better off Ifw e don’t quite experienceG odin oure spresscou pst,h en at least

we can be a bit closer to a continual sublime state.

On the training side I saw a revelation. I was

reviewing a training course in Sydney conducted

by one of the city’s leading specialty coffee

companies. The ubiquitous Ian Berstein, now

a renowned coffee author, was sitting next to

me. During the training demonstration, he

leaned over to me and said, “These students

won’t learn how to make a decent espresso

this way in a million years.” Ironically, it was a

demonstration of the same scientific principles

I had been schooled on. I had to silently agree.

But I also realized that it lacked a vital piece of

the espresso training jigsaw puzzle, which had

yet to become apparent to me.

Not more than twelve hours later, George

and I were at my own training facility where

George was being photographed for a training

video I was producing. I had my nine-year-old

son Melchizedek in tow, and in between takes,

Mel asked George ifhe could show him how

to make a coffee. I am not sure why he didn’t

ask me. Maybe he instinctively knew it would

46 THE ESPRESSOQ UEST

be more fun if someone other than his father

trained him. (Not that I would have made him

count one-cent coins). Maybe he just knew

where the espresso jackpot really lay.

In between photographs, George spent

a distracted half-hour training Mel. The next

day at home, my wife asked for a coffee. Mel

piped up and said he would make it. My wife

shot me the despairing parental look that says,

“I really wanted to relax with a beautiful coffee,

but I know I am going to have to sacrifice what

I want in order to develop the self esteem of

my offspring.” Low and behold, Mel carefully

packed his handle, re-evaluated it (at which

point my wife heroically restrained herself

from offering advice), then topped it up slightly

and poured a magnificent doppio. He regularly

repeats the feat on demand.

This truly highlighted the difference

between the two schools of thought. On the one

hand, an expensive professional barista training

course witnessed by hard-core coffee geeks

and hopeful professionals, was conducted by the scientific coffee textbook and yet found to be

unhelpful and over-complicated. On the other hand, a cursory half-hour practical demonstration

resulted in a nine-year-old child producing a product, which puts a multi-million dollar, five-star

international hotel chain to shame.

What exactly is this missing jigsaw piece? It is my belief that it has to do with dosing coffee

by volume, not weight. I have studied many variables, from the machine to the grind, and have

since come to realize that the volume of coffee used is a much more reliable measure than is the

weight of the grinds. Many hardened coffee professionals resist this, and I have had to fight tooth

and nail on technical committees to champion this cause. More recently I took the fight to coffee

competitions in Australia,n ot to mention the WorldB aristaC hampionship and the SCAAT. hey

are all doing a fantastic job with their annual coffee competitions and training, but still there are

professionals who resist this approach. They are not letting taste be their sole guide when it comes

to espresso. But, I believe, once I realized this, my revolution had begun!

THE TASTE 47

L

COFFEET O ESPRESSO:E VOLUTION

When I first started in coffee in 1981, cheap drip-filter machines were

flooding the market. People actually gave them to other human beings

as gifts. A startling fact of history, I know, but true nonetheless.

Prior to this, you could savor a scalding cup of produces a very faithful espresso.

instant coffee with a dash of milk throughout I can remember the overwhelming body

most of Australia. There were a few trendsetters, and oiliness of this French mix my dad used

outside the newly arrived European immigrants, to brew, which the milk could not mask, and

who braved a new coffee world. My father was my young pubescent palate did not like much.

one of them as he proudly ground his coffee Although some thirty or so years later, while

beans in a Moulinexc hopper. (I still can’t bring stayingw ith an acquaintance,G eoffB abcocko f

myself to call them grinders even though today Zoka Coffee in Seattle who passionately prefers

many well-intentioned consumers are using this this kind of dark roast coffee, I did enjoy it as

single-blade, mini-food blender to attack their a drip-filter coffee. Somehow it hit the spot in

coffee beans.)

(Ahh … the subtleties of coffee grinding

to follow).

The old Moulinex and Dad’s preferred

French mix beans, ground coarsely for the oldfashioned

electric percolator had a certain cachet

in comparison to the seemingly all pervasive

instant blend No. 43. (One number away from

the GalaxyH itchh iker’s meaning of life, but it

may as well be an eternity from great tasting

espresso!) Having said this, Nestle obviously

realize espresso is different too, as they have

developed a great system with Nespresso which

50 THE ESPRESSOQ UEST

Seattle. Perhaps it suits the very moist, cool

climate that seems to prevail there.

The old percolator in our home, however,

soon went by the wayside and was replaced by a

Moulinex drip-filter machine. This was not such a

bad development, as the old percolators re-boiled

the coffee over and over again. The old percolator

was definitely not a good way to highlight the

subtle nuances of the delicate array of coffee oils

contained within any given coffee bean. In fact, it

is essentiallyg ood coffee’sa ssassin.

For the next decade or so, the drip-filter

machine reigned supreme in Australia. At least

THETA5TE 51

L

52 THE ESPRESSOQ UEST

it would produce an acceptably faithful cup, even press extraction, not the least of which is to

though many of the domestic brewers took thoroughly stir the coffee grounds before

almost eleven minutes to deliver the hot water plunging your infuser because, as someone

for brewing a SO-ounce (1.5 liter) jug of coffee. once said, “A bit of foreplay is a good thing.”)

Commercial machines, which I was placing in I am deliberately skipping over many details in

the leading corporate offices of Sydney at the all this because the real passion and intensity

time, took a more respectable four minutes to lies up ahead in the tiny demi-tasse.

deliver 60 ounces (1.8 liters) of coffee. But there After the French Press came the stove-top

was a dark cloud on the dripping horizon. Drip espresso, as it is known in Australia. In Italy it is

filter was OK but… the Caffetiere. In North America it is known as

The French press arrived, or the plunger, the moka express. (Here is yet another variant

as Australians prefer to call it. Thanks to the spelling of Mocha to further confuse the theme.)

Australian preference for ruthless efficiency These handy little units can brew anything from

(although some mean-spirited critics prefer to a single demi-tasse to 16 cups of coffee. Because

call it our inherent lazy casualness), the French they rely on steam pressure alone to force the

press started to gain popularity in the mid to late water through the coffee grounds, you can’t

l 980’s. The French press not only looked more grind the coffee nearly as fine as you can for

trendy for magazine photographers, it was, and

is, much more convenient. No mucking around

with filter papers. Boil the water just like in the

good old instant days, pouryourwateron the

grinds, and in a few quick minutes you have a

palatable brew.

Because of this convenience factor,

the French press will always have a place in

the world of good coffee. For me, a little too

much sediment gets through the fine wire

mesh and creates a slightly muddy texture that

I don’t particularly enjoy. (However, if you

talk to Carl Staub of Agtron fame, he has some

interesting thoughts on maximizing French

a pump espresso machine. However, you can

get a reasonable result. Good body, much like a

drip-filter coffee that has used copious amounts

of coffee grinds. But there are no blinding

transfigurations to speak of here either.

Now we enter the Formula One class of

the coffee world: The pump-action espresso.

In our home we use a single group espresso

machine daily to entertain friends and neighbors.

It gets a workout every day. It is now as much a

part of the family and as indispensable as our

television or our computer. It has definitely

delivered an excellent return on investment in

a vety short span of time. This is both in terms

THE TASTE 53

L

of physical satisfaction and the amount of usage

per dollar invested. No other piece of furniture

in the house, with the possible exception of the

kitchen bench and the dishwasher, comes close.

Without dwelling on minutiae, there

have been a couple of significant signposts in

the development of the commercial espresso

machine. When Mr. Gaggia added a reliable

mechanical pump to the basic hand-pumped,

glorified stovetop machine in about 1946, this

greatly increased the reliability and repeatability

of a decent espresso. Then Mr. Faema introduced

his heat exchange system in 1961, a principle

still in use today. It involves running a separate

pipe through the boiler so that the hot water in

the boiler heats the fresh water passing through

the pipe straight to the brew head. La Marzocco

and others took this a step further in recent

years and created a machine with two separate

boilers, one for steaming or frothing your milk

and one for brewing coffee. The idea behind

the multiple boiler systems is to try and deliver

a more stable temperature while brewing. It

is a good idea, since brewing temperature has

a large bearing on the flavor of the espresso

coffee in a cup. Still, there are machines in

development I have heard about that wi II further

revolutionize this area of the coffee industry.

In a few short years we will be using espresso

equipmentthat will be as different from the

current equipment as the modern day Formula

54 THE ESPRESSO QUEST

One racing car is from the Model T Ford.