Re: The exploding Krups FND1 espresso maker


"D. Ross" wrote
I do not understand your obsession here. If you prefer to think that the
coffee enthusiasts on these forums, as well as the experts and historians
of
coffee (Illy, Bersten, et al) are all wet or overly pedantic, then you
certainly have that right to your beliefs, but it does not seem to me a
constructive use of anyone's time to start arguments of this nature on
this
newsgroup.

- David R.

I'm disappointed that you view my inquiry into what appears to be
idiosyncratic usage of language as an "obsession". I think perhaps you're
being overly defensive because you've perceived me to be attacking your
beliefs in the superiority of one method of espresso production over
another. Your opinion is not only eminently defensible, I also happen to
agree with it. Espresso (to my taste, anyway) produced at 9 bars or so
*does* taste better than that produced at 1-1.5 bars. I can even
understand the degree of enthusiasm with which you hold this opinion and
wouldn't find it at all strange or inappropriate if you were to adopt a
little animal-farmish type mantra "9 bars good, 1 bar bad."
I did, however, take issue with what I considered your rather fast and loose
handling of language in your attempt to co-opt the word "espresso" for use
only with 9-bar espresso. Inasmuch as it amounts to a rewriting of history
and a re-orientation of meaning, it smacks of arrogant Stalinist historical
and linguistic revisionism. If Bezzera were alive today, how do you think
he would react to you telling him: "Pffft! You think you made *espresso*!?
You poor, deluded fool!" Would he be offended? Would he think you'd lost
your mind? To say that *figuratively speaking* 1- bar espresso is *not*
espresso is fine, but to say it *literally* is quite another. I find it
amusing that since your assertion doesn't quite square with historical and
linguistic reality, you've even taken it upon yourself to bend reality a bit
by rewriting history and re-christening the Atomic Espresso maker an
"Atomic Moka pot". Your enthusiasm is admirable, but I have a feeling that
were Gaggia aware of your rather idiosyncratic use (and you must admit it's
idiosyncratic --- your meaning of "espresso" is quite at odds with the
meaning employed by the vast majority of speakers, English as well as
Italian), he'd be rolling over in his grave, laughing his ass off.
Having said that, I am aware that it is common for small groups of hobbyists
to develop their own language which can be at variance with that spoken by
the general population, both as a shorthand means of communication as well
as a means of group-identification. By no means do I fault you for it. I'd
merely been making inquiries into and preliminary observations about the
specifics of your lexicon. That was it.

P.S. I would have liked to engage you in a discussion of why you felt it
important to distinguish between "vapor-pressure" and "steam-pressure" (it's
been a while since I had Physics, but I believe they're one and the same) in
your explanation of a "Moka pot", but I have the distinct feeling that I'd
be trying your patience, so I'll let it go . . .
It's been fun and informative --- think I'll go make a demitasse of 1.5-bar
whatchamacallit.


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: The exploding Krups FND1 espresso maker
    ... Check your history a little closer. ... commercial espresso machine in 1901. ... difference between steam pressure and pump/piston pressure, ... you may all agree that espresso produced below 9 bars is "not ...
    (alt.coffee)
  • Re: convincing the authorities: definition of "espresso"
    ... >>> Both tradition and history disagree with you, ... An espresso should be made with *near* boiling water. ...
    (alt.usage.english)
  • Re: Why do so many people still buy road bikes with drop bars but never ride in the dropped position
    ... history of handlebars, and how they came about, and how various kinds ... It took 25 years for the ten speed fad of the 1970's to play out and for non-racers to finally admit that it was damn uncomfortable to ride in the drop position. ... The best thing about the mountain bike fad is that it got people to realize that they didn't like drop bars, so when they moved on to the hybrid fad they continued with upright bars. ...
    (rec.bicycles.tech)
  • Re: Zoltan The Fraudulent
    ... And Italian tradesmen have a long history of protecting their trade secrets - in one of the most famous espresso bars in Rome they work behind screens so you can't see what they are doing. ...
    (alt.coffee)
  • Re: BTDT...
    ... is history at the 'Spinal Tap' level. ... point of humor. ... Any of us who've played in bars lived this stuff. ...
    (alt.guitar.amps)