Re: How did tamping become popular in the US?

Simpson wrote:
In article <xM_kg.47614$8G3.14325@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, schecter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx says...

CoffeeKid wrote:

Ironically enough though, Andrew and I, both fresh off judging at the
WBC, were sly-snickering and giving Piero 1.5s on technique in his prep
for his pulls... then 5s on the taste. I was in awe.

Which highlights the difficulty in creating meaningful technical standards. Many of the best people in specialty coffee have labored on the standards, yet your experience in Italy shows how much farther we have to go (and apparently, how little we truly understand).


So perhaps we should let the 'technical' standards go hang and just rate the resultant shots on agreed-upon criteria, delivered in an agreed-upon time schedule. To me, any criteria other than time/taste/texture etc of the final product AND just basically keeping a food safe work area seem unreasonable and unproductive and MAY be drawing attention away from those variables which actually matter.

So let the barista do any damn thing they please consistent with a food safe work environment to produce their product in a set time. Then judge the effing product, and nothing else. No tamping criteria, no flushing the group criteria, no NOTHING criteria, only rule is that they can't tamp with their butt. If their procedures are ineffectual ("I layer each coffee grain in place in the basket with these tweezers for maximum quality. Your coffee will be available in one week.") or disconnected from product quality ("I smudge each customer with sweetgrass to ensure a spiritually cleansed palate. Therefore, your coffee will taste like sweetgrass.") then those procedures will fall by the wayside along with their proponents. The procedures that matter will make themselves known, too, over time. Increase the degrees of freedom. Decrease the focus on meaningless and poorly understood dogma. Let experience free the truth from its shackles.

Make mine a double.

Ted


Well done - agreed. That's exactly why I wouldn't enter a local competition run by Brasilia - too much emphasis on signature drink. procedures, uniform etc, and too little on the actual espresso.

--
Regards, Danny

http://www.gaggia-espresso.com (a purely hobby site)
http://www.malabargold.co.uk (UK/EU ordering for Malabar Gold blend)

.

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