Coffee in LA

Is it actually possible to find a good shot?

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Coffee in LA

Postby Raf » Tue Nov 08, 2005 5:47 pm

Work sends me to strange places sometimes, this time it was Los Angeles, California - Venice Beach and Santa Monica to be specific (no bikini girls on rollerblades to be seen, though, only homeless people with mean looking dogs).

I had a few espresso's, one at Urth's Café (Main Street, Santa Monica) and one at Peet's Coffee and Tea (a hundred yards up the road from the Urth franchise, also on Main Street).

What surprised me was the very creamy and thick texture of the espresso, unlike any I've tasted before. It was almost like drinking full fat milk. The taste was a bit too bitter for me, it lacked clarity and acidity. Still, very surprising espresso. Anyone have an explanation for that texture? Is it the water they use? The beans? A secret ingredient (wouldn't be surprised, this is America after all...).
This week I am eagerly anticipating the first god shots from my La Spaziale machine....

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Postby fiend » Tue Nov 08, 2005 11:57 pm

At the risk of getting in trouble for mentioning Coffeegeek again, Mark Prince has some discussion on his latest podcast about what he calls the 'Australian' method. His discription was a bit ambiguous at points, but seemed to be that you grind a little coarse so that you can completely fill the basket (and he may have been meaning a triple basket) with grinds. There was something about the shower screen stopping expansion of the grinds.

I certainly hope he wasn't talking about shower screen tamping, because if he was then I can just see my TMC membership being revoked for mentioning it.

Probably best for you to listen to it in his own words.
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Postby Raf » Wed Nov 09, 2005 8:45 am

From the sound of it, that's exactly what he was talking about.

Now, surrender your membership and slowly step away from it ;)

Unfortunately, that doesn't answer my question. Any ideas on that?
This week I am eagerly anticipating the first god shots from my La Spaziale machine....

La Spaziale S1, Vibiemme Domobar (retd), Mazzer Mini Electronic, Behmor 1600 230V
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Postby kingseven » Wed Nov 09, 2005 10:39 am

Having seen a perspex portafilter and basket the whole thing about grinds pressing against the shower screen during extraction seems to be untrue. The puck is packed down very tight away from the screen by the massive water pressure. The only time they seem to touch is when the pressure is released.

That said - I've only seen a couple of extractions and am hoping the La Spaziale engineers in Bologna will be letting me borrow it for a while. Which will mean videos galore!
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Postby fiend » Wed Nov 09, 2005 10:46 am

The perspex portafilter sounds like an interesting idea.

The idea with the coarser grind/high dose method is that it supposed to make the thick shot you were talking about - the showerscreen tamping was just a side point.
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Postby kingseven » Wed Nov 09, 2005 10:49 am

It does give a very different mouthfeel, no doubt. The guys down at Flat White on Berwick street dose about 22g and though I find the coffee a bit acidic it is intensely syrupy.
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Postby fiend » Wed Nov 09, 2005 10:55 am

Wouldn't acidity be more a result of the bean than the extraction?
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Postby kingseven » Wed Nov 09, 2005 11:08 am

No - I know the blend quite well - Monmouth's - and acidity is often down to extraction. Its all about balance really. For me they are running their machine a couple of degrees too cool - but that is just for my taste preference. They like the acidity, I like sweetness and balance.
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Postby fiend » Wed Nov 09, 2005 11:55 am

That reminds me - the last couple of weeks I was pulling v. sour shots, and figured out in the end that it was because I was roasting my beans too light. What would be really useful is a multi-dimensional quick reference chart that shows the effects of all the different factors. Temperature, grind, tamp, roast, pressure, extraction time, dosage, hardness of the water... Each factor would be a line with errors at the extremes, and other more subtle points in the middle.

I've seen some of the factors described in taste wheels, but not something that brings them all togethor.
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Postby EspressoSquirrel » Thu Jun 12, 2008 8:20 pm

I just found out today I am being sent by work to LA in August. I'm attending a conference, it will involve a 13 hour flight followed by some sleep, then geeky computer graphics white paper lectures followed by heavy drinking with 'media types' all night.. repeat for 5 days.... therefore i'll be needing some coffee....

having never been to the states before and knowing I probably wont get a chance to explore much outside the conference center is there anywhere in the downtown area that might be worth a visit, are there any good chains? or is it like in the UK pretty much seless except a few independent places
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Postby kingseven » Thu Jun 12, 2008 10:04 pm

Intelli in Silverlake is the only place I could heartily recommend, oh - and Caffe Luxx down in Santa Monica too!
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Postby EspressoSquirrel » Thu Jun 12, 2008 10:17 pm

ok come to think of it i might make it over to santa monica area one day we have an office opening there. I hope to get a few hours to see the place
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Postby al_bongo » Sat Jul 12, 2008 5:14 pm

Added a 50 mile round trip on LA freeways when I was there just to go to Intelligenstsia in Silverlake. Worth it in everyway. Really great coffee, great location and the people watching is something else.
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Postby Jaanus » Mon Jul 14, 2008 7:53 am

fiend wrote:At the risk of getting in trouble for mentioning Coffeegeek again, Mark Prince has some discussion on his latest podcast about what he calls the 'Australian' method. His discription was a bit ambiguous at points, but seemed to be that you grind a little coarse so that you can completely fill the basket (and he may have been meaning a triple basket) with grinds. There was something about the shower screen stopping expansion of the grinds.

I certainly hope he wasn't talking about shower screen tamping, because if he was then I can just see my TMC membership being revoked for mentioning it.

Probably best for you to listen to it in his own words.


found something similar on Youtube posted by Jay (onocoffe)
here
something about extremely large doses..
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Postby Crazyfast » Fri Dec 19, 2008 3:56 am

I second Caffe Luxxe in Santa Monica. Whenever I'm in town, it's the only place that is worth visiting - unless you are willing to fight traffic at all times of the day and make it up to Intelli.
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