smallcoffee

2008-11-13T13:07:00.000-08:00

Election day birthday (from Nov 4)
Why yes that is an "I Voted!" sticker on my shirt (I'm such a dork)
Notice how the cake has orange frosting (leftover from jack-o-lantern cookies) and a tree made of a small portion of the 13.5lb of trick-or-treat booty.

Alec (yellow shirt) was the McCain fan in the family "Because he's more bigger"
The older boys voted against McCain (in their school mock elections) mostly because Palin says "nuculer".

2008-11-11T09:52:00.000-08:00

Marriage

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27650743

I was listening to the audio from Keith Olbermann's "Countdown" from yesterday this morning. The "special comment" segment was about Proposition 8 in California. It really touched me for some reason. This jumped out at me:

I keep hearing this term "re-defining" marriage. If this country hadn't re-defined marriage, black people still couldn't marry white people. Sixteen states had laws on the books which made that illegal in 1967. 1967.

I decided to look up which states kept these laws on the books for so long. I found a wikipedia entry for the laws:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-miscegenation_laws

I was surprised to find that Filipinos ("Malays")were included in some of the laws for "Races" banned from marrying whites. By my count, in the early '60s, when my parents were married, there were still 8 states that would have prohibited that marriage.

Now my parents have 11 grandchildren. I have to hope that some day they will look back, shocked at how wrong the laws were back in 2008

2008-10-27T19:55:00.000-07:00

After reading Sherry's blog post about glasses, one of my friends posts a 'flashback' album on facebook- with this awesome shot of me at about 6th grade. I'm the little guy.

Foxy new look

2008-10-21T14:15:00.001-07:00

Foxy new look
Originally uploaded by pavasm.

Nice heft, not too thick where your mouth touches, I like it a lot!

Boo!

2008-10-13T14:02:00.001-07:00

Boo!
Originally uploaded by pavasm.

I thought this made a great mask- moustache built in!

2008-10-01T12:27:00.000-07:00

So Proud

(image from nbc.com)
My wife's cousin is a Gladiator. She was new for the second season and she did a awesome job. It was a bit surreal to see her each week battling the contenders. She's totally my daughter's hero right now.

She's now heading out for a USO tour with some of her fellow Gladiators to visit troops in Kuwait and Iraq. I'm just really impressed she's taking this opportunity to really show support and appreciation for the folks who are serving over there.

Have a safe trip Jennifer!

2008-09-25T20:51:00.001-07:00

mushrooms
Originally uploaded by pavasm.

It is so cool to see mushrooms pop up. I missed an opportunity to take a picture of a fabulous mushroom the other day because when I found it I snatched it up and ran in the house to make a lewd joke to my wife. It was a stinkhorn (specifically phallus impudicus - wow!).

McCain + blue

2008-09-25T11:05:00.001-07:00

McCain + blue
Originally uploaded by pavasm.

Used to have a good reputation, but the owners insisted on changing the recipe. Now they are often ignored on the plate, with diners focussing on the moose burger.

GOOOOOOOAL!

2008-09-24T15:07:00.001-07:00

GOOOOOOOAL!
Originally uploaded by pavasm.

My 9 yr old captured this excellent behind the net shot of Alec (4.5) scoring his first goal.

2008-09-12T12:40:00.000-07:00

Mallomar Migration
I had always been led to believe that due to the temperature sensitivity of the (real!) dark chocolate enrobement, mallomars could not be shipped outside of their east coast roosting grounds in the summer months. As the summer began and the store several miles from my house removed the tag from the shelf, I resigned myself to not seeing them again until fall. A week or so ago, though, I was at the store 2 blocks from my house, and saw them! Weird. I have mixed feelings about this. I like them, but I feel like it will make them less "special" since I can get them whenever I want. It's like the fact that I savor Jack-in-the-box tacos when I travel far more than the actual food deserves.

2008-09-10T10:13:00.000-07:00

Come into my parlor
Sorry I can't edit my own videos- only the first half is in focus.
This was at the cabin we stayed at in Canada.

2008-07-31T11:24:00.000-07:00

Hits the spot!

So I go to Intelligentsia, and order 4 shots of espresso in a 20oz cup of ice, and proceed to make a fantastic cheapskate latte….
No! Not really.
I had seen the "Horchata" beverage on the card at the register for a while (Goodrich Gevaart's sigbev). I really like the idea of barista comp signature beverages making it onto the menu, so I want to be supportive of the idea. Trouble is, the beauty of a straight up espresso made by a pro in a quality shop had always trumped my best intentions.
Today was different- it was just so hot out, I had to try this iced drink. (I was indeed a cheapskate in that I cashed in one of my punchcards for the drink, but I did try to tip well). It was really great- refreshing and sweet, without being too cloying or heavy. It is by nature a larger drink than Amber or Matt's, so I have to say I wasn't tasting the coffee as much as I was expecting, but I still highly recommend trying it while it is available.

2008-07-30T13:51:00.000-07:00

Haplogoup

I recently had my cheek cells tested for the genographic project. My Y chromosome apparently carries marker M175 which puts me in Haplogroup O. I guess I share this marker with most men in China (my dad is from the Philippines). The thing that boggles my mind is that this marker (or any of the markers they find) trace back to one particular guy.

I have no intention of ever getting a tattoo, but I suppose if there was a good visual representation of the marker I would be good with that.

2008-07-18T14:11:00.000-07:00

Vancouver!
(better late than never blog post)

I tagged along with my wife last month as she had a conference in Vancouver.

When we first got into town it was past my normal coffee drinking time, but I wanted to kill some time and it had been a day since I had espresso, so I wandered down to an Artigano near the hotel. I got a macchiato, which was quite good. The person at the cash register did verify I wanted the small cup drink (not the starbucks "macchiato"). I wonder if he had pegged me for being a Yankee? The last day in town I grabbed an espresso there (closest shop to my hotel) and snapped a pic:

The next day was a busy one. I had gotten a tip from Lindsay that Vince Piccolo opens 49th Parallel on weekdays, so I wanted to make that my first stop. The space is really classy looking- I couldn't do it justice with pictures. I loved the ladder on a rail thing to access higher storage. Something about the chandelier and the rolling stones in the background just worked for me. I started with an espresso, then introduced myself to Vince as a visiting coffee enthusiast. He was very welcoming, and forced a fantastic solo macchiato on me!

I had tried the epic espresso blend at home before (courtesy of Steve) and enjoyed it, and it was even better at the hands of pros.

I needed to continue on my espresso quest, so I headed out towards the Elysian Room. There was one woman on the whole street heading towards me, and just as she passed it registered- it was Lindsay on the street!That was very cool. At Elysian, I had an espresso.

My favorite thing aboiut Elysian is that when you order espresso the first thing they do is pour a glass of water and hand it over. It is just a simple move, but it is both classy and practical. if you are going to cleanse your palate before the espresso, you need to get the water first. It reminded me of the best coffee place I visited in Venice.
Since this is Alistair's place I had to try some brewed coffee. I ordered a cup of their featured ethiopian coffee brewed on the clover. It had a remarkable floral tea quality, but i didn't drink much, I was starting to get jittery. I had to sit a while, stitch a bit on my footbags to get my bearings.

My next stop was Origins on Granville Island. I am ashamed to admit it took a while for me to find the place, that Granville Island is amzingly crowded and twisty, with cars and people meandering every way. I had been in contact with Drew by email and he was expecting me when I dropped in. He immediately started pulling shots on thier LM GB5 (paddle controls, WBC test machine). They had some of Stephen Morrisey's WBC blend, and I got to taste it. Next we had some of the Origins Espresso blend, both straight up and in a small milk drink (single capp, i believe). I really liked it.

Through my impaiered tasting ability I still found it to be one of the most "balanced" espressos I've tried, by which I mean that there seeemded to be a wide variety of flavores in the cup, all acting in harmony. Drew was amazingly cool, taking the time to pull me some amazing shots, and really just chat about coffee stuff.

Wicked- so of course I leave the Chicago area for a little break, and I have to go seek out some Black Cat. Is that like trying to get Chicago style pizza in Boulder? I don't htink so . The shop has some really cool features- including the big table in the middle, which must force people to be somewhat sociable. For anti-social people watchers like myself, the big mirror at the shelf you sit at allows you to be a bit discrete when you are trying to see what people are up to.

2008-07-17T14:42:00.000-07:00

Gas Station Coffee

I got gas at the Hinsdale Shell Station yesterday. As I pulled out I saw the familliar "Intelligentsia" sign in the window.

I may need to rethink the term "gas station coffee"

Coffee paradise

2008-06-27T14:44:00.001-07:00

Coffee paradise
Originally uploaded by pavasm.

Beautiful and delicious. Solo macchiato by Vince Piccolo.

2008-05-08T13:36:00.000-07:00

Movie reference?

Maybe I just have ramen on the brain, but when I watched "Forgetting Sarah Marshall", the main character is shown with a Jethro-sized bowl of cereal, and he slurps from the bowl just like in the opening scene of Tampopo.

2008-04-17T13:04:00.001-07:00

Coke, no HFCS
Originally uploaded by pavasm.

I went to Jewel on my lunch hour (wabash & roosevelt) to look for passover coke. This white cap bottle is marked CRC P-08. The ingredients list sucrose as opposed to HFCS. can't wait to chill it and try it!

Update 4/18/08:
I did a semi-blind taste test with 3 coworkers (i knew which was which), and they all preferred the passover coke. You can see the residue of foam in the passover (sucrose) coke as opposed to the high fructose corn syrup coke.

2008-04-11T11:19:00.000-07:00

What's your happy tune?

Yesterday was really rainy and crappy (clogged gutters driving water into my house was not pleasant), and the forecast of a cold wet weekend had put me in a bit of a down mood. At lunchtime today, the clouds parted and it was sunny and warmish for my walk to Intelligentsia. I picked up a pound of the Finca Matalapa El Salvador and an espresso (HA! it's still sort of a coffee blog). Mood much brightened, I realized as I walked back to my office I was whistling a happy tune. To my embarrasment, my happy tune is the theme from the A-Team! Whenever I find myself humming or whistling absentmindedly that is the song. I never think about the actual show (no on purpose, anyway). Does this happen to anyone else?

I suppose it could be worse, it could have been the theme from Megaforce.

2008-03-26T09:13:00.000-07:00

Spring Concert (not coffee)
Cutsie alert! Nobody's forcing you to watch it, but as the dad I am unable to resist posting.

If I were you I would skip forward to about 1:45 in the video where the 6 yr old belts out a solo. I was so nervous for her I couldn't really hold the camera steady.

2008-03-22T07:02:00.000-07:00

Food Frenzy
My wife was out of town for work last week. Had the experience of being a single dad for 4 kids (11,9,6,4) for a limited time (I knew she was coming back on Sunday). There was some kid related excitement (training wheels taken off the 6 yr old's bike, 4 yr old thinks he can cross the street by himself), but that is not what this post is about.

Amid the stress, I found myself taking comfort in food projects:

I made dulce de leche after watching the milk episode of Good Eats - fantasic on ice cream!

I scraped the hershey's chocolate off mini Heath bars and re-coated them with dark chocolate (call me unrefined, but I like the Heath or Skor toffee!- I've never been able to match it from scratch) - It was good, but I need to experiment to get the proper thickness of chocolate for balance. I will keep that in mind next time I make truffles, and make up extra coating chocolate.

I smoked half of a corned beef brisket hunk for pastrami, and boiled the other half, purely to be able to make chunky corned beef hash the next morning.

Since the smoker was running I threw a hunk of un-corned brisket on there for my 9 yr old who loves brisket.

I also threw in a couple hunks of pork shoulder that had been rolled in a cha-siu glaze from a jar. The goal was to make som fatty pork to be able to slice and toss in a bowl of ramen.

I found a good refrigerator case ramen packet at a local market- it used to be called Di-Ho, but has changed it's name to Whole Grain Market or something.

I have been unsucessful in locating shinachiku (pickled bamboo shoots, I believe). The things I thought were picked (labelled 'sour') have so far been unsatisfyingly bland.

As I was leaving something caught my eye- it was bottles of Coke , with Hecho en Mexico on the side. I grabbed some of those as well.

Mike Philips 2008 Great Lakes Regional Barista Competition Champ!

2008-03-16T18:05:00.001-07:00

Mike Philips 2008 Great Lakes Regional Barista Competition Champ!
Originally uploaded by pavasm.

Two years ago I went to watch my first Great Lakes Regional Barista Competition. I met this guy I had seen on Coffeegeek, Mike Philips. He was a home barista, owned an Expobar Brewtus. He drove down from MN to watch the competition. At the time, he asked if I could ever see myself competing. I was like, "No thanks! too much pressure. Why, do you want to?"
"Yeah, maybe."
Last year, he had moved to Chicago, started working for Intelligentsia, and entered the competition. He made it to the finals. I thought that was pretty cool. At that year's party at Intelly I noticed he was bonding pretty well with Justin Teisl of Alterra.

This year, Mike won first place at the GLRBC. Excellent job!
Justin from Alterra got 2nd, and Scott Lucey took 3rd. Lucey's performance was one of the most entertaining I have seen- he was having fun up there and it was totally contagious.

cup

2008-03-12T05:50:00.001-07:00

cup
Originally uploaded by pavasm.

I really like this cup for a double (this is the one I use at home), I find the shape more appealing than the tulips. Did I hear that the tulips are going to be phased out (maybe just in the shops?). Could that be correct? Would it be a scandal? Would it set off the biggest letter writing campaign since Beauty and the Beast was cancelled?! Am I one of those geeks irresponsibly posting rumors?

2008-03-09T20:26:00.001-07:00

microwaved mallomar
Originally uploaded by pavasm.

I have to give credit to my son Jay. He wanted to see the marshmallow break through the dark chocolate. I was never a fan of s'mores, but then, that is usually Hershey's chocolate. This chocolate tastes really good (to me) when melted, and the cookie portion gets sort of a soft cakey texture.

I don't belive I will ever need to produce a 'signature beverage', but if I did...

2008-03-03T04:05:00.000-08:00

This Blog.

I apologize for the lack of coffee posts on this blog. I changed the heading to say that this is my "(sometimes) coffee blog". I just couldn’t resist the simplicity of ‘smallcoffee’ as a url and blog name.

I recently added a list of my favorite blogs. I know this is part of the standard blog format, but I was always reluctant to do it. It seemed presumptuous, somehow, to put a link to a blog I really admire when I haven't ever had contact with the author.

I got to thinking, though, when I read “Spook Country” by William Gibson- a character is pondering blogs and says the real information on a blog is in the links, both who the blog links to and who links to the blog.

That in turn got me thinking about a character in Vonnegut’s “Cat’s Cradle” (which is the book I have on tap in case I get cornered with the question-‘what’s your favorite book?’). The character (Claire Minton, I believe) was a woman that had a job creating book indexes. She felt it was not appropriate for an author to index their own book, and if they did they would expose personal information. I realized that occasionally while reading a blog I get an impression of the author’s birth order. Jay Caragay I think is a youngest child. My guess would be that Danielle of ‘tamp that’ is a middle child.
I hope it’s not uncool to muse publicly about this.

2008-02-20T13:11:00.000-08:00

Food.

I have been using the expression “bee in my bonnet” a lot lately. It is really a description of how I have been finding and pursuing foods. I blame the internet.
Whenever I get a particular ‘trigger’ I have a brief flurry of intense research (actually just a simple google search), obsessively pursue a new or forgotten food until I have scratched the itch. Then I move on to the next thing. I am constantly a dabbler:

Jay Caragay’s blog triggered a quest for cane sugar cola. I am counting down to Passover when I can try the yellow cap (Kosher) coke. His quest to replicate the Charlie Trotter 65C egg he ate rekindled my interest in precise temperature egg-cooking. I just use a big pot of water,a thermometer and the lowest simmer flame to maintain the water at 65C for 30 minutes. Served over fried corned beef hash- excellent!

Danielle Glasky’s blog and pictures of her trip to Japan triggered me to go back and watch Tampopo again, which caused me to go out and find a good bowl of ramen. There are several Japanese places within walking distance from my office, but most of the menus didn’t feature ramen. A quick web search found rameniac.com, which brought me to the food court in Macy’s. Noodles by Takeshi featured a shoyu ramen with a tasty broth, really good noodles, shinachiku root and a nice piece of fatty pork.

Doug Zell’s blog triggered a quest for pastrami. Actually that was a trifecta: Doug blogged about Langers in LA, Tonx posted an incredible picture , and the show “Modern Marvels” had some footage of pastrami production for the Carnegie Deli. I didn’t have to research to find where to get a good pastrami sandwich. Steve Dahl(on the radio mornings on 104.3 WJMK) has been the source of many excellent food recommendations over the 25+ years I have been a listener. He rated the pastrami at Eleven City Diner as the best he’s ever had. That place is just a couple blocks from my office so I went there last Friday and had the best pastrami sandwich I’ve ever had. I have been meaning to try making my own since I saw the Good Eats episode about corned beef. I decided my first attempt will start with a packaged corned beef brisket (Sam’s club). I soaked it in 2 changes of cold water to try and draw out some salt, coated with a pepper, coriander and garlic rub and cooked it in a low oven. When the weather gets a bit better I will try with actual smoking, but I just couldn’t bear to do anything outside last night.

I warmed some up for lunch today- it was quite good. Most pastrami you can buy at supermarkets is pretty lean, I enjoy having more fat for the flavor!

So at the moment I am pretty satisfied. If anyone wants to try and trigger another craving, I'm open to suggestions!

2008-02-07T14:31:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday (Groundhog Day, 2/2/08) I had the chance to attend an excellent event. Though I never heard an official name it was referred to as the Coffeegeek event at Intelligentsia. Steve gave a great write-up of what happened in his blog. It was really cool to see the roaster demonstration. I had visited a large commercial roasting works a while ago, and there was a stark contrast seeing the hands-on operation of a specialty roaster.

I also enjoyed the moment when Scott (rasqual) realized he was standing on the obviously grossly mis-calibrated bean scale. :)

Listening to Geoff Watts talk is always so cool. His knowledge and passion are inspiring. I have already made the suggestion to the portafilter.net guys, but I will state it again here: A guest podcast of Geoff and Peter G would be really interesting to listen to.

The cupping was a really good experience. The logistics of such a thing are pretty intimidating, trying to get a group of mostly newbies to go through the process, break 90 crusts and work on their taste perceptions had to be really tough.

I was having a hard time pulling scent descriptors out of the air, but once it came to slurping I was happy I had some of the same taste ideas as Geoff mentioned (the outstanding sweetness of the Planada, the cherry in the Zirikana), even if I was too chicken to speak up about them.

It made me realize that I have been rather low-brow in my taste experience- when I taste cherry my mind goes to a pop tart or some such processed item. When someone mentioned “stonefruit” I thought it must be a specific fruit I have not experienced, rather than the category of peaches, etc. It is an intimidating thing to cup with experienced tasters, even though they did everything possible to make everyone feel comfortable. At least I looked like I was working hard at it!

CoffeeGeek_Event_020
Originally uploaded by Intelligentsia Coffee.

(nice double chin mike)

The ‘jam’ portion was excellent. I am forever grateful to Steve for encouraging me to try out the GB5.

CoffeeGeek_Event_038
Originally uploaded by Intelligentsia Coffee.

(I'm behind Jim Schulman in this picture, doing a really bad job of pulling a shot.)
Also, when Doug Zell was doing some tidying on the machine he grabbed a portafilter. Like any self-respecting pain-in-the-butt guest, I asked if he would pull me a shot. He graciously complied, and though he felt it was a little tight, it was quite good. How many times do you get the opprtunity to get a shot pulled by DZ?!

The comparative brewing was very interesting, having the same coffee brewed 4 different ways. I think I liked the cup from the technivorm the most, but my chemex (real or improvised) works well for my office coffee needs.

The latte art throwdown was fun to watch. I thought the ‘geeks had a respectible showing, Bryan’s was impressive, and Steve had one of the best pours I saw from someone who does not currently work as a barista. Coffeegeeks are too polite for a down and dirty throwdown- we as a community need to work on our smack-talking!

Cane sugar cola

2008-01-21T15:48:00.001-08:00

Cane sugar cola
Originally uploaded by pavasm.

Is it just me, or does this can look sort of like Tecate beer?

So i have had a bit of a bee in my bonnet from reading Jay Caragay's blog (onocoffee.blogspot.com) to try coke made with cane sugar, rather than high fructose corn syrup. I have not yet gotten around to checking out the mexican groceries to look for the cane sugar coke bottled in Mexico.
My sister in law gave me a tip that the whole foods house brand (365 value) cola is made with cane sugar. There is a whole foods less than a mile from my office, so i headed out there at lunch to check it out.
I like it a lot! Whenpassover approaches I will need to do a head to head taste test to compare it to kosher for passover coke, but for now I am quite pleased. Another benefit (for me) is that it is caffiene free. I prefer to reserve my caffiene consumption for coffee.

2007-12-22T19:18:00.000-08:00

Visit to The Coffee Studio

(click any picture for the larger version)

So I had my three boys (11,9,almost 4)with me at the Museum of Science and Industry this morning (Star Wars exhibit). I have been itching to go visit The Coffee Studio up in Andersonville, and while the museum is nowhere near the shop, I figured, they’re both sorta close to Lake Shore Drive. We parked at the nearby McDonalds, bought some kid-pacifying burgers and brought them into the shop (not the classiest move, but I hoped eating would keep some busy hands occupied).

My plan was to try an espresso before I introduced myself. I mean, I’ve been following (and posting comments to) the shop’s blog for a while now, but I had this fear- What if I was disappointed in the coffee? It has happened at other places, and in those cases it would have been better to be an anonymous customer. I also had the thought, what if my kids trash the place? It would be better to be less trackable :)

Well, that was foiled right away, Lee recognized me (and the kids in tow helped give it away). I was a little shocked to be recognized, that threw me off a bit. My mind was quickly put at ease when I tried the espresso- it was really great! Phew.

The space is bright and inviting, you just get this feeling everything was well thought out (stands to reason, coming from two designers). The low counter seems to encourage interaction with the barista. The Synesso machine is nicely visible for people (like me) who love shiny
machines.

I didn’t get to investigate all of the décor, I was excited to talk to Lee and Miguel, and try to keep the kids from breaking anything. I believe there were coffee origin pictures and some info on the process of getting coffee from the tree to your cup. The stuff for sale on the shelves is what you would want people to use to prepare good coffee (chemex and eva solo brewers, baratza burr grinders,)

It is very cool to see owners that are so into the coffee. I think this placewill be introducing a lot of people in the neighborhood to a really high level of coffee quality. Definitely visit this shop.

2007-11-05T19:10:00.000-08:00

completely self-serving birthday post (notmuchcoffee)
I guess I should start with a picture of a macchiato from the weekend.

It is one of the better ones (taste) I have made, but for the record, I have never had a macchiato that has topped the first one I had made by Kara at intelligentsia.

This was my birthday weekend. I have been celebrating by treating myself to self-indulgent treats. Friday I picked up a Bacon Chocolate bar made by Vosges. Tasted in small doses I really enjoy the smoky-salt-sweet-bitter combo, but it isn"t something that I would grab ten times a day like the leftover halloween candy. I think I was expecting the bacon fat to come through some more, but maybe it doesn't play well with cocoa butter.

This past week I also got myself a couple new footbags (hacky sacks) . My 8 yr old had found one of my old ones a while back so it rekindled an interest for me. It didn't take long for my favorite one to get misplaced, so I had to check out what's new in the world of footbags. It turns out a lot has changed since I killed time between (or instead of) classes in college. Leather is not used much any more, synthetics are already pre-broken in, and sand is a popular fill. The new bags are pretty nice, but I was quite pleased when my classic old one tuned up in the flower bed. So trying to imagine I am as agile and flexible as I was half a lifetime ago? That sounds like a 37th birthday "crisis"!

Another food indulgence has been the boxes of Mallomars brought back from NY by accomodating in-laws. I am really loving those things- maybe it would be different if they were more commonly available here, but for the moment they taste even better since they are "exotic".

I had to start my Sunday with a real heath-defiant, see-if-I-make-it-to-my-next-birthday breakfast: funnel cakes!

The big birthday celebratory event was driving out to the buffalo rock shooting range. I brought a couple of buddies, met up with a couple out there, and spent the majority of the day blasting away.

I don't get the opportunity to shoot very often, and an outdoor range where rapid fire is allowed is even better. We even got the chance to break some clay pigeons with shotguns.

It's a break-barrel single shot 20 gauge- not very intimidating, but each time I pop a shell in and snap it closed I always want to say, "groovy!" a la Bruce Campbell(evil dead 2)
So all in all, I really had a good weekend.

Man bag (notcoffee)

2007-10-19T15:40:00.001-07:00

Man bag (notcoffee)
Originally uploaded by pavasm.

A while ago i posted on coffeegeek asking what sort of man purse folks were using. I recently got a new Timbuk2 bag, and I love it. It's the messenger classic small, and it holds just the right amount of stuff. Thanks to Larry (previously of rocket coffee roasters) for touting the Timbuk2 bags (a long time ago).

crude grinder timer

2007-09-10T11:02:00.001-07:00

crude grinder timer
Originally uploaded by pavasm.

This was a weekend of little espresso projects. I ordered parts from McMaster Carr to cobble together this little grinder timer. The red button will grind for the time set by the dial, the black button will grind as long as the buttton is held. The range is 0.1-10 sec. I was thinking this will help me waste less as I experiment with smaller-dose espressos.

I also replaced the brew group valve on my Gaggia Carezza (former backup machine- probably going to a family member). I sheared the head off of the 1/2" hex "bolt" part when I was cleaning it up.

Lastly, I stuck a thermocouple probe on the boiler of the Starbucks Barista machine (new backup machine). I wedged it in under the thermal fuse. So far I saw the temps at that point range from 190-210F while the green 'ready" light is on. The temperatures swing back and forth pretty slowly at rest (as opposed to the temps I measured on the outside of the Gaggia boiler)- maybe due to the fact that it is a larger mass of water in the larger Starbucks boiler.

2007-09-07T10:53:00.000-07:00

Coffee & Clothing

I first remember hearing about the connection between coffee and clothing on one of the Portafilter.net podcasts. Notoriously snazzy dresser Daryn Berlin (of Counterculture Coffee) said (something to the effect of) his wardrobe evolved it's hipness because he would wander into clothing shops that were usually near the cafes he visited for work. Phil (peaberry picker) documented this phenomenon here.

Now Ben (chemically imbalanced) noted that the impending arrival of H&M to Atlanta should certainly bring more worthwhile coffee to the area.

I don't really know what to make of this. All I know is that a very short block away from the Monadnock Intelligentsia, you can shop here:

and buy stuff like this:

Roadtrip Lifesavers

2007-08-14T15:41:00.001-07:00

Roadtrip Lifesavers
Originally uploaded by pavasm.

I went without espresso for 10 days on a recent roadtrip (chicago-mammoth cave-smoky mountains-isle of palms).
Thankfully, I was able to route through Greenville SC on the way back to break my espresso-less streak at Coffee & Crema. I had a very good double shot of CCC's 5 countries blend (guest espresso) and a macchiato. I will definitely return to try and fill up my punch card if I am in the area again, I would love to try the SO Yirg that is the normal espresso there. It was a bit eerie when Shannon knew my name from reading posts on coffeed.

My mornings on the roadtrip were brightened by the chemex I packed along with a grinder and a pound each of Intelligentsia Yirgacheffe and Solstice Blend.

Our afternoon coffee break was typically Starbucks- a lifesaver when travelling, when you want some brewed coffee that is not dreadfully underdosed. The GPS unit and smartphone helped us locate *$ when they weren't visible from the highway.

2007-06-26T15:08:00.001-07:00

Test print 2
Originally uploaded by pavasm.

I finally set up the cafepress shop to produce these shirts. www.cafepress.com/smallcoffee

If you want to buy one, you'd be helping me cover the cost of sending a few to Peter (his request in return for permission to print the shirts).

Try googling "cafepress coupon code" and you might be able to save a few bucks.

If there is a different color or something you'd like, just email me and I will see if I can set it up. (pavasm@yahoo.com)

portable espresso?

2007-06-11T14:38:00.001-07:00

hybrid
Originally uploaded by pavasm.

So we recently got a Prius. So far we are really loving the car. There is something aesthetically pleasing , engineering-wise, about watching the display as the energy is swapped between chemical (gasoline), kinetic, and electric.

As I understand it, the battery pack is about 200VDC. The internal combustion engine charges the battery pack. I saw some guy made use of this to have his prius serve as a UPS for his house while it is parked in the driveway.

I was thinkin, you could probably rig an espresso machine to run on 200VDC (especially a lever machine). That would be a really cool way to make espresso at a farmers market.

signature drink day

2007-06-05T13:28:00.001-07:00

matt and amber prepare signature drinks at the millenium park intelly

2007-06-01T12:37:00.000-07:00

Tacos and Coffee
Lunch today consisted of the Extreme Beef and Cheese Quesadilla combo from Taco Bell. Very cheesey. A lot of food for $3.63. What do you chase such a repast with? A cup of coffee that costs twice as much as the meal, of course!
http://intelligentsiacoffee.com/store/coffee/reserve/fazendapedrapretabrazil
I wanted to try this exclusive and highly regarded coffee, but wasn't about to drop over $30 for a half-pound. I mean, I am not confident in my brewing skills to believe I would be coaxing the nuances out of the coffee. That's why I am so glad the Monadnock Intelly now has a Clover! I ordered the 12 oz ($7+tax). This Clover is much more visible than the Millennium Park one, so it was cool to watch my coffee brewing (and what is it that makes the squeegee at the end look so satisfying?).
My first few sips- very clean, sweet… "what is so special about this again?" Wait a minute, a few more sips- it really started to show off different flavors. I could definitely see why people use descriptors like 'silky' or 'creamy'. The subtle fruit and creamy texture made me think of a dreamsicle- maybe not what they actually taste like, more like what they should taste like. By the end of the cup I was really glad I had gotten a chance to try this classy and refined coffee.

2007-05-31T14:19:00.000-07:00

Signature Drinks!
So I stopped by Intelligentsia today, ready to plop down my $8 for a cup of the Brazil COE 3rd place coffee, lovingly extracted by the shiny, new, up-close and personal Clover brewer. My plans were derailed when I saw that the lovely and talented Amber Sather was working the espresso machine. Since Amber was the barista who (a few months ago) prepared the best shot of espresso I have ever experienced, I decided I would have to have espresso. It was excellent, of course. I also got a chance to see a sign posted alerting me to upcoming Signature Drink Days, one at each location http://intelligentsiacoffee.com/retail/monadnock/05-30-2007 I am really excited by this, I will have to sneak away from work to give them a try. The only other signature drink I have ever tasted was Steve Fritzen's from 2006, he gave me a sneak preview before the 2006 GLRBC.
Here are video clips of Amber and Matt at the 2007 GLRBC:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5262879549940167217
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3909558643138860287

2007-05-20T19:53:00.000-07:00

Eureka Macchiato
Until last Friday, I don't think I have ever ordered an espresso macchiato. I have long known what it was, and even made them at home occasionally (usually to palate an inferior shot, if I am not inclined to re-pull). Friday lunchtime I was near the Monadnock Intelligentsia, so I decided to try something different (i usually just have espresso).
Holy crap! it was fantastic! I really like the cup, bowl shape, probably about 3oz capacity. The barista poured a nice heart. It tasted like someone had figured out a way to turn crema into butter. All the flavor of the espresso came through and it just had this really creamy mouthfeel.

(Note- the picture was not of THE drink I posted this about. It is from the one I got today, to get a picture of the cup)

Pressurestat Creep

2007-05-15T14:30:00.001-07:00

Pressurestat Creep
Originally uploaded by pavasm.

I think my pstat is starting to go. About a year ago the original pstat on my machine (Signal Lux) failed. The boiler temp ran away and tripped the high-limit thermostat. I replaced the pressurestat and the thermostat. I took the Signal Lux stat apart, and found the contacts were pretty toasted. I found that the full heating element amperage was running through the stat, which I believe is not rated for 10+ amps. When I put in the replacement Mater stat I also added a relay, so that the full amps do not run through the stat. I also strapped a thermometer probe to the boiler so I would be able to keep an eye on the boiler temp if it changed over time. Well, now that is apparently happening. The temp used to happily idle around 214F. Now it does upon initial warmup (up to an hour or so), but after shots are pulled, the temp climbs up to about 218F. From some forum research, it appears the exposure to the steam on the pstat line evantually degrades the stat (or maybe it is some sort of scale in the line). When I originally replaced the pstat I vowed to switch over to some sort of digital control (PID) if the replacement went. I think the time has come. I also wanted to try adding a dimmer to the pump wiring so that I could control the pressure of the vibe pump, and I thought I could use the same enclosure as the PID/SSR.

2007-05-03T11:04:00.000-07:00

Betting on the USBC

Okay, not really betting. I was thinking that would be cool, but the logistics and legality were deterring factors. Instead, I posted an appeal to coffeed.com asking for folks to email predictions of the final six baristas, and the top 3 spots to usbcpredictions@gmail.com
I figured people would send predictions if they knew that it would be kept anonymous (heck, it is really easy to get an anonymous email address these days).
I haven't gotten much of a response yet (please help!).
Next year maybe I can figure out some sort of prize to motivate people to put a prediction on record.

2007-03-08T10:40:00.000-08:00

New York Trip (posted 2 months after the fact)

Exposed brick, tin ceilings, bottomless portafilters and short shots. These are some of the impressions that really stick with me from my NYC trip.

There is something really special about a place where there are a variety of shops staffed with people really interested in good coffee. It was cool to talk to a barista at one shop and, once they knew I was a visiting coffee geek, have them enthusiastically recommend I check out other shops. That is the sort of 'coffee community' that you don't get in very many places.

Cafe Grumpy (Chelsea)

I think this would have to be my favorite place that I tried. I think they did a great job maximizing the space, and the fact that is is so narrow with a low counter puts you up close and personal with the baristas. That was nice because I was able to get recommendations for other shops I needed to check out. It was very cool that I could choose espresso made with Counter Culture Coffee or Ecco Cafe beans (I chose both, naturally!). If I went there again I would want to see the Clovers in action, since they are right where you can watch the whole process. I was very excited to watch and taste espresso made with a Synesso. My shots were very dense, incredible mouthfeel. When I got the second espresso (CCC Toscano), the barista (Nick) tasted several test shots first to make sure the different blend was dialed in.

My wife's capp was very good, but she felt the short shots made it taste less strong than she is used to. I think she might like a macchiato.

Cafe Collage (Greenwich Village)
This was one of the recommended places from the guys at Grumpy. They also use a Synesso, and all of their Cappuccinos are the 'traditional' size (as opposed to places that offer both the "american" version and "traditional")

Ninth Street Espresso (union square)
Excellent espresso (CCC Toscano)- didn't get the barista's name, but he was very into it.

Call for backup!

2007-03-01T06:48:00.001-08:00

Call for backup!
Originally uploaded by pavasm.

My expobar office control keeps tripping the gfci outlet this morning, so i had to go with the gaggia carezza for backup.

2007-02-20T15:03:00.000-08:00

I got a new Chemex coffeemaker.

I picked one up at a garage sale like 15 years ago, but let it get thrown away when my parents moved. Recently I got the hankerin to use one again, so I picked one up at Intelligentsia. I don't really use it, though.

I should explain my afternoon coffee routine.

After lunch, I measure out enough beans for 6 cups of coffee, put them in my Solis Maestro Plus grinder, and head out into the hall.

There is an outlet there, and I used to feel self-conscious that my grinding noise would disturb those around me. I am much more relaxed grinding in the hall. Keith (the guy with the desk next to mine) brings the melitta express kettle to the pantry and fills it with water. I use a melitta cone brewer to brew the coffee. I pour myself a cup , then pass the coffee pot to Keith. He pours himself a cup and passes the pot along to his brother, who finishes off the pot. The person who finishes the pot then brings it to the pantry to rinse it out.

Which brings me back to my new Chemex. It took me a long time to rationalize buying the new brewer, and breakage was one of my main concerns. I mean, it's one thing to break a garage sale find, but I thought it would be too painful to break one that I bought new.

Enter the Improvised Chemex.

I just took a big funnel and cut off the bottom. I found the flow rate depends on how much of the tip of the cone is exposed, so I tried to match the opening of the Chemex as close as I could. It sits pretty securely in the melitta pot. I am really liking the coffee, and I don’t mind the cheap coffee pot being passed through 3 or 4 sets of hands each day.

I have come to realize I really enjoy the ritual of sharing good coffee with my friends at work each day, and I didn't want to have any reason to be uptight about it.

I still have the real Chemex, maybe I will bring it home for special (non-espresso) occasions.

2007-02-02T06:59:00.000-08:00

Superbowl Fever, Chicago Public Radio style.

The other morning on WBEZ I heard a short essay about the upcoming superbowl. As the peice ended, "The Superbowl Shuffle" was the transition music. The CPR host (Jason Derose, I believe) remarked, "Ah, the Superbowl Shuffle. I'm sure we will be hearing that ad infinitum and ad nauseum before Sunday."

goldencup

2007-01-30T14:19:00.000-08:00

goldencup
Originally uploaded by pavasm.

A building near my office recently opened a coffee kiosk in the lobby. I had never seen this use of "Golden Cup" as a marketing device. I tried an espresso, I didn't like it. I asked for a single, and it was served in a 12 oz paper cup (the smallest they had). It was about 4 oz of strong, bitter coffee, with little to no crema. When the barista was pulling my shot I asked where their beans came from, but she didn't know.

2007-01-29T10:55:00.000-08:00

Coffee & Love

(picture from our Venice trip last July)

I only had enough beans to pull one double this morning. I gave it to my wife. These are the kinds of sacrifices you make when you're truly in love. My advice to any other guys that might find themselves in this situation, however- Make the sacrifice without making a big deal about it. Otherwise you might get "reminded" that she sacrificed when she gave birth to 4 of your children, and there isn't much to counter that argument.

Happy 12th Anniversary!

2006-11-28T14:28:00.000-08:00

Holiday Delight from Paradise Coffee Roasters

Thanks to an excellent contest on Home-Barista.com I am the proud owner of a bag of Espresso Classico and a Paradise demitasse.
The coffee description states it is a "Northern Italian style" espresso, and the label has a picture of Venice. I have only pulled a couple of shots so far, but I will say it is better than 95% of the coffee I had in Venice. Of course, this was freshly roasted and ground per shot, something that those 95% of shops did not do. It really reminds me of the coffee I had at the Caffe del Doge, Rialto that I blogged about in July. I am looking forward to really exploring this coffee as I work through the bag.

2006-11-27T11:13:00.000-08:00

I am a fan of dark chocolate. My wife and I like to keep some of the Valrhona bars from Trader Joes, and I have tried a bunch of different brands. Maybe the most high-falootin' stuff I have had has been from Vosges- really excellent.

I have typically been disappointed when the major candy brands come out with a 'dark' version of a classic candy bar, either the chocolate isn't really that good, or it doesn't fit well with the other components of the bar, or something intangible.

The dark version of Nestle's hundred thousand dollar bar (the name I still think of when I see "100 Grand") is a big exception! I think it is a better harmonious balance with the caramel and crispies.

Egad- I have found another way to gain weight over the holidays.

2006-11-21T14:51:00.000-08:00

New addition to the list of things I am thankful for:
Due to the fact that my office is an easy walk to Intelligentsia, I am able to walk to pick up my weekly stash of coffee. Occasionally I am fortunate enough to encounter a weird bit of marketing, such as this rubber band guy, who accompanied the (claimed) largest rubber band ball in the world. He was dancing to the music of a local high school marching band, while other performers juggled 3" dia rubber band balls, and passed them out to audience members...such as myself.

landjaeger

2006-11-06T09:53:00.000-08:00

landjaeger
Originally uploaded by pavasm.

Most folks who have driven up to Milwaukee from Chicago have noticed the Mars Cheese Castle right off the highway near Kenosha, WI. The building has faux parapets, and a big lit up sign to let you know you need to check it out. Inside they have the usual Wisconsin gifts, sausage shaped like a beer bottle, a chunk of cheese shaped like the state. The place has a feel that just screams "road trip" of a past era to me. The lounge inside the store is definitely old school. The cheese castle isn't where you get the landjaeger, though. For the best landjaeger you need to go next door to the castle. Bobby Nelson's Cheese Shop is the home of the best Landjeager I have ever tasted. This unassuming little building literally in the shadow of the more visible and tacky cheese castle might have remained an undiscovered gem if I hadn’t heard Steve Dahl talk about it. (In the 25 years or so I have been listening to this guy on the radio, I have yet to be disappointed when trying a food this guy has touted. http://www.dahl.com )

Landjaeger, as best as I can figure it out, is a very dry Swiss sausage. It is practically like beef jerky. It is usually displayed by having pairs linked together hung on a peg or line. It has this great chewy, tough texture with a salty, oily flavor. I prefer the black pepper variety. This stuff is great- there are times I get the craving, and I foolishly try to fill the void with Slim Jims, but nothing satisfies like the real thing. (Can you tell I recently watched “Harold and Kumar go to White Castle?)

new cups

2006-09-26T13:27:00.000-07:00

new cups
Originally uploaded by pavasm.

Intelligentsia got new cups. I like the look, though I guess they are kind of 'modern', which fits nicely with the decor of the Millenium Park shop.

I wonder what became of all the old Black Cat cups.

Two recent aquisitions

2006-09-14T14:37:00.000-07:00

IMAGE_026.jpg
Originally uploaded by pavasm.

I recently got a new tamper- The Home-Barista compressore from espressoparts.com. It is a slightly concave piston, and I am really liking the feel of the tamper as a whole and the fit in my baskets. I got the tamper when espressoparts had them on sale in honor of Home-Barista's anniversary.

I also recently got a bag of Counter Culture Coffee's Toscano espresso blend. When I got my grind and dose dialed in it was sweet, had some brightness (acidity) and maybe slightly less body than my usual Black Cat. On the best shots I pulled I also got a nuttiness I have not really experienced before. I got the espresso when Counter Culture had a labor day sale .

(sorry about the bad pic, I have been lazy and just using my phone for pictures lately)

2006-08-22T15:10:00.000-07:00

Barista's Daily Grind, Kearney, NE

I visited the shop at 2400 Center St.
This is an amazing little oasis. The shop and drive through is imbedded in a nice garden with little waterfall fountains.
The espresso was top-notch, and the La Marzocco is behind the counter so you get to see the espresso pour very clearly.
My espresso was served in a Zoka cup, I believe they use Paladino.

The baristas were friendly, and seemed happy to hear I knew of the shop because of Ryan Dennhardt's USBC participation.

2006-08-22T07:12:00.000-07:00

Colorado coffee- the bad and the good.

I spent some time in Boulder and Winter Park. Boulder had many coffee shops, but I only had a chance to try a couple. The first place I tried had a beautiful Rancilio lever machine. I was pretty excited to try the espresso, but sadly my ‘double’ was like 5 oz and watery. I tried another place that had a nice ‘bar’ surrounding the machine, and the espresso was decent, but I really cringed when I saw the barista leveling off the coffee in the portafilter with the drippy spout over the doser. In Winter Park I found the shop of a local roaster. They also had a lever machine, and my double shot was big and watery. I could have guessed, as I browsed the roasted beans that had no roast date.

I was impressed with a place called the “Brewing Market” in Boulder. They had La Marzocco Swift grinders and a Linea. The barista was friendly, and while chatting found she had some mixed feelings about the Swift. I was really impressed by the assortment of equipment they had. I felt a bit sheepish snapping too many pictures, but you can get an idea of the variety they had on display. They also had a Pasquini Livia and grinder combination, and a bunch of hand grinders (No Zassenhaus, but they looked like quality grinders- Peugeot, I believe)

Hill of Beans - Durant, IA

2006-08-21T13:01:00.000-07:00

I had read the post on coffeegeek about this shop opening, and heard Ray (excitableboy) call the portafilter.net skypecast podcast talking about the shop. I decided I would try to stop in, and it happened to coincide with the time when my wife and I needed some coffee and a place for the kids to go to the bathroom. It was just a short drive off of 80 and very worth it! I had a very nice espresso. They use Intelligentsia Black Cat, and a shiny La Spaziale machine. They also use the "chicago chop" levelling method, and I got a nice, proper-sized double. The seating area is bright and comfortable, I wish I had time to sit and hang out, but we had a lot more road to cover. It was an early stop on our trip, but it would turn out to be some of the best coffee we would have while we were away. If you are passing through- please stop by and see Theresa (I believe that is the owner's name)- support someone doing things right in eastern Iowa.

2006-07-29T14:16:00.000-07:00

Blobby
I have some 3 day old Harrar from Intelligentsia and I have been pulling shots. This morning I was inspired to add some milk. I have the splatters-o-shame around the edge, betraying the fact that the shot had some channeling. I don't mind that the latte 'art' is pretty pitiful- I enjoyed making it and drinking it!

Office coffee

2006-07-28T11:16:00.000-07:00

Office coffee
Originally uploaded by pavasm.

sorry about the lo-res pic. I recently brought my Innova grinder to work since it is a bit more quiet than the Solis Maestro Plus. It is pretty loud in a quiet office, though. Yesterday the company president happened to walk by as I was grinder and he gave me quite a look! He walked away before I could offer him a cup of fresh pour-over drip. Maybe it is time to get a manual grinder.

--

Sent from my Treo

AndyS_in_Chicago.JPG

2006-07-27T09:47:00.000-07:00

AndyS_in_Chicago.JPG
Originally uploaded by pavasm.

Here is an unauthorized phone picture of the small
meet & greet Jim Schulman organized to coincide with
Andy Schecter's Chicago visit. Here Andy tries to
catch his breath from a visit to the Intelly roastery
while Jim makes lunch plans.

Not an espresso maker

2006-07-23T19:50:00.000-07:00

Not an espresso maker
Originally uploaded by pavasm.

but the aeropress should make a nice travel brewer. I will not, however, be lugging the Cimbali grinder along

--

Sent from my Treo

2006-07-22T17:31:00.000-07:00

CoffeeHound

This past week had the opportunity to visit Steve and April Fritzen at CoffeeHound in Bloomington, IL. It is a fabulous shop, and I have no doubt that has everything to do with Steve's passion for coffee.

Yes, they have top notch coffees (from Zoka), grinders and machines (Mazzer and La Marzocco, naturally)- but I think Steve and April's enthusiasm for what they are doing is what sets them apart. It is no real surprise that some of my favorite baristas at Intelligentsia in Chicago had previously worked at CoffeeHound.

esmeralda

2006-07-18T07:02:00.000-07:00

esmeralda
Originally uploaded by pavasm.

I decided that rather than pay ~$50 for 1/2 lb of the beans of this the exclusive Hacienda La Esmeralda Jaramillo Especial, Panama coffee, I would pay ~$10 for a cup brewed on the Clover machine at Intelligentsia. That ensured that the grind, brew temp and time were ideal for the coffee. It was definitely a unique experience, wonderfully floral and fruity.

2006-07-08T21:00:00.000-07:00

Trip to Venice, Italy

Well, my first impression of the coffee in Venice was that I as able to find a lot of sorta decent shots of espresso, but they were generally a bit long and hot for my tastes. I had better results when I started ordering 'une ristretto'. I definitely enjoyed the experience of bellying up to the bar to get a shot. I chatted with a very excellent gentleman who pulled me a shot on a gaggia commercial machine and we chatted a bit through the language barrier, and he was able to come up with excellent phrases to describe what he wanted to tell me , like, "the coffee listens to the humidity ". Or when he was saying if the coffee is not extracted under enough pressure it is "blah" with the associated facial and hand gestures, but, if the coffee has the right pressure it is good (to emphasize 'good' he drilled his finger into his cheek as he smiled, creating a dimple.)

Dosers were always full of ground coffee, one quick flick o the handle deposited 7g into the portafilter, the tamper built onto the grinder may have quickly tapped the coffee, then the pf was locked and the button was pushed (typically there was no flush) Most of the machines I saw were auto, heat exchanger machines.

The absolute best espresso experince I had was at Caffe del Doge, Rialto:

This was an extremely hardcore shop. Two semi-auto brasilia machines handle the common espresso orders- with their standard "red" blend (100% arabica, incidentally):

The thing that blew me away, however was the fact that they also had 8 mazzer mini EEs set up with different coffees,

single origins, mostly, for use in espresso drinks to be pulled on the 3 group lever machine.
This was the only situation where I saw true "grind per shot" being used.This was also the first place where I saw a hand tamper being used.

To be fair, the grinders at CdD containing the standard blend also had a built-in tamper, but it was a piston affair, where the pf is supported on the grinder fork and the tamper can be pressed down.The baristas were very pro and happy to try and understand my questions. I gathered that: 7 grams is still understood as the magic dose for a single, though when they use the mini EE's they add a bit more. They also had no idea when the coffee was roasted, so I assume they don't have strict rules about only using coffee of a certain age.

If you want to find it, here are my best directions: Starting at the Rialto vaporetto stop (or if you have walked from Plaza San Marco), cross the bridge and turn left, so you are walking along the grand canal (the canal is on your left and shops and restaurants are on your right. Watch for the third alley on your right, the Calle dei Cinque (you won't see the name until you turn into the alley and look right). Down that long alley on the right side is the logo.

Our trip also brought us to Ljubljana, Slovenia. We had some good coffee there, my favorite was "Bar 2000", I wonder if it is roasted locally. I thought I saw a building with the same logo, but it was while we were driving through the night so my memory might be incorrect.

While this is not coffee related, we also spent a bit of time in Croatia, where I got to try truffles- Yum!

The trip was a really excellent experience, but it is nice to return to the comforts of home

You can click on any of the pictures to bring you to my flickr page for larger versions of the pictures.

Thanks for reading!

expobar office control

2006-05-15T11:08:00.000-07:00

expobar office control
Originally uploaded by pavasm.

Click on the picture to go to the Flickr page which has notes.

Machine Modifications

2006-05-12T14:58:00.000-07:00

I want to try to list out anything I have done with the machine since I got it:
Replacing the steam tip (with the 2 hole 30 degree from www.espressoparts.com)
Replace the Hi-limit thermostat, and the wiring to it.
Replace pressurestat (the original Signal Lux microswitch failed)

2006-05-12T10:17:00.000-07:00

Heating Element Replacement

Last Saturday I heard an odd ‘Click!’ in my kitchen. I found that the GFCI outlet that my Expobar Office Control was plugged into had tripped. Unable to reset it, I found that the breaker for that circuit had tripped as well. Once I reset both of them, I tried plugging in the espresso machine and turning it on. Everything seemed normal, except the thermometer that I use to monitor the boiler temp was indicating the boiler was not heating. I checked the hi-limit thermostat on top of the boiler: that was normal. I checked to make sure the pressurestat and associated relay were working- they also were normal. I emptied the boiler as much as possible- Since the boiler was not heating I had no steam pressure to force the water out of the hot water outlet, so I opened both the water valve and steam valves, held the vacuum breaker closed and blew in the steam wand to force out the water. I removed the bottom panel and tried to measure the resistance of the heating element, but it read as an open circuit- Bingo!

On Monday I called Bill at www.espressomachineparts.com and ordered a new heating element along with some new group gaskets and dispersion screw. It was a very reasonable price (the element was literally half the price I was quoted at another source), excellent service, and I got the parts via ups on Wednesday.

To remove the element I needed to bring the boiler down past the frame of the machine, which meant I disconnected the tubes that feed the group (at the backside of the group) and disconnected the hot water and steam valves. I didn't disassemble any more because I didn't want to mess with the pump and wiring at this point. THe tricky part with all these fittings in getting enough leverage to get them to turn. I wedged the handle of some channellock pliers between two other fittings to get the element to start. The inside looked pretty clean, which was encouraging since I don't descale very often, I just drain the boiler and refill with new distilled water each week.
Dead element:
Best picture I could get inside the boiler:

The level probe is at the top, and the heat exchanger is the pipe running through the boiler at the upper right. The other openings at the top are for the vacuum breaker, and the steam wand/pressurestat line.

I got so excited when the element arrived I didn't take pictures before screwing that puppy in!

After reassembling everything, it took two trial start-ups before I got everything tightened up with no leaks, but it was back in service Friday morning.