Comments on: Slayer – Leveraging Pressure for Flavor Profiling http://www.slayerespresso.com/2009/06/04/slayer-leveraging-pressure-for-flavor-profiling/ Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:56:36 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Aaron Wood http://www.slayerespresso.com/2009/06/04/slayer-leveraging-pressure-for-flavor-profiling/comment-page-1/#comment-527 Aaron Wood Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:21:30 +0000 http://www.slayerespresso.com/?p=690#comment-527 In regards to luca's comment. This machine is obviously being developed for the barista that already has the ability to control the current variables on their machine, temperature, shot volume/time, dose, etc. Only today i was in a very reputable venue and noticed a flaw in brewing temp, but that doesn't mean that their coffee would be tarnished by further control over pressure profile. It is being able to adjust these variables to make the cup improve. If the barista makes a change and produces an inferior cup, then obviously they are going to go back and amend that change. Did greater accuracy over temperature control throw you off? or was it something that gave you the ability to produce better coffee? In regards to luca’s comment.
This machine is obviously being developed for the barista that already has the ability to control the current variables on their machine, temperature, shot volume/time, dose, etc. Only today i was in a very reputable venue and noticed a flaw in brewing temp, but that doesn’t mean that their coffee would be tarnished by further control over pressure profile. It is being able to adjust these variables to make the cup improve. If the barista makes a change and produces an inferior cup, then obviously they are going to go back and amend that change. Did greater accuracy over temperature control throw you off? or was it something that gave you the ability to produce better coffee?

]]> By: luca http://www.slayerespresso.com/2009/06/04/slayer-leveraging-pressure-for-flavor-profiling/comment-page-1/#comment-523 luca Tue, 16 Jun 2009 12:10:19 +0000 http://www.slayerespresso.com/?p=690#comment-523 Hey Eric, I have been playing around with some of the paddle group machines in Melbourne and it's certainly interesting to be able to control both pressure ramp up and brew temperature. Can I ask if you have yet tried anything yet that you felt benefited from a very fast ramp up to maximum pressure? I guess that one of the things that you are going to have to face is that whilst it's great to have another variable to play around with, it's probably fair to say that most baristas aren't taking advantage of what is already under their control - that's putting it diplomatically. For example, how many times have you been served bad espresso as a consequence of the barista setting the brew temperature incorrectly? Isn't the flip side of having more control over brew pressure is having more opportunities to get it wrong. If that's the case, it looks like coming up with a new language to describe what is going on is going to be very important in order to be able to explain to people how to use your machine, and I think that your efforts so far have been great. Going beyond that, have you been measuring the point in time at which you get the first drops? When you say "longer," do you just mean longer in time, or do you also mean longer in volume? Have you looked at how shots from your machine might be described in terms of brew ratio? Drop me a line when you (or any of the other Slayers) are in Melbourne. I'd love to catch up RE this/shout you some beer/coffee. Cheers, Luca Hey Eric,

I have been playing around with some of the paddle group machines in Melbourne and it’s certainly interesting to be able to control both pressure ramp up and brew temperature. Can I ask if you have yet tried anything yet that you felt benefited from a very fast ramp up to maximum pressure?

I guess that one of the things that you are going to have to face is that whilst it’s great to have another variable to play around with, it’s probably fair to say that most baristas aren’t taking advantage of what is already under their control – that’s putting it diplomatically. For example, how many times have you been served bad espresso as a consequence of the barista setting the brew temperature incorrectly? Isn’t the flip side of having more control over brew pressure is having more opportunities to get it wrong. If that’s the case, it looks like coming up with a new language to describe what is going on is going to be very important in order to be able to explain to people how to use your machine, and I think that your efforts so far have been great. Going beyond that, have you been measuring the point in time at which you get the first drops? When you say “longer,” do you just mean longer in time, or do you also mean longer in volume? Have you looked at how shots from your machine might be described in terms of brew ratio?

Drop me a line when you (or any of the other Slayers) are in Melbourne. I’d love to catch up RE this/shout you some beer/coffee.

Cheers,

Luca

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