The Delicious Doppio: What a Double-Short (Ristretto) Pull Should Taste Like

For all those not completely fluent in coffee yet, here is the title translated: two shots of espresso that are cut off after about 10-15 seconds, extracting only the first part of the shot where most of the caramelized sugars and subtle flavors of the coffee are stored. This is called a "ristretto" (Italian for restricted) shot, or it is called a "short" pull sometimes. "Doppio" means double in Italian. That being said, let us move on to the article.

Many may be wondering, "so what's with all the negative reviews? What do these people want, eggs in their beer? Does any espresso taste good to them?" Well, friends, there is an answer to that question: yes. There is delicious espresso out there, and this is how it should taste, look and feel:

In the words of David Schomer, "espresso can be made to taste exactly like ground coffee smells, only more so" (Espresso Coffee: Professional Techniques, 1998). A good shot of espresso should exhibit these characteristics:

-Dark, reddish brown crema that lingers
-Thick, velvety texture
-Natural sweetness from the caramelized sugars extracted from it
-Nutty overtones from roasting
-Complex flavors

Pulling a good shot of espresso requires so much more knowledge and preparation than most people realize. Every little thing matters in espresso, and affect it in different ways (both positive and negative). These factors include:

-Environment (humidity, temperature, etc, even though it's outside and the machine and beans are inside)
-Bean and ingredient quality (quality of the bean itself, when it was roasted, when it was ground, what kind of water used (filtered or not), etc.)
-Equipment quality (kind of machine used, weight of tamper (thingy used to pack down ground coffee), etc.)
-Barista training (do they know how to pull a shot that will come out with the description above?)

As you can see, there are some etceteras. This is because these are main factors, and those contain tons of sub-factors. There are quite a number of books written on espresso, so this article would quickly turn into a book if we went any further. There will be more posts in the future explaining sub-factors on a deeper level. Those posts will continue to help explain what we are looking for and why we are so particular about everything.

So this is all fine and dandy, but how do you know when you've found "the one?" Well, first of all, it should taste deliciously sweet and like you stuffed a velvet jumpsuit into your mouth. Maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration and does not exactly sound pleasant, but the espresso should encompass your mouth like a soft, thick blanket. It should not exactly dance on your tongue (unless you like a more acidic, less traditional style of espresso), but fill your mouth with a rich warmth and smooth, nutty flavor. Espresso should not ever taste bitter.

Caffé Apropos

Caffé Apropos
443 W 3rd Ave
Columbus, OH 43201

Caffé Apropos is a little, European-style cafe in Victorian Village on W 3rd. Tile floors imitate an outdoor patio which only emphasizes the ample real patio space outside. They feature their own roasted beans, a large wine collection, and an assortment of pastries and a menu of sandwiches, soups, and pizza. The coffee shop advertises their own roasting of coffees both flavored and non-flavored. While maybe the coffees were finely roasted, their barista was not finely trained, unfortunately.

Espresso

Equipment: Brasilia Portofino.

Beans: Apropos' own.

Overall, we got one heck of an espresso...and by that we mean we got an entire demitasse full of a double espresso. This should not happen; the shot came out too fast and ran too long, causing an over-extracted, sour shot. We should be clear that we forgot to ask for a ristretto (the standard short shot). The espresso we were given was more like a lungo (long), a shot pulled for a longer amount of time and that generally has twice the volume and twice the bitterness of a ristretto.

Positives:

Served with saucer

Negatives:

Too thin, airy
Sour; acidic in a bad way
No spoon
Shot was underdosed and overextracted
Medium-tan color of crema

Cappuccino

Sadly, your snobby coffee reviewers were engaged in a thoughtful conversation about coffee while the barista was making both beverages, so we did not take great notes on the barista's procedures. The result in the cup was all we needed to guess at what the barista was up to. The cappuccino had bubble bath foam and was not the correct size; it was served in a 12oz mug without a saucer or spoon. The acidity in the milk emphasized the acidity in the espresso. We did not finish it.

Positives:

Good ratio of milk: espresso: foam

Negatives:

Bubble bath foam (started as microfoam but quickly dissipated)
No saucer
No spoon
Incorrect size
Very acidic

Drip Coffee

The drip coffee was lighter bodied, medium acidity, and weak. It was significantly cooler than most drip coffees we have come across. Nothing to write home about.

We cupped some of Apropos' Ethiopian coffee later in the week and found it floral, of a moderate-high acidity (a good thing here), and having a moderate body to it. An excellent coffee when made at home.

A Guide to Our Reviews

As one can see, coffee preparation is an extremely intricate process. We, here at the Review, like to point out many of those tiny details that are so extremely important. Many people are probably very confused at these details; are wondering what they are and why they are "positives" or "negatives," so we'll be adding little tidbits here and there explaining the ins and outs of the details in the reviews. We'll start off with a brief lingo guide:

Portafilter: The part of the espresso machine that detaches. It is what the ground coffee is packed into, then it is placed back into the machine to make the espresso.

Grouphead: The part of the espresso machine into which the portafilter fits.

Pull/Pour a shot: Barista lingo for making a shot of espresso.

Crema: The "foam" or "froth" of espresso made when pulling a shot. Crema should be a dark, reddish brown that is somewhat speckled with dark spots. Much crema turns out to be tan or khaki in color, which means that the shot was improperly pulled; usually creating a sour tasting espresso. Crema with a proper color is one factor that indicates a properly pulled espresso. Good crema should linger.

Some personal lingo:

Bubble bath foam: Milk foam that resembles that of the stuff you find in a bubble bath. Foam in cappuccinos or lattes or any other espresso/coffee beverage including milk should NEVER resemble this.

Melted ice cream foam: Milk foam that resembles that of melted ice cream; very dense in texture and NO visible bubbles whatsoever. This is the stuff you want in your beverage.


That's it for now; more definitions and explanations to come in future!

Road Trip: Zanesville

While the name of this thing has Columbus in it, we are too cosmopolitan to restrain ourselves to the cafes of just one city. So when we were in Zanesville, Ohio, we stopped in at The Java House Cafe to see how they do it on the old National Road.

The Java House Cafe
1405 Maple Avenue (rear)
Zanesville, Ohio

Small in a cozy way, the Java House is really in an old carriage house at the rear of a larger, grander house. This works to the cafe's advantage in terms of atmosphere, which is quaint and comfortable. The coffee itself was not so great. We ordered an Americano and an iced Americano. The barista did not follow proper procedure as the following breakdown will show.

Equipment: Bunn Express espresso machine.

Beans: Caruso's, Brecksville.

Did Not Do:

Tamp espresso grounds (he used a tamp, but didn't apply an initial 5lbs of pressure followed by a tap on the portafilter and finished with around 30lbs)
Purge group
Clean portafilter
Grind per shot

Things That Should Not Have Happened But Did:

The Americano came with three shots. The barista pulled the first double shot with fresh grounds and pulled the third shot simply by re-extracting the shot he packed for the double. The same grounds were used twice which, along with loose tamping, resulted in a limp, underextracted, watery Americano.

The shots for the iced Americano were poured directly over the ice. Science does not provide a reason why this is bad (possibly something to do with ascorbic acid) but when it is done the result is bitterness instead of icy sweetness and depth.

While we were pleased to see a place serving locally roasted specialty coffee in a small, relatively remote town, the drinks themselves were disappointing. The necessary elements for a great experience were in place, but the Java House would do well to invest in a barista training course to tie it all together.

Crimson Cup

Crimson Cup Coffee House
4541 North High Street
Columbus, OH 43214

Crimson Cup is a Columbus-based coffee roaster that serves high-volume clients like OSU as well as small coffee shops around the country. They have a special coffee startup program that educates entrepreneurs in the ways of the cafe. For years, however, they had no retail operation of their own. This changed in 2007 when they opened the Crimson Cup Coffee House in the Clintonville neighborhood. Since then they have woven themselves into the fabric of the community by displaying work from children's art classes, giving time to local musicians, and hosting small events. Those pressed for time have the option of using Crimson Cup's drive-thru. Those with a little time to kill can enjoy a clean, modern interior that features CNN on a flat-panel TV and paintings of the Crimson Cup logo. Photos of the second-wave coffee shop Espresso Experience (“Armando had his very first Caffe Latte here in February, 1980”) hang in homage to the nascent specialty coffee industry.

Espresso

The beans were Armando's Blend, a medium/dark roast mix of African, Indonesian, and Latin American coffees, for all of their espresso as well as drip coffees. This espresso was decent, better than most espressos we have had in Columbus. The crema was a darker brown but not speckled. It was sticky, on the thicker side, and really latched onto the sides of the cappuccino-sized ceramic cup (demitasses were available but not used). The result is a high-acidity shot with a strong lemon flavor and undertones of fresh dry leaves. Although their technique was a bit better than most, it still led to a bitter shot.

Equipment: Nuova Simonelli espresso machine

Beans: Armando's Blend, Crimson Cup

Positives:
Portafilters remained in groupheads between shots
Coffee ground per shot
Thick, oily texture
Dark crema
Served with saucer

Negatives:
Did not clean the portafilter or purge group between shots
Espresso grounds in the cup
Sour, unsweetened lemon zest taste
Crema did not last very long (though longer than most places' shots)
Did not preheat cup
No spoon

Cappuccino

The barista pulled the shot for this cappuccino before he started on the two espressos we ordered, then let it sit while he pulled the two espressos and steamed milk, letting the espresso for the cappuccino just sit there for at least a minute or two (the lifespan of espresso shots is 30 seconds or less). In espresso and Coffeeland, timing is everything! That shot should have been thrown out and he should have pulled a new one. Espresso does not have a limitless lifespan! Let's not even talk about the bubble bath foam.

Positives:
Used fresh milk
Whole milk is their default
Good espresso, steamed milk, foam proportions (1:1:1, 6-7oz)

Negatives:
Used same sour espresso as before
Did not preheat cup
Bubbly froth, not creamy microfoam, on top

Drip

Like the espresso, Crimson Cup's drip coffee was made with Armando's Blend. As a drip coffee the high acidity is mitigated, allowing a brightness not found in the espresso. A balanced body and flavors of citrus, berry, and light campfire smoke are present. If you like coffees that are more acidic (acidity is not always bad! It can be very good! Like a little dance on your tongue!), this is the coffee for you.

Additional Notes

Crimson Cup opened a counter inside the Gahanna Stoneridge Kroger store in February of this year and has nothing at all to do with this.

Full Brazilian

Ohio is not known for growing coffee. Coffee trees at our altitude and latitude can not produce fruit, so it has to be shipped in from mountainous places situated in the Tropics. We will, from time to time, profile these places to get a sense of the massive undertaking involved to get coffee from there to here.

Brazil

Distance from Columbus, Ohio: 4469 miles.

Introduced by: Francisco de Mello Palheta in 1727 from Cayenne, French Guiana.

Cultivars: Bourbon, Typica, Caturra, and Mundo Novo

2007 production: 36,070 bags (18,739,292,286 tons)

Trade Organizations: CeCafé, ABIC

Brazil is the world's fifth largest country in both geographical area and population. It is the largest country in South America and the largest producer of coffee in the world. The southeastern coffee-growing section is rugged, with mountain ranges reaching elevations of up to 3,900 ft (high quality arabica is usually cultivated between 4,265 and 4,921 ft). These ranges include the Mantiqueira Mountains, the Espinhaço Mountains, and the Serra do Mar. The highest point in Brazil is the Pico da Neblina at 9,890 ft.

Brazil is the world's tenth largest economy (at market exchange rates). Its currency, the Real, has dropped recently which has allowed the resource-rich country to poise itself as a major exporter. Stiff new competition from Vietnam's fledgling coffee industry has impacted Brazil's historic market dominance, however, Brazil exports both arabica and robusta varieties while Vietnam only exports commodity-grade robustas. In addition to exporting beans, Brazilians have recently started drinking more of their own coffee on a daily basis, consuming 11 lbs of coffee (per capita) a year, up by 3.5% from previous years. Scandinavia, the world leader in coffee drinking, consumes around 25 lbs of coffee (per capita) a year.

Brazil has long been a coffee producing powerhouse. The Instituto do Cafe (IBC) was formed by coffee growers in 1906 in an effort to manipulate international coffee supply and prices. In 1926 the IBC was taken over by the government and used as artillery in a price war against Colombia. Brazilian coffee stored in warehouses around the world would be released or withheld to match fluctuations in market prices, thereby guaranteeing high and reliable prices. Under certain conditions, the IBC would destroy whole crops of coffee in an effort to maintain its position in the market. Changes in international politics and a decline in global coffee production put an end to the IBC in 1989.

Sources: The Coffee Book, Wikipedia, The Financial Express, Sweet Maria's, ABIC.

KickStart: Scooters, Coffee, and a Unicorn

KickStart
913 N High Street
Columbus, Ohio 43201

Kickstart is in the Short North district of Columbus, independently owned, selling both scooters and coffee. The smell of rubber tires overwhelms the coffee smells one usually expects when entering a coffee shop. Parked next to the door is an old-style scooter for sale along with some mopeds and 50s-vintage Royal Enfield motorcycles. Helmets and jackets hang on racks alongside wooden displays of unusual and rare candies (like cult favorite Sen-Sen). Music from the era of British cafe racers filled the shop with the sounds of the Rolling Stones and the Kinks. Rounding out the stylish atmosphere were abstract paintings by Jacob Samblanet and polished metal diner tables that each had a container of coffee beans holding a deck of playing cards and artistically bent forks.

There are no pushy scooter salesmen ready to pounce on unwary customers who just want a coffee and some wi-fi bandwidth, just pierced and tattooed baristas. They were friendly and helpful when we asked them questions about the shop and how they made the coffee. When they did not have a pot of house drip coffee ready they brought the cup out to the table along with a pitcher of cream when it was done brewing. KickStart strikes that rare balance between unique employee personality and excellent customer service. It all comes down to the education of the baristas, though, and if they do not know what they are doing they will not know how to make a good cup of coffee.

Espresso

The espresso that Bronwyn got (Damion had an espresso previously that was much superior*) was a watery, bitter mess. Tan, dissipating crema circled the top for probably less than a minute. We did not finish it.

Equipment: La Marzocco (new and shiny), Swift grinder system

Beans: Caruso Coffee; Brecksville, Ohio (between Cleveland and Akron)

Positives:
Used dry towel for cleaning the portafilter basket
Portafilters were kept in groupheads between shots
Ceramic demitasse and saucer (no spoon, though)

Negatives:
Shot was way too fast
Did not preheat cup
Did not pull shot directly into demitasse (it was split into two shot glasses and reunited in the demitasse)
Crema was tan and did not linger
Did not purge the group before pulling another shot

*(Note from Damion: I had a double shot before Bronwyn arrived and it was amazing. The thick, persistent crema was flecked and swirled. Sweet, smooth, clean finish, firm body, and hints of cocoa had me convinced that this place knew what it was doing. After Bronwyn had her terrible shot and we shared an even worse third shot I acknowledged that the unicorn I tasted earlier had run far, far away.)

Cappuccino

This was a terrible cappuccino. First, they did not have a traditional sized (5-7oz) mug for traditional cappuccinos, yet they offered one on the menu. Second, we received bubble bath foam instead of melted-ice-cream milk froth. There were no positive aspects to this cappuccino, unfortunately.

Negatives:
Bubble bath foam
2% is their default milk
Did not preheat cup
Did not have proper sized cup
Did not serve with saucer nor spoon
Used same espresso procedures as above
Quickly became bitter
Terrible liquid/foam ratio (too much liquid, basically a latte)

Drip Coffee

The Organic blend was disappointing, although we did not have high expectations with which to begin. It was watery and boring. No flavors stood out and there was not great body, though when I added milk it held up sufficiently. The cream-worthy House blend had notes of wood fresh from a band saw. Like most drip coffees, the offerings here are well suited for absent-minded sipping.

Overall, KickStart was unimpressive. I would recommend this coffee shop solely for the relaxed atmosphere and friendly service. And selling $3 cappuccinos along with $3000 scooters is a brilliant business model and a fine example of entrepreneurial innovation. As for the coffee, well, it isn't great but you get free refills.