just opened a new shop in louisville

[jammin' java]

:-D and boy am i ignorant. anyway it looks to me (from the info i am getting from my barista and sales people) that the main diff from a latte to a capucino is that the latte has less foam. ???? .... also it seems that the finner i grind the coffee in my new $ 800 grinder the less i can pack it. is this a matter of taste or is their a right way and a wrong way.
8)

 

[jammin' java]

please folks .... give me a hint

:lol: Well, I expected some response. Maybe it is because I did not spell cappuccino right or maybe because I didn’t put the ‘ in latte’ or maybe because I didn’t spell finer correctly. One thing for sure is that the different ways that an espresso can be made is mind boggling. I like to grind my 5-bean Italian espresso so that with a medium pack I get a 20 second extraction / shot. If I could get some comment I would be double shot happy.

 

[Rowley]

I think you packed in too many questions too fast...
Plus they are rather trivial questions that are suprising you opened a shop without knowing already!

You are right the differences between a cappuccino and latte is foam, this continues for the majority of espresso drinks.(they all have easy to remember italian names too! like my favorite; Cafe macchiato, Macchiato for short.)

Cappuccino: one shot espresso with 3/4 cup milk and a dollop of froth.
Latte: one shot espresso with 1/2 cup steamed milk and plenty of froth.
Macchiato: one shot espresso with just a dollop of froth.

Of course not to get into the little details behind descriptive words (think adjectives in english) double, triple, ristretto, lungo, mocha, and then come the low-fat non-fat etc... and the syrup flavors (ginger, rasberry, bannana, etc..)

needless to say I highly recommend a book about $30 to catch yourself up, or befriend a good barista asap!

 

[Rowley]

Sorry to skip over you second question:

it seems that the finner i grind the coffee in my new $ 800 grinder the less i can pack it. is this a matter of taste or is their a right way and a wrong way.

I'm not too good at the nitty gritty of grinds, so i'll leave this one up to anyone else interested in befriendsing you.

 

[topher]

I sent you a pm.... :wink:

 

[editorbob]

As for grind - your grind plus the pressure of the tamp determine the length of time for your shot of espresso. As a ballpark, most shoot for a duration of around 25 seconds. Humidity, barometric pressure, and other factors will all cause the time to change, forcing changes in the grind. I've been here since 7:00am, it's now 8:30am, and we've adjusted the griond twice.

Bob DeLano
www.javapassage.com

 

[ElPugDiablo]

You should not grind fine and tamp (pack) light, then grind coarse and tamp with more pressure. Everyone in your shop who uses the espresso machine should tamp the portafilter with the same pressure. The only thing needs regular adjustment is the grind.

 

[barefoot]

switch to a local-ish high end coffee roaster who has retail cafes that produce excellent espresso and get training from them.

Counter Culture rocks. www.counterculturecoffee.com

Intelligentsia is awesome www.intelligentsiacoffee.com

if your coffee roaster can not definitively train your staff to make killer espresso then why are you buying their coffee? Is a "name brand" better than amazingly sweet and awesome espresso taste?

And/or contact cafe makers for great on site training with no product affiliation www.cafemakers.com

 

[jammin' java]

thank you all !!!!

I can say that my taste for coffee is becoming keen .... I wish to thank every one for all of your help .... I have had "jammin' java" of louisville open for 2 weeks now and I am still alive, but looking forward to my first profitable week. ... :lol: I have tried every coffee house i could find in louisville and have decided that the perfect coffee is like an opinion " everybody has one " ... luv u all and thank you for all of your help