Intelligentsia’s Yemen Sanani

Because of JonR’s posts on CoffeeGeek.com, I decided to pull the trigger on this coffee to pull as espresso. Ordered on a Monday or Tuesday and delivered freshly roasted on Friday, it was degassed and ready to go.

I will say, this coffee was the gooiest, gloppiest espresso I’ve ever pulled. The pictures don’t do it justice and my ‘trigger finger’ was always a split second behind in snapping the big gooey glops that landed in my cup.

This produces my favorite shots to date through the Andreja. As straight espresso, it is spicy, potent and it absolutely coats the palate and lingers for what seems like days.

I pulled shots for my wife’s lattes and used the left over steamed milk for a few macchiatos, they were incredible and now I’m hooked! The Yemen Sanani also does incredibly well in milk drinks and makes a great cappuccino. I think this is a must have and I’m going to be sad when it’s gone!

Also, I know I don’t have the pictures to prove it, but after this thread on frothing, my microfoam has improved immensely and I poured a perfect heart for my wife’s latte on Thursday morning. Soon, I’m going to attempt some other pours. . .

Double in my Gaggia Demitasse Cup:


It’s ‘go time’!




In da cup:












It does seem like it’s starting to really come together.

Cuban Caracolillo Rested

I revisited this morning. The espresso really came around and became fuller flavored. I wouldn't say the flavors changed at all, only they intensified and it became less boring. I'm drinking this on day four and as one of the rules with espresso, days 3-4 onward really help the coffee shine.

Distribution really improved, yet I have that one 'spot'. The striping is improved too!

Near the end of the shot, before it went thin and started to blonde. THICK and GOOEY!

My microfoam continues to improve, I am not even trying to pour art. I am going to look into a new pitcher as mine is beaten, ragged, and the spout is all mangled.

A little Splenda, a stir and it was good to go!

Cuban Caracolillo Single Origin

I wanted to continue my experiments with single origin coffee pulled as espresso. This Cuban Caracolillo (Caracolillo means little snail as these beans resemble snail shells, they are a peaberry), was roasted City+ and should be roasted darker as the coffee takes dark roasts really well. It is rich, earthy, and nutty. I don't find it overly complex when brewed into coffee and it wasn't overly complex as an espresso. It was only 2 days old, so I'll see if it comes into it's own over the next 2-3 days - but I'm not holding my breath. A great 'plain Jane' coffee, but it has never been spectacular to me.

I started with a double pulled into seperate shot glasses. It poured a little over an ounce in each right at 25 seconds - the grinder is close. . .



The finished shots:


Both were very smooth and didn't require any sweetner as they weren't the least bit bitter.

Next I pulled a double through my naked PF, again - my shots look blond and thin - but they really aren't. I can't get the beautiful Tiger Striping I was getting near the end of my relationship with the Gaggia. I'm not certain why - but practice will hopefully make perfect.




This double was for a cappuccino. It did well in milk, but didn't blow my mind. Again, it needs more rest or it needs to go futher in the roast.

Last of all I was sick and tired of the "blonde" looking shots. I opened all the windows, turned on the lights and turned off the flash. The pictures are not pretty at all as they are out of focus due to the shutter being open for a titch longer than with the flash. If I pulled out the tri-pod it might help. The next pictures are from two doubles that I pulled for an iced coffee. 1/2 espresso, 1/2 milk with 2 Splendas. 8 shots so far today, I'm wired. . .











I'm having fun with the single origins and think my experiments may take me to Mexico next. . .

Outta Focus. . .

It seems as my shots on the espresso machine improve, my photo skills seem to be going the other way. I'm not sure how the camera focused on the machine behind but not the shots in front, but somehow it happened.

Here is a sequence of a Redline pull from a few days ago:





Nice cinnamon speckles on top:



And one NAKED!

My shots are tasting better and better, but as it always seems - the best looking Naked shots seem to escape the camera. . .

Getting more comfortable with the set-up

Here are a few more 'shots' from today. Oh so slowly, they are getting better. They do look a lot better in person than on film as the lighting makes them appear blonde.

Metropolis Redline

Just got my order in, roasted 06.28.06, so it's degassed and ready to pull. I had heard SO much about this blend and I was really looking forward to it. Not only did my order arrive as requested, but "Chris the Roaster" included a little sample of a single origin coffee. I think I'm going to pull a double to try it as espresso and then brew the rest as a drip.

Thanks "Chris the Roaster"!

I pulled my first shots with a double basket, in my spouted portafilter. It pulled the perfect amount in about 24 seconds. . . I'm pleased. Crema up the wazzoo, beautiful color, mmmmmmm! I sipped both the singles and it was likely the best shot of espresso I've EVER had. Could be the beans, could have been the pull, likely was a bit of both. I'm in love and am pumped I have 2 pounds of this THICK and GOOEY goodness!

Next was the naked pulls for a cappuccino:





This was a better distribution than I have been getting with my new set-up, but no where near perfect. I'm happy with the direction I'm heading, but I have a long way to go. Redline made an excellent cappa as well. It is great in milk, but I think I prefer it on it's own - just a straight shot, nothing added.

Still learning MACAP/Andreja. . .

I've had them paired up for a few days now. It is taking a bit of work to get both machines to work as a unit. Even though some of the shots aren't pretty, the espresso they are putting out is BY FAR the best I've ever had.


The crema is amazing, much fuller and thicker than before with Gaggia/Solis Maestro Plus. This is SweetMarias Monkey blend with about 5 days rest. The shots have been sitting for 20-30 seconds.

The next few pictures show how much difficulty I am having getting my distribution down pat. The shots are pretty ugly. . ..




These three pictures led to a pretty good tasting shot, and my first attempt at latte art. The Andreja steam power enables me to get close to micro-foam. I've got a lot of practice in front of me - but it is MUCH closer than I ever got with the Gaggia.



I'm gonna keep on working at this. . .