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u/Dino-F-Pouchez

My Saka Journey [Crema Bar, Gran Bar, Top Select]
▲ 6 r/espresso

My Saka Journey [Crema Bar, Gran Bar, Top Select]

As many of us did, I got curious about Saka from Lance, so I found Ricky at Torrefare here in NYC and ordered a big bag of Crema and Gran and a small bag of Top Select.

I have had zero luck so far with the Crema Bar, and the Gran Bar has been much better. My home rig is Lelit Elizabeth and DC63, travel is a Picopresso and a Whirly. I use the IMS competition basket at home, and though I’ve tried the La Pavoni and IMS Hugh on the Wacaco, the stock basket makes the best syrupy shots. The Gran shots have been magnificent. For those used to arabica, like me, the kick of robusta is noticeable!

So today I opened up the Top Select which is all Arabica. Holy caramel cocoa syrup, Batman! I dialed in the first shot based on my Gran settings and somehow it came out like a Vivace shot. 21g in, RDT and a quick WDT. IMS Big Bang puck screen. 189F and got 12g out in 30 seconds. Gooey and thick and SO dang sweet.

u/Dino-F-Pouchez — 4 days ago
▲ 50 r/espresso

Mental Health Shots

Does anyone else feel like the ritual we all go through making coffee is part of your mental health routine?

Aside from the physical elation we get from the taste and caffeine, sometimes I can gauge my mental health by how excited I am at bedtime to wake up and make my espresso in the morning. And when I hit it perfectly…it sets my day up right.

Relatable?

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u/Dino-F-Pouchez — 5 days ago
▲ 2 r/espresso

Mobile Rig Activated [Wacaco Picopresso Timemore Whirly]

Got my new pressure gauge this week! It really helps. So yeah, travel kettle, grinder and some Saka Gran Bar.

Baskets: so I have the IMS Hugh, as well as the stock basket and also just got the La Pavoni basket which DOES NOT work at all. Water squirts everywhere. The Hugh is fine, but all in all, the stock 18g makes the best shots for medium to dark beans. Also, the gauge helps so much. I was probably going over 15 bar before and now I see I was pulverizing my hands for no reason.

It’s just so nice to not have to go near a Starbucks when I’m traveling…and here in rural NY State there’s no specialty coffee at all. The Picopresso is a long and sometimes tedious workflow but I just enjoy the ritual so much. And these Saka beans are so easy to dial in and get that thick gooey shot.

I do find it’s harder to get a ristretto, so I tend to do the ol’ 1:2, which suits me fine when I’m using this rig. Maximize my kickstart as opposed to the 2-3 consecutive ristretti I do at home with the Lelit.

Picopresso FTW!

u/Dino-F-Pouchez — 7 days ago
▲ 1 r/espresso

Crema Bar Help [Lelit Elizabeth, DC63]

I’m not seeing a roast date on these beans I got from Torrefare in Brooklyn. Got a big bag of Crema Bar and another of Gran Bar and a small one of the arabica select.

Anybody here got a good recipe for me? I’m seeking thick and sweet goop shots. Using an IMS competition 22g basket and Big Bang puck screen.

Watching David Schomer and his shop employees, they do no RDT, WDT, screen or preinfusion. Old school! But what should I be aiming for to get that result?

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u/Dino-F-Pouchez — 11 days ago
▲ 2 r/espresso

So when I got my Lelit, I paired it with a DF64v3 with the SSP HU burrs. I’ve been dialing in some pretty amazing shots, playing around with HE baskets, lighter roasts and even getting to that syrupy gooey “boomer shot” territory, which I know can be déclassé amongst some.

I sold my DF54 and procured a DC63 conical to see if I could get closer to what I think is the best shot ever, the Dolce roast at Espresso Vivace. I just love that mouthfeel they get, the sweet and silky finish to it. I know it’s old school but it’s old school for a reason!

I dialed in the conical today and I have to say, the difference is extremely noticeable. I was using the Redline espresso from Metropolis in Chicago. I’m awaiting a Saka order, after which I’ll get some Dolce. I went 21g in and 12 out in 28 seconds at 205 on the Lelit. I read a sub featuring a Vivace employee and got their recipe as close as I could. They are very old school in that there’s no RDT, no WDT and no puck screens. So I went with it. I ground by weight then direct into the PF, leveled and tamped and hit the zero preinfusion that they claim…however, watch Schomer pull a shot and he locks the PF in at the end of his group bleed, so it’s almost like a pre. Anyway, I tasted it and it was like a piece of dark chocolate kissed by a dark caramel with a soupçon of molasses.

So ask yourself before you buy…what do I want from my shots. If it’s clarity, acidity and a lighter roast, flat burrs are for you. But that ooeygooey thick as syrup sweet as honey microristretto? Conical. Harry Conical Jr. all the way.

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u/Dino-F-Pouchez — 16 days ago
▲ 3 r/whatisameem

The Left needs better messaging

I have a good idea. Instead of ABOLISH ICE, which would thrill me, the next Dem nominee needs to run on reforming and renaming ICE to the Department Enforcing Immigration. It would be reasonable, focusing on criminals, and not a gestapo masked force.

And we call it DEI!

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u/Dino-F-Pouchez — 19 days ago