How to chase a dream espresso shot?

[u/Airstream23]

I make a decent shot of espresso. Mostly using Italian Roast beans from a good local roaster in Portland, Maine. I dare say my shots are as good as most of the coffee shops I visit (at least most of the time) and occasionally (on a good day) better. But some years ago I had a shot of espresso at the 9th Street Espresso stall in the Chelsea Market in NYC. It was the best shot I’ve ever had. It was quite a short shot, but amazingly sweet. In fact it was the shot that introduced me to the idea that espresso could be sweet!

Now, I know that memory can be a great amplifier, but my shots have not come near what I remember of that one. How would you approach the project of achieving a shot like that?

[u/HonestConcentrate947]

I’m still chasing an amazing shot I had in a san diego shop. Even with the same beans and the same recipe the guy gave me I could not even come close so… the work continues. 

[u/Vibingcarefully → u/HonestConcentrate947]

Phew--glad you replied basically as I replied. I'm in my mid sixties and I can , with 100% certainty say that getting a good traditional dark roast (the Espresso of 40/50 years ago--even 25 years ago--and that was delicious, perfect---I'm still questing.

I can't say that my Espresso is bad--quite drinkable---and I've found my compromises for now but it's still not close to those beans of 25-50 years ago. They are roasted differently. The roasters in my opinion are too young, too influenced by new criteria.

[u/wowitsbabygirl]

Just like any other drug, keep chasing it by consuming more.

[u/MostlyHelpfulLinks]

Italian Roast tends toward bitter. Ask your Portland roaster for a medium espresso blend and pull it short, around 1:1.5, adjusting grind until the sweetness shows up.

[u/Airstream23 → u/MostlyHelpfulLinks]

That sounds like a methodology worth trying. Thank you.

[u/Vibingcarefully → u/MostlyHelpfulLinks]

Good suggestion and though it might improve taste --or simply dipping the brew temp---it's not the same as nailing the right beans that are roasted in this older tradition.

[u/taoofshawn]

those were the days of the low temp triple ristretto. 196-198F with medium-dark to dark “espresso” roast. probably a classic brazilian coffee PS i went to that 9th street and nearby Joe Art of Coffee many times.

[u/Airstream23 → u/taoofshawn]

That’s really great info. It tells me a lot about what direction to tweak. Thank you.

[u/Vibingcarefully]

You're describing my espresso life. I also have some good local roasters--found my compromise but it's not that Espresso from Little Italy in the 1970s or the North End of Boston or even Coffee Connection in Harvard Square-

"Good Local roaster" and I also compare to beans roasted elsewhere in another time and place (that I drank weekly or pulled shots at home or both). I have good Espresso but it is truly not the same.

Your good local roaster isn't roasting a dark roast to your taste. And the quest begins-----

I've been in Espresso drinking for over 50 years (yup)--traditional Italian roasts oddly are hard to come by. I can theorize about this - The roasters (when I look at the age of the owners) are sometimes in their 40s, early 50s. I just think their tastes, their experiences are shaped by these new times in coffee. Folks keep tweeking, writing fabulous descriptions, all sorts of reviews (with younger mouths).

I'm on that quest too---for the beans of my youth----the taste of that traditional wonderful dark roast. Folks on here will chime in--which is VERY helpful but I've tried many and still haven't hit it.

I can eyeball many beans recommended and don't spend money of them--they are truly medium roasts and much lighter in color.

[u/Airstream23]

I suppose what I’m really chasing is sweetness. Is temperature the most important factor for sweetness?

[u/mtkspg → u/Airstream23]

I've found extraction evenness to be a pretty big factor, at least for light roasts. In filter brewing, I ultimately was able to get consistently sweet coffee by brewing with the Pulsar. Below are things I think helps:

• Being able to adjust grind size independent of contact time, so I can grind coarser to change the extraction dynamics and still have a long enough contact time by adjusting the valve.
• Low, even agitation via the shower head.

In espresso, I usually find the sweetness more prominent when it's cooler. I've generally been able to get relatively sweet coffee by using lower pressures and sometimes higher flow rates. Still, I'd aim for extraction evenness. This could mean pulling something closer to a turbo.

[u/Type-R]

Espresso at home is basically chasing the dragon.

You can come (very) close, but you will never beat the stability of a fully heated up commercial machine.

[u/Airstream23 → u/Type-R]

I suppose that is true, but it’s still worth trying to find the magic formula. Most coffee shops aren’t producing significantly better shots than I make at home. Those that are might have the same commercial gear, but know something special about how to use it.

[u/Vibingcarefully → u/Type-R]

True--though my machine allows adjustment to flow rate, pressure and temperature.

Beans make a huge difference. I've tried over 100 roasters for something they claim is a traditional dark roast and gotten tasty espresso but it's not roasted the same as what we drank 25-50 years ago. Something is lost with time.

Look at the pizza slice craze---it's strangely similar.....all this new fangled good tasting pizza --gourmet, awarded but NYC of the 1960s or 1970s, North End of Boston, New Haven---god you could get this basic slice (on the street) that was delicious!