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Drinking it striaght.

 
 
 
 

This suddenly hit me yesterday as I was drinking my espresso, that I had not made a milk based espresso drink for myself in over a week. I had also had yesterday five shots of espresso and of those only one was an americano, don't worry two of those shots were Deep Cello's Decaf Black Tie Blend. So what's the big deal with drinking straight espresso?

There really is nothing really all that great about drinking espresso, straight it doesn't make you more of a snob or anything of that nature, but it does prove something that I heard right when I started making espresso about a year ago, after a while as your espresso making gets better you be drinking straight espresso more and more. At the time I didn't really think much of this because this was coming from someone on an online forum whose espresso set up is many multiples the price of my first car. So while my espresso set-up is very nice, it's still pretty humble compared to what others have.

I think there is a lot at work here that has made me much more a straight espresso person than I once was. Besides the obvious that my espresso making probably has gotten better over the course of this past year and I have learned how to use my machine to most of it's potential I think a lot of it is just aquired taste. Espresso is a pretty concentrated coffee, and while I do find it to be 'sweet' at time, it's really a relative saying that there are sweet notes amongst the coffee taste, the best way I think I can describe what has occured is probably the way most people go from drinking sweet alcholic drinks to more bitter ones like going from a Long Island Ice Tea as your favorite drink to a vodka tonic.

This experience also in a way mirrors how I use to drink my drip coffee, with a touch of half and half. However, as I started buying better coffee and drinking more coffee I found that I was largely drinking my coffee black and only using half/half to cover up bad coffee.

Last but not least I think a little bit has to do with the new cups I got, they are just really nice to drink out of compared to my bodum espresso cups that I have. The thick porcelain and handle just make it easier to drink out of than before.

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REVIEWS & COMMENTS

  • @WAKENOT

    intrepid510 | Fri, 02/10/2012 - 17:47

    It's crazy to think that a start with milk drinks leads to a tiny 1.5 oz shot per time and that it would be so normal I guess its like going from Bud to *insert boutique beer here*

  • GREAT

    Wakeknot | Tue, 01/24/2012 - 20:10

    it sounds like you are on a fantastic trajectory, but perhaps I am biased since I have found myself on the same path.

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  • @YEAHYEAH

    intrepid510 | Mon, 01/09/2012 - 15:54

    Interesting! Perhaps if I get a machine that can steam and pull a shot at the same time I might go back to drinking more milk drinks or get that so robusta!

  • @SON TON

    intrepid510 | Mon, 01/09/2012 - 15:53

    Agreed, I no longer taste anything bitter in my coffee unless I have done some drastically wrong or the coffee is really bad.

  • @HOONCHUL

    intrepid510 | Mon, 01/09/2012 - 15:53

    Perhaps after sometime you will be in my same position of liking it straight more so!

  • @CORDON

    intrepid510 | Mon, 01/09/2012 - 15:52

    You are absolutely right, I started liking espresso because I was near an amazing coffee shop for a while and it changed what I thought of coffee and made me the coffee fiend I am today

  • @KARRDE

    intrepid510 | Mon, 01/09/2012 - 15:51

    Well just taste your coffee first before you do anything to it, if for no other reason than it will easier for you to detect if anything is wrong with it, ie low temp etc

  • @JBVIAU

    intrepid510 | Mon, 01/09/2012 - 15:50

    Getting milk drinks out is what I normally do too because I really dont want something I am not going to like!

  • SIMILAR

    yeahyeah | Mon, 01/09/2012 - 15:30

    My path was similar. Drip with milk and sugar, drip with milk, black, cappuccino, then espresso. Although after consuming 90% of my coffee as espresso I've been going back to cappuccinos more frequently.

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  • STRONGLY AGREE!

    Son Ton | Mon, 01/09/2012 - 15:01

    I strongly agree with your comment. I first started drinking coffee with sugar but gradually shifted my preference toward drinking straight as I no longer find much bitterness in my coffee.

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  • VERY TRUE. WHILE I TEND TO

    hoonchul | Mon, 01/09/2012 - 11:11

    Very true. While I tend to make milk based drinks most of time I find that I'm starting to enjoy espresso more and more.

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  • NICE!

    Gabriela Cordon | Sun, 01/08/2012 - 23:37

    Thanks for sharing your thoughts on espresso. I personally think that espresso consumption will increase more and more if higher quality of coffee is used. Ofcourse, baristas are key in brewing it properly and I think they have done a great job in spreading the news with espresso and a well preparation. The experience of tasting an espresso... with a dense an microbubbling brownish crema, sweet-acidity (tangerine type)-bitter perfectly balanced (the way they interact in your mouth), full body and lingering aftertaste... is just amazing.

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  • I SHOULD TRY THIS MORE

    Karrde | Sun, 01/08/2012 - 20:34

    I should try this more often, but I have a bit of a sweet tooth and generally make my coffee taste like dessert.

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  • STRAIGHT UP

    jbviau | Sun, 01/08/2012 - 19:27

    I'm often too lazy to steam my own milk. When I'm out, though, I usually order macchiatos.

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  • @SAMUEL

    intrepid510 | Sun, 01/08/2012 - 17:19

    It's pretty good as a shot, the one weird thing about is that the crema is like that of a sink shot, yellow no flecking, but it still tastes good.

  • @CHAMIE

    intrepid510 | Sun, 01/08/2012 - 17:17

    You know that is funny you mention that because there are some coffees that do well with milk, but I do try all my coffees without milk first.

  • @ERIC

    intrepid510 | Sun, 01/08/2012 - 17:15

    Well it really just started out because I wanted a drink after dinner but was just too full to make a latte.

  • NICE

    samuellaw178 | Sun, 01/08/2012 - 15:55

    That is a nice cup! It's true that good cup does make you want to use them more.

    How well is the Black Tie decaf as straight shot by the way? Have you tried it that way?

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  • DEPENDS ON THE COFFEE

    Chamie | Sun, 01/08/2012 - 15:12

    My mother used to drink her coffee with cream. After she started drinking it black (to cut out the calories) she found that it changed her tastes. After a while, milk or cream in her coffee just tasted like fat and left an icky feeling in her mouth. I like my coffee with half and half, but I don't use it to cover up bad coffee. Instead, there are just some coffees that support the flavor and richness of cream better than others. Even with the two coffees I'm playing with now -- the Honduras Bourbon is delightful straight -- sweet, rich and chocolate-y. Cream blunts the more subtle nuances of this one. The Sumatran Mandehling, on the other hand, is enhanced by half and half -- the creaminess seems to bring out richer, nutty undertones in the flavor that aren't there without the cream.

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  • GIVE IT TO ME STRAIGHT

    EricBNC | Sun, 01/08/2012 - 14:50


    much as I say I want to try milk based, I still end up making and drinking straight shots.

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