Nice concept Phil, but realistically, you need to be sure that everyone is on the same page to start with before any kind of objective rating system is possible.

One persons snob is another persons sloth...

I'm sure some people find the whole concept of buying actual beans and grinding them quite cool, but then there's other people who will throw out any bean that were roasted over a week ago, and God help it if the extraction takes any longer than 30 seconds for a 15-20 ml ristretto pour...

That being said... i'm always open to suggestions before decided i'm still right :)

ok, the perfect pour is 18-20secs.

Also, maybe we can rate the posts instead of just a long list of coffee shops - if we try one, we could say whether or not it was good...

18-20 seconds ?

Are you serious ?? Thats like nasty brown liquid gushing out of my machine... highly under extracted and more than likely channelling the water through a weak point in an improperly dosed and tamped puck... which all adds up to weak/bitter espresso (notice im taking Toddy's hint of assuming i'm right first :)

From what i've read, and from the results i get on my machine, an ideal extraction point is around 25-35 seconds, for a 30 ml espresso, or a 60 ml double. I personally aim for shorter shots with a slightly longer extraction time, for the full flavour... but then it also depends on the freshness and quality of your beans, and how fine you're grinding...

Needless to say... my original post as to the difficulty of an objective rating scale still stands :)

if it is too long, the coffee gets burnt.

on that poin, the grip must go into the machine and button pressed at once - if it stays in too long without being extracted instantly, the heat will burn the coffee... nothing worse than a dirty grip attached to the machine and left there while the barista steams the milk and the coffee sits there.... dying....

Jules, it all depends on what machine you're using... Too long a shot does not burn the coffee if you're extracting at the right temperature. I guess if 18 seconds makes you the right style of espresso, then thats good for you, but i know that 25 seconds is the amount of time it takes me to extract 20 - 25ml of rich crema laden espresso, which is exactly what i want.

Also the portafilter (grip) doesnt burn the coffee if left there on most home espresso machines (namely mine... the Rancilio Silvia)...this is mainly a problem with heat exchanger machines that superheat the water to produce instant steam, and most require a cooling flush through the group head before pulling another shot.

It really all depends on the machine, and there are far too many other factors to take into account that will produce the right shot to make any kind of broad statements.

I ran into Mena a while ago at Mondo Markets on a Saturday morning, dancing around and smashing plates... quite a character, but still not a fan of his beans, no matter how fresh they are.

If you want to try a new blend with a bit more kick get a 250 gram bag of Core's coffee. They use a custom blend put together by 5 Senses roasted fresh two or three times a week. For my palate, a much more complex taste than i've ever had with Essenza... but it's all good in the end.

My latest project is roasting my own. I bought a little mini home roaster that will do a few hundred grams at a time, and currently have an assortment of green beans on order . The first few efforts have been pretty decent, not as good as premium stuff from local roasters... but for something i made in my laundry... shows awesome potential... Next thing i'll be planting a few arabica trees and will have cut out all of the middle men ! :)

Hi all
If your after a good coffee resource then try www.coffeegeek.com
not only is it full of tips and tricks it has plenty of reviews if your after a machine.
AG, I have recently purchased a Rancilio Silvia and Rocky grinder.......awesome combination..

Coffeegeek.com is an old friend of mine... most of my info and techniques have come from that site, as well as countless bits of useful info on espresso related stuff.

Good work on the Silvia/Rocky combo, can't go too far wrong with that... I think most people aren't aware how important a good grinder is to the whole process... dodgy grinder = bad espresso... The Rocky should do you well... until you're ready to move up to a Mazzer :)

keep it up.

Hey all, sorry Jules, AG is correct. Perfect extraction will be running at about 25-35 seconds for 20-25 mls a side. Certainly a pour of 18-20 seconds will be underextracted (it will tend to demonstrate flavours lacking richness and body and also be weak and watery in texture). This is assuming that you are using fresh roasted, quality coffee beans, but why would you use anything else? And yes AG, although I have a lot of respect for Mena and like him as a person, I also think his coffee lacks richness and excitement on the palate.

Corey