Working with Different Espresso Blends

* We work with three different espresso blends here at the cafe. The customers can choose a blend to incorporate in their espresso-based beverage. What's hard here is that when we get high volumes of customers with different espresso blend preferences we forget to keep track of our variables. We usually work at a leisurely pace, making one beverage at a time. We seldom work in "fast food" mode. Anyway, what's important here is that we get to know each of our blends and learn how they look and taste like at consistent extraction times. That's why we conducted a "getting-to-know-you" session for our blends this afternoon. We always do this so that we would not forget the standards we use for the respective blends. We also do this to update our techniques.

* "Different coffee blends will have different reactions to the brewing process. Anytime you change your espresso blend be sure to taste test it many times before creating specific standards for brewing it." - That quote came from our SCAA workshop handout that's always accessible on the shelf above our espresso machine.