What it Was Was 150 ml of Bitter
I am asking il Professore of Scuola di Espresso about the cause of bitter, over a shot of his latest espresso transfiguration. "My friend, remember that we have been discussing the role of caffeine in particular. It is relatively the most important toxic substance we know, the most widely consumed psychoactive drug in the world. We find it in over 60 plants. Think also of kola nuts, quarana, besides coffee, tea, and cocoa. Surprisingly, caffeine (much of it from the decaffeination process itself) is part of many pain-killers, called "buffered", or analgesics, from Greek, analgesia, believe me, meaning without pain.
"But just now, I am in the midst of a without-pain-moment, my own epiphany of taste and texture of this particular shot. The aroma is not at all subtle either. You be the judge of the taste."
The shot he gives me is creamy, balanced, sweet to bitter and back again, or back and forth, for the game goes extra innings in this version. The central note, the command performance is baker's chocolate, hefty chocolate, bittersweet, dark, thick, even gritty- strong.
The Professore pulls another: "You are seeing a very full extraction, mottle, a thick slide down the spout, then a lightening up in color, 'the on-off switch' of the shot. There is not much left to come out. Drink, again.
"I have demonstrated the balance of bitter-sweet in this way: It is relatively simple. I chose for bittering the French Roast, a Gimme mainstay of dark, dark. Yet there needed to be another chapter. We look for a fruity, sweet, and I find the Rwanda Bufcafé, this time it is the Buf Epiphanie at Gimme, as a remarkable example. Now I will work out the right proportions for the bench blend. I am sticking with 2/3 French and 1/3 Epiphanie. It is left for you to try others, but this result is, as you see, a balance scale in near perfect equipoise of sugar-dark bite, yes?"
So, I here am asking again the Professore about the elements of bitter and the role of caffeine, how to taste it?
The Professore doesn't hesitate to draw a plan: take your basic over-the-counter what they call an "alertness aid", for not dozing on the road, at exams. The box says it is 200 mg of caffeine and some other stuff, starches mostly, preservatives, and just assume that mg and ml are interchangeable for this simple trial; for the assumed caffeine ratio of 150 ml in 6 oz, cut about a quarter off the tablet, right? Mash the rest with a tamper. Then into cup with hot water. The contribution of caffeine to the cup is said to be about 10%, and now you have its analog in water only. There is decidedly bitter in the cup. No? Well, just compare the sleepers' awake brew to a cup of plain hot water!
The Professore is pulling shots for comparison, saying: "Now you taste the bitter complex of dark roast French, bitter but rightly so. We then insert the French-Rwanda experience. You will undoubtedly answer that we have booted the bitter."
I say good work to il Professore and take the last sip, sweet, then creamy, then a bite of bitter, then out the door, thinking of the old dude's epiphany, my without-pain-moment--a French-Epiphanie.
The Professore pulls another: "You are seeing a very full extraction, mottle, a thick slide down the spout, then a lightening up in color, 'the on-off switch' of the shot. There is not much left to come out. Drink, again.
"I have demonstrated the balance of bitter-sweet in this way: It is relatively simple. I chose for bittering the French Roast, a Gimme mainstay of dark, dark. Yet there needed to be another chapter. We look for a fruity, sweet, and I find the Rwanda Bufcafé, this time it is the Buf Epiphanie at Gimme, as a remarkable example. Now I will work out the right proportions for the bench blend. I am sticking with 2/3 French and 1/3 Epiphanie. It is left for you to try others, but this result is, as you see, a balance scale in near perfect equipoise of sugar-dark bite, yes?"
So, I here am asking again the Professore about the elements of bitter and the role of caffeine, how to taste it?
The Professore doesn't hesitate to draw a plan: take your basic over-the-counter what they call an "alertness aid", for not dozing on the road, at exams. The box says it is 200 mg of caffeine and some other stuff, starches mostly, preservatives, and just assume that mg and ml are interchangeable for this simple trial; for the assumed caffeine ratio of 150 ml in 6 oz, cut about a quarter off the tablet, right? Mash the rest with a tamper. Then into cup with hot water. The contribution of caffeine to the cup is said to be about 10%, and now you have its analog in water only. There is decidedly bitter in the cup. No? Well, just compare the sleepers' awake brew to a cup of plain hot water!
The Professore is pulling shots for comparison, saying: "Now you taste the bitter complex of dark roast French, bitter but rightly so. We then insert the French-Rwanda experience. You will undoubtedly answer that we have booted the bitter."
I say good work to il Professore and take the last sip, sweet, then creamy, then a bite of bitter, then out the door, thinking of the old dude's epiphany, my without-pain-moment--a French-Epiphanie.
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