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Good taste isn't born - it's cultivated. And our Leftist Labs - they're real classy. I mean, check out that espresso ring on the counter. The sophistication of the scattered grounds. In our lab sesson today, each of the five baristas had ten minutes to step up to the Mirage espresso machine and "dial in" the grind - that means adjusting the particle size that the grinder is set to produce, in order to yield a good extraction.

As you can see in the picture above, we had some instruments at our disposal. We measured dose, called out time parameters for each other ("Drip at 8! Cone at 11! Ended at 24!") and noted the flow rate particular to each shot.

Of course, more important than the numbers is...TASTE!  As always, we were attempting to draw from our taste memories, learn new vocabulary, and calibrate our palates.

In the photo below, Heather Deal (no apparent relation, unfortunately) concentrates deeply, perhaps centering her chi.

We needed lots of water and lots of demis. Can you pick out the spit cup in the picture below?

Heather's troubleshooting skills paid off in the end. Her last shot was extremely balanced, buttery smooth, full of dark chocolate, and had just a touch of citrus acidity. I was very happy (read: caffeinated) by the end of the day.