our lady of esmeralda: exerting hemispheric pull
June 25, 2006 – 1:06 amforget trips across the lake — this blog’s chicago-bound brother tells me he may eschew the lake altogether (and intelly’s sizeable markup on sister esmeralda) for a brief, eight-hour highway jaunt for the sole purpose of partaking in the lusty array of panamanian coffees on which this blog has rashly spent an entire year’s prosciutto budget.
which hearkens to a central philosophical dilemma: how to parlay such sublimity into maximum evangelistic effect? this blog has no desire to consume all three beauteous pounds by itself, though some mecca-proximal gurus might be so inclined. in the quality-devoid vacuum that is the southeast, landing hacienda la esmeralda is not unlike finding harvest-fresh truffles under a bed of pinto beans — either that, or casting pearls before swine!
if we report subpar garden beet aromatics, you’ll know which one it is. regardless, this blog’s ideas have included a joint cupping and as-espresso session. perhaps more than one. live-blogged, maybe. and taped for posterity, or a music video result. fellow junkies, those willing to make the trek and the unenlightened casual drinker should be involved.
or perhaps we should do it as a birthday bash for the blog-daughter. she would thank me later…
Or perhaps not. Love the photos. Can almost smell and taste the beans. Mmmmm. I like your blog and love the java.
[deleted]
Anyway keep up the posts.
tina:
sales pitches are not cool. thanks for the remarks, tho.
That poor old machine…
poor? old? you talking about the isomac tay-AH, steve?
i think steve might be talking about the lonely machine in the music vid. the one that served you so well through those college nights. the one that birthed the ‘dragonetti’.
Since you brought it up… was wondering if anyone had actually tried the Esmerelda as espresso (or *can’t believe I’m suggesting this, cough* americano). Since we’re dropping another c-note on a pound (pre-roasted by Intelly), we’ve instructed our staff to line the counters under the grinders with wax paper so we can collect every ground gone awry… thus we’re not about to experiment up here in Pittsburgh.
Should you try, be sure to post the results.
>i think steve might be talking about the lonely machine in the music vid.
of course. brain freeze.
>we’ve instructed our staff to line the counters under the grinders with wax paper so we can collect every ground gone awry.
heh. i know the feeling. even the other week, i bought some roasted stuff from counter culture — rare for me, because i do so much volume on the home bar. as i was paintakingly trying to grind to the exact amount needed, then distribute extra carefully and tamp perfectly, i did something truly stupid — i lost control of my tamp somehow, and the bottom skewed suddenly to one side, digging violently into the puck and throwing grounds across the floor. first time i’d ever done that.
>was wondering if anyone had actually tried the Esmerelda as espresso.
i’ve got a post percolating on this, but i’ve been thinking about how this whole SO thing is still so novel to professional/cafe types (not talking about you per se, rich). i mean, chris tacy had a nice piece in barista mag about brewing brazil’s top coffees as espresso — as if it were some sort of break-through idea, and people should wake up and start learning the wonders of SO in the portafilter.
but home junkies have been doing this for ages — and not just out of convenience. it’s just a dramatic way to experience coffee and pull things out of SO that you just would never have experienced. why is this still so unthinkable to some people? (again, not really talking about you, rich. you are voicing a reality in the business.)
am i going to pull shots of esmerelda? sure am. i have long ceased to consider any roast or bean or blend as exclusively “for espresso,” and it makes for an especially vivid espresso-drinking experience/journey/thing.
as for americanos, well, that’s a remote posssibility i guess. but we’re talkin’ a fairly limited supply of juice here, and that just ain’t one of my favorite origin delivery methods.
Yep, that little machine left in the cold rain…Poor thing…It is, good to know, however, that you are a proud owner of an Isomac Tea…My is about 2 years old, and so far so good…
my tea is just turning two as well (that’s an old video). only some minor switch-sticking problems. you experienced anything of the kind?
The only problem that I have is the On/Off light. It went out not too long after I bought it. It didn’t bother me at all, and still doesn’t, so I never got it fixed…Call me lazy…: )