Coffee Posse - Some comments
I’ve received a couple of comments on the Coffee article. Nice to know people care enough to write.
Scott Rao made the following observations:
- A proper extraction takes about 20-35 seconds (not the 5-10 seconds I reported).
- There is no steam involved. Espresso is extracted by water at 190-204F, depending on the country and style.
- The “which has more caffeine” issue is seriously complicated. Suffice to say espresso has less caffeine per serving, but has roughly 5-10x more caffeine per ounce. (not unlike comparing the alcohol content of whiskey and beer.)
Samuel Masinter, from Amherst College seconded the comments on the length of a pull and the temperature of the water used in the machine. He also commented that my Seattle espresso was probably a ristretto and suggested visiting coffeegeek.com. His comment, “sadly the world of coffee fanatics is, well, crazy,” is well taken. Always nice to hear from the fanatics, at least in the world of food. Thanks.