Originally Posted by
OCDshaver
I bought two bags of his beans last week, the Vita and Dolce. The Vita makes good milk based drinks but I'm not overwhelmed with the Dolce. You get a ton of crema (it IS fresh, fresh, fresh) but it quickly disappeared. The freshness, you got that. It was roasted the day it was sent. I liked the roasting too. He pushed it to the point where the beans were just about to get oily. Acidity is well balanced but I might prefer even less (a personal taste). I used not a speck more than 16.5g per double shot and a fairly fine grind. But his book has given me some insight. My milk frothing is much, much better. And the overall quality of my latte and flat white are so much better. Good texture. And the espresso is coming out without bitterness so my desire for sugar is diminishing to zero. This coming weekend will see a cleaning regimen. Keep it clean, grind the moment before you pack your portafilter, measure your dose accurately, pack the portafilter carefully and evenly, brew for 25 seconds, and keep everything hot.