Fidel Esprestro: Espressi, home

There have been a few coffee-related blog posts in the last few weeks that have been quite life-changing. Well, maybe life-changing is going too far. I don't want to call it something it's not. Let's stick with revolutionary. That's right. These blog posts rowed ashore into my blogconsciousness under cover of dark with a score of troops armed to the teeth, stormed the city, and before daybreak had overthrown the government and elected The Bean as their new leader!
As you can probably tell, revolutionary was also too strong a word.
But let's get down to business. Read/watch them for yourself and let me know what you would call it.

1. James Hoffman's inaugural video blog post about how crema tastes horrible, and you're better off scraping it off before you drink. Seriously, give it a try folks.
2. Five Senses's Coffee Mythbusting entry. Particularly #7 and #10.

These may be things that serious coffee dudes have known about for years, but I'm still ice skating up the slippery slope of coffee knowledge here. Making coffee has never been my job, this is just a recreational pursuit that I (for some reason) blog about obsessively. So I'm amazed when I find out that the barista tapping the side of his portafilter with his tamper is not doing it because trial and error have shown that it gets results. It's more like spinning drumsticks, or two-handed guitar tapping, or slap bass.
So with all that in mind, I just pulled a few shots, one after rinsing the portafilter, and one using a teatowel instead. I did the tappy thing on neither of the shots. It's an improvement. But honestly, the more I learn about this stuff, the more I realise how far off the mark I am. Putting new tyres on a complete shitbox Datsun 120Y doesn't make it a safe car. I've gotta sort out those rust problems and do something about the brakes first. Luckily, these heavy dudes blogging about heavy stuff is the equivalent of a roadworthy inspection: you might find out there are bits of your car you've never even heard of that need replacing. Don't let anyone tell you blogging is a waste of time.
Viva Caffelution!