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''I could talk for hours about Starbucks," van Schyndel says.
Some critics would go so far as to say that the company's drinks, let alone those now coming out of local favorite Dunkin' Donuts, barely even qualify as espresso.
''Espresso has a pretty bad rap in most of America,"
Ken Nye, owner of Ninth Street Espresso in New York City, says over a macchiato (espresso with a dab of steamed milk on top) at his far-East Village shop.
' 'They haven't had it. They've had this abomination."
Pardon the pun, but changes are brewing, slowly but surely. In both Boston and New York, espresso fanatics can find pockets of quality like Simon's and Ninth Street, where trained, dedicated baristi are grinding, dosing, tamping, pulling, and frothing. At these cafes, the point is to emphasize the unique flavors that can result when hot water pushes through finely ground coffee at the right speed.Continued...
''Good espresso should taste almost like freshly ground coffee smells," says Nye. And its velvety, full-bodied texture should coat the palate.
There are so many steps to achieving this, and virtually no room for error when making something with only two ingredients: coffee and water (plus milk for cappuccino, latte, or other espresso drinks). The size of the grind, the pressure and technique used when ''tamping" them into the machine's portafilter, and the temperature of the water are among the factors that can affect whether the water presses through in the requisite 20 to 30 seconds for 2 ounces of liquid. Faster or slower, and it's thin and sour or burnt and bitter.
Much of the strategy involves freshness. The best espresso, Nye says, comes from coffee roasted recently and preferably locally.
