All our coffee is served with two shots by default. We’re not some fancy coffee shop, just a motorway service station that makes coffee to go. We have some regulars who order a decaff with an extra shot. I explain thats going to have three shots total, and they’re happy with it.
But I keep thinking, if you have three shots of decaff, isn’t that going to be as strong as a normal coffee? Whats the point?
Please forgive my ignorance
Follow-up question - each portafilter is two shots right? So if you end up adding an third shot to a coffee, what do you do with the leftover fourth one?
(Or do you have a smaller, single shot portafilter?)
All of the bar espresso machines I’ve worked with have an extra “handle”(I’m not sure how it’s called in english) that’s half as deep and has a single spout, so yes there is a single shot one, at least for the ones in italy, i don’t know if it’s the same for the rest of the world
Portafilters for a single shot is pretty standard equipment, but it’s also a bit controversial among the snobs. A lot of baristas will stick to making double shots and just throw the second one away if nobody orders an espresso while it’s still fresh. In a moderately busy bar excess espresso shots are not really a problem.
… just throw the second one away if nobody orders an espresso while it’s still fresh. In a moderately busy bar excess espresso shots are not really a problem.
I used to hang out at a coffeehouse (in high school, I’d go with friends or alone - just to sit and read/write/draw) and the proprietors would always make a fresh pair of espressos for the one shot that would go into the latte or americano, then offer me the leftover shot of espresso (when it wasn’t very busy and it would have gone to waste). But yep, two shots were made, every time.
It sometimes pays to be a regular someplace 😸
Well good to know; in all honesty it feels a little weird to see espresso as a snob thing when here in italy you see it everywhere, i literally just came from bringing a couple of cups of it to a couple of my frends working in the constrution site next to my house; it’s kinda nice to see this differences
You mean the basket. The portafilter holds the basket and is inserted into the group head. They can be bottomless (naked) or have spouts.
On to baskets. You can buy single/double/triple shot sizes (typically 7/14/21 grams) but you can also buy 18/20/22/24/25g baskets. You’ll find most serious cafes use 18/20/22g baskets. Barista’s almost always love to chat so don’t be afraid to ask questions. Just be nice and they’ll tell you just about anything you want to know about pulling espresso shots.
