Labour of love

Been a nice weekend to work in the bar. The tourists are coming and Stockholm has been sparkeling in the rain. I had a steady flow from opening til closing time with a queue almost the whole time. I had an organic blend in the grinder that was sweet and wonderful. Actually I felt near heaven everytime I put the timer on, gave the old extraction button a punch and just watched the slow flow for 25 seconds. 25 seconds of one of the most beautiful shows ever. Seeing those 5 centilitres of sweet, thick liquid pour down into a set of cappuccino cups. It is in that moment I realize why I spend my days infront of the machine. I love it. After I shut the shop today I extracted the last espresso (that one is always for me...) and went out for a cigarette. One of the best espresso's I've had. 9 grams extracted into 2,5 centiliters in 32 seconds time. Sweet!

Cleaned up and got on the sub home. Flirted a bit with the cute girl infront of me at the train and enjoyed a slow walk home.

Got home to the old GE-One and opened a small bag of Brandmeester's Equito that I have had lying around a few weeks since I used that blend on a freelance gig. Put Damien Rice - O on the stereo and began... Took some photos of it (published with this post). It was sweet and fruity but lacked some body. Will try to get it better tomorrow. Off work tomorrow so I'll spend some time painting a wall at home and just enjoy life. Making some espressi for sure!

So what is this crap all about...

Another blog focusing on the fine craft of applying nine bars of pressure to water, than heat it to approximately 90 degrees celcius to let it perculate through a pressed cake of coffee to become the beverage called espresso in 28 seconds time... I guess you can live without it, I guess it won't change anything. But if we lose the focus of those facts and get straight to business instead. Who am I?

Well, I call myself Laboratorio on this blog. I am a Swedish barista approaching 30 that has been active in this industry since the spring of 2003. I am the manager in charge of a high-profile espresso bar in the beautiful city of Stockholm, Sweden. My bible is "Espresso Coffee - The Science of Quality" and I keep a rather academic approach towards the organoleptical as well as the preparational understanding of the beverage.

My blog has the title "Viva Espressi", I won't translate it for you, and the subtext: "Refining my craft - One shot a time". That is probably enough to understand my view of coffee in general. Perfection can NEVER be achieved. But it is a great goal.

Most of the images on his blog will be from my home setup. I use a number of machines. Mostly though a Gaggia GE One which I have modified with LED-lights and a few other things. The main grinder is a Mazzer Major, but I also use a Rossi RR45 and a small Ascaso on a regular basis. The first pictures here are of a double "fashionable" aussie style ristretto that finally got some milk too... The coffee is a personal blend of four different classic single-estate coffees in equal amount. (Won't give information on that one yet...). It tasted great by the way!

Regards

Laboratorio