Good Long black

System

Hey guys, can anyone tell me how they prepare their favourite long black in store? There seems to be a widely differing opinion about this. I have been to many stores where they fully extract the shot and fill the whole cup up, other stores tend to pull a regular shot and then fill the whole cup up with hot water. Any ideas?

gary

Hey guys, can anyone tell me how they prepare their favourite long black in store?

We fill the cup up just over half with hot water and then add a regular shot, it's a better long black for my liking. We had over extracted before and I didn't like the end result. PTB

lars

yes, you should definitely stick with a regular shot (approx 25mls in 25-30 secs) and add hot water. Extracting longer than this means you are adding the bitter residues, which is why you would have observed a poor taste. _L

mattyj

Some people do PTB's method, but with a dash of cold water, to cool the hot (usually boiler) water, so as not to burn the espresso as it enters the water. Me ... I drink milky drinks and espresso. If I'm after a longer black coffee, I drink plunger, but then, I'm not a barista workin in a cafe! But if I was to order a LB, I definately wouldn't drink it if it was a 120-200ml extraction ... if you're not sure why, pull a 120ml shot from a double basket .... and taste ... if you're game.

sketchy

The way to make a long black again depends on the blend & the person drinking it. If you use a single origin then you may not be able to long pour, however i find with the blend i use i can long pour. If a person dosn't likes there long black milder then we do add water with either a single or double shot. I personally would rather order 2 or 3 espressos. A lot of the places near me only put in a single shot so you can see the bottom of the cup & there is rarely any crema.

FreshCoffee2

Yup the PTB method is the go, but I personally subscribe to the mattyj variant which is to add a little cold water to cool the boiler water, before topping with the espresso. There is one other variant and that is, that some like their long blacks made with a  double shot instead of a regular espresso. By the way, as already described but just in case anyone missed it....you top the water with the espresso....you do not top the espresso with the water because that dissipates the all important crema. Regardz, FC.

sketchy

By the way, as already described but just in case anyone missed it....you top the water with the espresso....you do not top the espresso with the water because that dissipates the all important crema. Regardz, FC.

I agree. Unfortunately a lot of places these days pour the espresso into little glasses or jugs (with lines to tell them how much to pour) and then into the cup. Don't they realize that they lose a lot of the flavour. Sorry a little of topic there.

Unknown

There is one other variant and that is, that some like their long blacks made with a

Glenjamin

well yes, your half way there..... you never let the shot run till the cups full. Thats just murdering something which should be enjoyable. >:( the only true way to create the perfect long black is to fill the cup 3/4 full with hot water from your group head before you put your group handle in. this way the water is the perfect temp and won't burn the espresso when its extracted ontop. of course your machine cleanliness must be excellent to use this method, in order to aviod a very gritty coffee. i suggest doing a full back flush every 30 to 45 min, till the water runs clear. then before every long black or espresso, a quick back flush to get rid of any loose coffee grinds. but you already do this right?.........   then you extract a double ristretto on top of the water, resulting in the perfect long black!!!! enjoy!!!!!!