Espresso, cups, size and culture; they all matter!

Melding the original cannon of espresso and espresso-based beverages to the sensibilities of the North American consumer, particularly while those tastes were in a rapid state of flux, led to some rather dramatic variations. Perhaps the greatest of these is the amount of beverage actually served--it got bigger.

In adapting espresso culture to the North American market, bits and pieces of the original article have fallen away or become lost. Up until now, however, Americans may care less about that than their general affection for large portions. It seems, though, that the ever-dynamic specialty coffee industry, with help from a passionate subset of traditionalist cafe operators and diligent baristas are leading many dedicated coffee drinkers back to smaller portions after all.

This movement to recapture some authenticity in espresso culture takes many forms, and, ironically, has stimulated its further evolution. Many of the advances being made in espresso today are being made here, in North America, and with the recent participation of a large audience that has been invited into the tent by, yes, Starbucks. While the nod backward to serving sizes that we look at in this article can be seen as having a retro quality to it, it should also be remembered that North America has been a hotbed for new and original advancements made in the brewing, preparation and appreciation of espresso drinks.

Kenny Nye, owner of Ninth Street Espresso in New York City currently has two stores; the original location in the East Village at 9th Street and Avenue C, and a newer location in Chelsea Market on the West Side. The third store will open this summer on 10th Street between Avenue A & B--but will still be called "Ninth Street."

Although not a purist to Italian dosing and shot volumes, Nye serves each drink in a manner befitting of its namesake and if you have a minute, you can enjoy your beverage in the cup it was designed for. "Right now we have a round lipped, 3-oz demitasse cup," said Nye. "The longest shot we pull is 1.75 oz, so that leaves a lot of room for milk in a macchiato. We run naked porta-filters, with a 20-21 gram dose in a large double basket. The end yield will be between 1.5-1.75 oz," Nye explained, adding, 'I've been pulling some 2-oz shots when the coffee allows and that still allows space for milk." When asked about cups, Nye told us, "I just switched cappuccino cups--The new cup is considered to be 8 oz, but on my volume check it was seven." He observed, noting something quite common in the coffee industry; inaccurate cup size classifications.

Price is an important factor to consider when purchasing fine porcelain for your store, as Nye explains, "I'm always looking for reasonably priced 6-oz cups. If money is not an issue you can spend a lot of it on cups, but at least here in New York City, they are broken and stolen constantly, so I try to keep the cup and saucer combo under five dollars. The most expensive cups I've used were FAC brand. The cup I use now is from Syracuse China in upstate New York. For us, the most important cup is the porcelain demitasse and we go through a lot of sizes and shapes. We have considered carrying different cups for espresso and macchiato but haven't gone that road yet," Nye said. "Currently my favorite cup for espresso is a tulip shaped cup."

With respect to espresso traditions, each drink at Ninth Street conforms to a ratio of espresso and milk that is not altered. Macchiato, cappuccino and latte's are available only in one size each. "Typically, an ounce and a half of espresso and an additional ounce of milk make a macchiato in a 3-oz cup," Nye said. "Even in a 4-oz cup 'to go' we'll leave that last ounce un-poured. The same goes for our 7-oz cap to go--if someone wants a 12-oz cap, we just won't do it. We do have a 12-oz paper cup for latte's but 16-oz lattes are out entirely. We'll do an extra shot in an Americano, but that is not a traditional espresso drink. 'Extra shot' is now off the menu." Nye commented about his shop's style, "We operate on a philosophy of simplicity and respect for the traditions of the drinks. There is something to be said for that 3-oz Macchiato or 7-oz cappuccino. I don't want to mess with it. And we won't make it 'extra dry' or 'extra wet.' We put a huge amount of time into creating a certain recipe for each drink and that's our signature. I think people have grown to respect it a bit, but at our Chelsea store we get an irate customer once or twice a week. 'What do you mean you won't make me an extra-foamy latte?'" Nye joked.

A sign hanging above the barista at Ninth Street Espresso reads, "Please Do Not Ask Us To Alter Drink Recipes." Nye commented, "Trust us, we're going to do something special with your drink. Most people think we're nuts and we take coffee too seriously, but there's a Starbucks right across the street and we send people there all day long".

To Stay or To Go--That is the Question!

"We do a really large amount of to-stay drinks. We've coached our customers to stay at the bar--even if they are in a rush, to have their drink here and have a more European or Italian coffee experience in that sense."

Nye said, "At Chelsea Market, it's amazing how many people take two minutes out of their day to stay. On weekends we're constantly running out of demitasse cups. As a whole, during the rush from opening 'till 11 am we still do a mass of 8 and 12-oz cups out the door. For espresso, the range is 60% to go and 40% to stay, although we don't track it that closely. Our baristas really want people to enjoy the drinks the way they should be and gently persuade customers daily to try their drinks in porcelain."

Meanwhile, Up North,

Vince Piccolo, founder of Caffe Artigiano, now has a new flagship coffee bar bearing the name of his roastery, 49th Parallel. The new store on 4th Avenue in Vancouver features, in addition to its espresso bar, all flesh brewed, personalized coffee extractions utilizing either a Swiss Gold pour-over or a Clover.

With regard to espresso style, cups and culture, Piccolo told us, "We try to be as authentic as we can--a cappuccino is served in no bigger than a 6-oz cup. A latte to stay is served in a 9-oz cup. To go, a latte is served in a 10-oz cup. We do have a large latte cup available but it's not a popular drink option." Piccolo expanded, "We use Inker cups, which are porcelain out of Croatia. I find it's a really high quality cup. Some Italian cups are way too thick, and some German and French porcelain tends to be way too thin, but these are just right."

Piccolo correctly observed that espresso culture in North America varies greatly, "There is a diversity of serving styles in the U.S. and Canada. We try not to brew the shots as 'ristretto,' we try to keep it traditional, so a double shot is close to 2 oz. I've had double espresso served to me at 1 oz or less and those can be quite bright." Piccolo offered, "There is no such thing as a double espresso in Italy," said Piccolo, "it's called 'un caffe' and they'll give you a 1 oz espresso with a dose between 7-9 grams. In North America we're usually brewing espresso to mix with lots of milk and so the concentration of espresso becomes stronger. In Italy, you may drink a cappuccino in the morning but you certainly don't order a cappuccino in the afternoon or evening." Piccolo added, emphasizing this critical difference between Italian and North American espresso cultures.

Another big difference between Italian and North American espresso cultures is the controversial use of Robusta coffees in espresso blends. Robusta guarantees beautiful crema, even from stale old coffee on a barely used espresso machine, but at the cost of the flavor notes of the superior tasting Arabica coffees, but not all Italian coffee roasters have love for Robusta, as Piccolo explained, "illy is one of the biggest coffee roasters in Italy and they use no Robusta. To generalize that everybody in Italy uses Robusta is probably wrong." In addition to that, the trend of single origin espresso or "SOE," for short, has not caught on in Italy and Piccolo thinks he knows why. "Single origin espresso for me, is too one dimensional. You don't have the sweetness, body, complexity that a blend can have, so I think that blending for espresso is still the way to go. There is nothing wrong with SOE, I like them, but I don't think I could have them everyday. To find an SOE that is complete is really, really difficult."

In terms of service, Piccolo said," 50-60% of customers at 49th Parallel will stay and have their drink in the store. I think the tide is turning to a more European espresso culture. As more people take five minutes to drink their coffee out of porcelain in a smaller drink, instead of getting a big milk-based drink to go, it shows that people are beginning to respect the coffee element in their coffee more and that milk is becoming secondary."

For some of us baby boomers (i.e. half of this writing team) the Marshall McLuhan quote, "The medium is the message," is part of our cultural cannon. It seems to apply in the case of this topic, it matters a lot how the coffee industry, and especially the specialty coffee industry serves its drinks. From an un-insulated, generic paper cup, to a highly branded 20-oz carafe-like vessel filled with coffee-flavored milk (not that there's anything wrong with that). Then, on the other hand there's the classic glass and ceramic cups and glasses for more elegant labor-intensive service. All have their place, but it should not be lost on those selling these drinks what each serving method and container says about the beverage inside, for better or worse, each time one is served--that message is surely not lost upon the coffee drinkers who order those drinks. It would be a shame if the first sip of everything that is going on inside that container did not occur in the best possible light.