alas, after one week in gordon's bay, i found a cafe -- albeit in a department store -- with a very respectable machine ( la marzocco linea three group) and a very sound pair of mazzer grinders. i was ready to take a chance on the miscela (third m) but as i sat and observed the barista's techniques my expectations slowly sank with my energy and enthusiasm levels.
why? why does it have to be that something has to fall short of pulling a good cup of espresso? the ignorance is almost unforgiveable. it is the one that is the most accessible to any cafe -- the blend is a personal taste, the grinder can be pricy. the machine can certainly be out of reach for some. all one needs to do is go on the internet and find an ocean, indeed a universe full of information from extration time to blends from cat poop!!
i ordered my espresso (short) with great anticipation. this anticipation slowly drowned as observed the person behind the machine perform her espresso preparation.
i didn't even hear the whir of the grinder. before i could figure out what the person was trying to do my espresso was in front of me. the so called crema was pale, thin and very sad lookiing on top of some black sludge sitting inside a very sad looki cup. i took a deep breath and -- hope against hope -- i wanted this espresso to taste half decent. it wasn't. it was, as it appeared, sad, bitter, sour, et al. it was for a fleeting moment a transport back to my nightmarish experience of tasting starbucks.
WHY?! it is so sad to see such a good machine put to such wasteful use by ignorants!
On the upside, the experience really made me home (machine)sick for my GB5.