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Permalink Reply by Emily Wiersma on January 29, 2012 at 4:31pm

I work in a shop were we have to age our beans 10-12 days to make sure that they aren't bubbly or too foamy. I'm not sure about other factors, but aging seems to cure our issues. 

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Permalink Reply by Corvus Coffee on January 30, 2012 at 5:17pm

This depends a lot on the coffee. I would keep a little log book and make some notes for each espresso starting a day or so out from roasting, out until a week and a half from roasting. See where the sweet spot is, where they are too fresh, too old, and try to work between these two extremes.

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Permalink Reply by Brady on January 31, 2012 at 4:31am

Typically, you should be in the right ballpark at 7 days. In any case, bubbles due to fresh espresso are usually present in the shot itself.

This looks to me like a milk issue. Sometimes we'd get in a jug of milk and it would do that and collapse... switching to a different brand fixed the problem. Any chance that's what's happening to you?

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Permalink Reply by David Myers on January 31, 2012 at 5:02am

What does the straight espresso shot look like? The first day after roast, the crema will often have larger bubbles and not be as smooth which will make it difficult to blend into the milk.

By the 2nd or 3rd day, the shots should start to have smoother crema as the beans degass.

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Permalink Reply by JR on January 31, 2012 at 6:08am

thanks for your comments!
single shot is nice/no bubbles
I'm starting to believe this could be a milk problem. Will have to check with a different brand.

 

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Permalink Reply by Jay Caragay on January 31, 2012 at 8:45am

First off, do you have any photos/examples to show us?  That might help in identifying problems.

What kind of milk are you using?  From time to time, we experience severe bubbling of the milk in drinks that is a result (we think - that is: us and the creamery) of problems with the homogenization process.  One moment, you have beautifully frothed milk, the next it breaks down into uniform bubbles.  We suspect it is the screens used in homogenizing the milk, but we are still unsure as of yet.  However, it only happens maybe once every year or two.

The age of the coffee could be the issue but typically one week is long enough to dissipate most gasses that might cause you problems.  I do have one friend who used to age his espresso blend three weeks before using, but this was mainly to stabilize the coffee and allow the flavors to meld better and it tasted great.  YMMV.

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Permalink Reply by Moffee Coff on March 5, 2012 at 1:52am

I love sweet and chocolate/cocoa flavors that are soft and supple. Could anyone please recommend me 3-5 different blends of beans to try as a place to start? Link would be nice. These are mostly for espresso, but if you have a couple of other beans that have similar tastes for milk based drinks like lattes or cappuccinos that would be awesome too.

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Permalink Reply by Sarah Thompson on March 5, 2012 at 1:14pm

I use Vienese espresso from Seven Hills in Cincinnati. It has a nice chocolate undertone. Yummy!

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Permalink Reply by Greg Aliff on March 6, 2012 at 12:25pm

I like to let it age about 7-10 days, i prefer a little fresh to stale.  How quickly are you seeing the bubbles?  If it is right away it is a steaming technique issue.  All milk foam is going to eventually start breaking down after a little time. 

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Permalink Reply by JR on March 6, 2012 at 1:00pm

milk texture seems fine and latte art is decent right after the pour...but a couple of minutes later large bubbles are forming.

never have this issue with our decaf.

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Permalink Reply by Greg Aliff on March 6, 2012 at 1:06pm

I may be wrong but I don't think the extraction (espresso/water) would continue to give off gases.  It seems like that would only be the beans.  Fattier milk holds it's texture for less time.  Foam from non fat will sit there all day long. 

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