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Permalink Reply by Shadow on May 27, 2010 at 7:56am

Can you elaborate a bit more on the subject? Anytime I fill an order for a hot flavored/sweetened drink I start by putting the syrup, sauce, sugar in the bottom of the cup and extract right over it, then stir followed by milk. For iced espresso based drinks I will pump the syrup or sauce into the bottom of bell pitchers, then extract over that, stir well, then pour over the ice.

My concern is getting everything properly mixed in an efficient manner.

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Permalink Reply by Shadow on May 27, 2010 at 9:56am

OK that is the first time I've heard of "saving" a shot in that context. For that I must say for me there is no saving espresso. Each extraction is done per drink order and nothing is ever saved.

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Permalink Reply by Kirk on May 27, 2010 at 10:21am

i have heard Starbucks's standard is 10 seconds.
Shots do deteriorate and go bitter pretty quickly so the key is to incorporate them into a drink quickly. If you incorporate fresh shots with lots of crema and a golden color the drink will taste better (in my opinion and experience) than if you let the bubbles all rise to the top and then put them in a drink - THEN it will tend to taste more bitter and less sweet.
But, as others have suggested - trust your gut - taste-test different ways of doing it and stick with what tastes best.
~Kirk

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Ayers on May 27, 2010 at 10:38am

Gabriel Labovitz said:

(why do people order espresso then go to the bathroom?)

+1 lol. why is this so common?

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Permalink Reply by Samantha on May 27, 2010 at 1:53pm

The reason I was asking is if your making a drink with a triple shot or quad and you can only pull two shots at a time with a single group machine. Then does the syrup keep the shots, or should you add some milk?

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Permalink Reply by Brady on May 27, 2010 at 3:14pm

Kirk said:

i have heard Starbucks's standard is 10 seconds.
Shots do deteriorate and go bitter pretty quickly so the key is to incorporate them into a drink quickly. If you incorporate fresh shots with lots of crema and a golden color the drink will taste better (in my opinion and experience) than if you let the bubbles all rise to the top and then put them in a drink - THEN it will tend to taste more bitter and less sweet.
But, as others have suggested - trust your gut - taste-test different ways of doing it and stick with what tastes best.
~Kirk

There's been considerable discussion on this subject here... lots of great info on the "10 second rule" etc. The takeaway from that is that its BS.

The only thing that you need to worry about happening to your shot with time is it cooling and crema dissipating. If your shot tastes bitter after sitting for 30 seconds, chances are that it was bitter at the start.

Obviously, you get best results from immediate usage of the shot... but if it has to sit for 30 seconds or a minute that's not a big deal.

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Permalink Reply by Jay Caragay on May 28, 2010 at 4:41am

When discussing "saving" a shot, what's important is "saving" the crema, which contains many of the ideal flavors of the espresso. Whether a portion of milk or syrup, the important step is to combine the ingredients as soon as possible. This incorporates the crema elements into the drink, reducing the amount that dissipates.

Worried about how long you have? Simply pull a shot into a shot glass and watch the crema dissipate. Once it starts to break, then you know how long you have to work.

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Permalink Reply by Samantha on May 28, 2010 at 5:55am

Thanks so much to everyone. That was extremely helpful.

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