a lot of 'spro

i used to work long hours on a la marzocco linea. four groups of pure espresso madness pouring out into paper cups with an aquatic tart emblazoned across the front and into the hands of an adoring public that couldn't get enough caramel macchiatos (the drink so terrible every indie shop within fifty miles of here has to rip off the name and recipe of exactly!). i didn't know half of what i know now by the time we had switched to the superauto verismo machines...you know, the ones originally designed for office coffee service. i can't believe in my naivete that i was actually happy to have the 'upgrade.' i think mostly i was happy because the verismos were so fast and consistent compared to all our mistakes and do-overs on the manual. we gladly gave up quality taste for ease of use. the monkey machines, as one of my baristas called the verismo. but in my store we were like crazy busy with espresso beverages. something on the order of 85-95 uph. on busy days and during holiday season that number would spike to over 100 uph. insane. that's a lot of gingerbread lattes, dude.

i just read that the australian coffee market is like 99% espresso beverages. holy kabootin cactus, batman. talk about the eye of the tiger. Lord only knows their breakdown of supers to semis; but even still, the line gets backed up unless you're pullin' the bucket o' milk at a time system.

anyways...