First point -- many cafes don't have good baristas who constantly adjust grind. In fact, I don't think I have ever seen a barista time a pour, inspect the crema or look at the puck for channeling, etc. before knocking it into the trash. I'm sure there are places with baristas who actually do this stuff, but here in the DC area most are about keeping production up with the demand.
Second point -- there is no reason to continuously fiddle if you pull shots daily. As Tristan said, just a minor tweak every couple of days should easily keep ours within a second or two if you are still drawing from the same batch of beans. I buy 5 lb bags of beans, and vacuum seal/ freeze in batches that last about one week each.
In other coffee posts i have gone out of my way to bring attention to cultural differences. I guess I should do that again. I can only speak for Australia and more specifically: Sydney. Again... I am not saying coffee here is better or worse than any other country. Just a different culture and a palate.
My experience is that on average, Sydney cafes produce
decent espresso. Many restaurants as well. They might not be sublime drinks but it would be dramatic to recoil from them in disgust. Just like you can choose to go to good restaurants, you can choose to go to good cafes! Metropolitan Sydney has a lot of cafes that make decent espresso.
As I have said previously, Australia benefited from Italian (and Greek) immigration after WWII. Immigrants found themselves in a country without deep traditions. We're also a wealthy country. So although our coffee culture inherits from Italian traditions - we were 'free' to experiment with it. I believe we use lighter, more caramely roasts and MILK. Aussies and Kiwis fight over who invented the flat-white. Suffice to say, it is an Antipodean 'invention'. Thanks to cashed up bohemians, yuppies and hipsters, coffee culture here is pretty serious - particularly in the inner city where there is urban renewal.
I wouldnt be surprised if Australia has played a disproportionate role in shaping the 'third wave'. Coffee and brunch are a very Australian institution. Just like you can meet up with a friend for a drink, here you can meet up with a friend for a "coffee". The term is so ubiquitous it is used as shorthand for socialising over a non-alcoholic drink, generally before the evening. It is not unusual for participants socialising over "coffee" to have a tea or juice. Since we're pretty tea mad as well, cafes are fairly competent in that department!
So I think it is a different story here. Baristas
will adjust grinds here. Previously I chose the word constant... I agree that gives the wrong impression. In the transitional seasons there can be a temperature swing from the pre-work morning rush to the post lunch haze. Decent baristas will compensate for that. It definitely wont be after every shot but it wouldnt be unusual for the grinder settings to be different across the day. And like you say, in minor tweaks. I think it is just a different cultural standard. More is expected from our baristas here. For instance, basic coffee art (hearts, leaf) is another common skill here. While I wouldn't say it is done at the majority of cafes, it is common enough that it is unsurprising.
Now; super artisan coffee? Of course you can find it here! But like everywhere else, it is a niche.
Ozzies (
@Moooza,
@friz,
@Michi,
@Nemo,
@juice). I'd be keen to hear your perspective?
Back to the second point. At home: i agree. I only make 3 doubles a day. The routine is just to set and forget (unless things get really out of whack). But if I were a commercial barista, I would watch my shots and make small adjustment every couple of hours if required.
