Daniel Schiavone's blog

In spite of the proliferation of coffee shops and espresso machines there are still few places where you can get a proper espresso. A few times a week I stop into Di Pasquale's where they take barista skills seriously. This morning I talked to Joe Di Pasquale to find out why all espressos are not alike.

DS: What beans do you use?

JD: Illy.

DS: Just like the use in Italy. What are the important techniques in creating the perfect espresso?

JD: Start with a clean beginning without residue from the previous coffee and give a little twist when packing the grind to create the crema. The biggest mistake is running the machine too long. You want a nice the crema on top.

And there you have it, a classic espresso or simply "cafe" to the rest of the world. Joe admired swirls of crema for a while before he put the cup on a saucer and slid a cookie beside it. It doesn't get much better than this.

Daniel Schiavone is owner of Snake Hill the company that created this web site for Di Pasquales.