Intrigued and or bored, wondered if anyone has tried this?

Do we put it in the microwave afterwards? 😁

I’ve just ordered a 40mm SS ball which wasn’t expensive so I won’t be hacked off if there’s no appreciable difference in the cup.

My ball arrived this afternoon. Just waiting for a stainless steel sink sieve to arrive

You could hold it with chopsticks while pouring coffee over it? Please film it 🤪 Would be keen to hear what you think of this. If it is what they say it is… Then this whole idea of pre-heating up cups will be a thing of the past :-)

If I remember correctly in the video linked says that the coffee is at the “right drinking temperature”. I don’t know about you, but I drink my coffee 10 seconds after pouring. Presumably if the coffee is in contact with a frozen surface, it will be significantly cooler than what I’d classify as “right drinking temperature”. DFK - Do you often leave your espresso to cool down prior to drinking? Do you warm up cups at all? Some say that one can pick up more flavours/tasting notes once the beverage cools down. I think that’s true, but I’m not a fan of drinking espresso lukewarm or cold. How about you?

Frozen Balls

dfk41

MediumRoastSteam I rarely drink espresso unless the bean is really good. I normally drink americano or with a little milk. My cups are on the top of the Evo and after a few hours and warm but it is not a big thing with me. I have always held the belief that the cooler a drink becomes the more flavours you can pick out

PortafilterProcrastinator

MediumRoastSteam There have been a couple of videos on Youtube about not pre-heating cups. I can’t say I noticed a difference with cup at room temp for espresso.

I do leave mine to cool as I think the flavour becomes much better.

I might try sticking my cups in the fridge - freezer might be a step too far and risk cracking!

MediumRoastSteam

PortafilterProcrastinator - I much prefer them really hot - I usually pre-heat them with water from the kettle.

Systemic

MediumRoastSteam I much prefer them really hot - I usually pre-heat them with water from the kettle.

Giphy - No Way Beer GIF by Busch

PortafilterProcrastinator

MediumRoastSteam There must be a science experiment in this about different heat tolerances of taste buds and impact on flavour perception.

I would be happy to be paid in coffee to participate in such a study 🤣

Systemic

dfk41 Just for clarification for thickos lie me, doing this still leaves the shot warm enough to drink or is it supposed to cool it down

Good question. But you shouldn’t drink espresso too hot anyway. I am not expecting the earth to move when I try it out but it’s a bit of fun for a few bob.

Systemic

Here’s the set up

Will give it a go tomorrow

dfk41

Systemic Snap!

prezes

Systemic how did you get on?

I am wondering if there’s really something to it. Tried two espressos to frozen cup yesterday and just now. Two different coffees and both seemed to have matched the flavour profile quite closely.

Systemic

MediumRoastSteam Please film it 🤪

Will give it a go

Systemic

As coffee cools, you get more body. Flavours come through more as well.

Systemic

They came from same source

dfk41

Systemic I used to have a few but goodness knows where they are now! If you want a spare or spares you are welcome!

PortafilterProcrastinator

prezes Better/ closer to the taste profile than with a room temp/ heated cup?

Do you have any concerns about pouring directly into frozen cups?

Systemic

prezes how did you get on?

Haven’t tried it yet. Hoping to do that tomorrow and video the result.

prezes

PortafilterProcrastinator yes, initial impressions are exactly that.

Normally I would drink it from a cup preheated on the machine.
I intend to test it on my wife tomorrow!

I used one of the thick cups to minimise the risk.

Systemic

Not fully replicating Hugh Kelly’s WBC routine. There, he only ran the first 12 grms of extraction over the frozen block.

Also trialling a puck screen to aid better water distribution across the puck which seems to be doing its job.

Shot was 17grms with a 1:2.5 ratio in around 33 secs total.

Espresso cup was pre-warmed and the shot was 50c.

Taste was very interesting. Huge silky mouthfeel akin to using a conical grinder but mine is a flat. Nicely balanced flavour - very fruit forward but not acidic. Definitely worth the effort.

Will try with other beans and try emulating Kelly’s routine of removing the frozen block around 12 grms.

chlorox

I find this hack seems to bring out the flavours of the coffee more clearly and it doesn’t drop the temperature by that much that the coffee becomes cold. My own theory is that it brings the temperature of rhe coffee down to a level where our taste buds can better differentiate between the different flavour notes and that apart from that it doesn’t really do anything to the coffee itself. I rarely employ this hack however as it does involve a little more fussing wirh the preparation.

MWJB

chlorox If it was solely about drinking temp, then you could just wait.

My understanding is that drinking temp is a secondary concern. The main idea behind this and the Paragon for drip coffee is that volatile aromatics are very quickly lost from the brew (dissolved solids are not - an issue recognised at least 65 years ago) and the temperature drop as the liquid leaves the puck/bed is theorised help to retain otherwise lost volatiles.

Ideally, a comparison should be made between ‘frozen ball’ shots & those left to naturally cool to the same drinking temp, to identify a difference. Or, if you feel/taste that ‘frozen ball’ shots are preferable, just do it & enjoy.

Not sure, but I’m sure I recall some interest in retaining volatiles through temperature after Christian Klatt had some shots analysed after grinding from frozen, following his involvement in the Colonna-Dashwood, Hendon, Leighton, Perger et all paper on grinding from frozen.

chlorox

MWJB

I would theorize that the volatiles are helping to bring out the flavour notes but becsuse the temperature is still too high for our taste buds to differentiate between them optimally, we dont get the best possible experience. It’s a catch 22 situation because if we wait for the coffee to cool then we lose the volatiles and the flavour notes with them. However by using the frozen balls, we get to have our cake and eat it too, so to speak.