[Hehe]

I went to Artigiano twice and wasn't impressed. They don't have a very good temperature control on both the espresso shot and milk, giving inconsistent cups.

I'm gonna try Gene Coffee because I miss all the good coffee I had when I was living in Italy (where I learned how to appreciate coffee). Making a good cup of coffee is a science...

You can tell whether a barista is doing a good job by checking the crema that's on top of their espresso shot. Forget any machine made (ala Starbucks) ones. The crema should naturally just fill the top section of the shot glass without much depth or uneven-ness through the layer. Too much means either too hot or the bean isn't properly ground (usually too chunky) and too little means the opposite but ground bean being too dense.

And most importantly is the temperature of the coffee, ideally, you want to keep it near 86 degree Celsius at time of tasting and 92 degrees when just done to take advantage of the aroma. People stir the coffee not simply to add condiments but also to lower the temperature.

Last but not least, is the minerals in the water. Here in NA we have a much different mineral content in our water and has something to do with how we process our water, the real reason why European always say we have shitty coffee. The very best coffee I've ever tasted in NA was done by an old retired Italian gentleman who runs a B&B about 200 miles outside of Cheyenne Wyoming. He uses filtered water from the stream that runs behind his house and it was so good that I actually made a run back there when I was driving to Yellowstone (first time was a road trip with friend to NYC)