Hitting the side of the handle with your tamper

18:59 Apr 6, 2013 

I think in that case that pretty much clinches it — I think it is indeed talking about the domestic situation, in which case, it is perfectly logical to talk about tapping the sides of the 'handle' with your 'tamper' (of the heavier variety mentione din F-X's ref.) instead of the other way round.

So please disregard my earlier comments about the professional situation, though the principle is of course the same: a percussive action to dislodge stray coffee particles.

18:56 Apr 6, 2013 

en effet selon les doses et quantités des ingrédients (et même dans les autres recettes du fichier), cela fait plus penser à un usage personnel à la maison avec une petite machine.
mais les textes fournissent très peu d'infos utiles.
(impossible de contacter le client le w.end et je dois lui livrer aussi d'autres textes lundi à l'ouverture)

le paragraphe complet de cette recette est ainsi:
(et même les autres sont dans ce genre)

Serveware
Warmed Espresso Cup (2 oz)*
Ingredients
1 shot of Espresso
Preparation
Place a 7g + shot of coffee into a single basket handle. Coffee should be tamped hard. Hitting the side of the handle with your tamper helps getting coffee from the edges to the center of it. Tamp it again and then gently wipe away any loose grind from the rim. Place the handle in the group head and press the single shot button.
Done correctly, your espresso should extract for 25 - 30 seconds and give you around 25ml of coffee. Crema should have a nut brown color with shades of tawny brown and very fine texture.
* warm your cups with a splash of hot water

17:25 Apr 6, 2013 

Well, you're either going to have to seek clarification from the customer, or play it safe with a non-committal solution as I've suggested.

Maybe there's a clue in the actual recipes? 7 g seems quite a small dose of coffee for a professional machine; and what about the recipe for the coffee with cream? How do they actually achieve that? I've never seen that done using a bar machine, though I suppose it's possible.

Actually, I've just tried it in my home espresso machine, and 7 g does give about the right normal dose for a single coffee.

I'm leaning more and more towards the idea that this is in fact for domestic rather than professional use.

Doesn't your customer have a website where you can go and find more about what and to whom they sell?

17:09 Apr 6, 2013 

En effet Tony, moi aussi j'avais pensé que ces recettes se réfèraient à des préparations de cafés avec les machine de bars (pour justement les 2 termes techn. que tu as indiqués)
mais ces mots pourraient aussi aller pour des petites machines à la maison...

MAIS JE NE SAIS PAS NI LA DESTINATION, NI L'USAGE PRÉCIS ou le LIEU car le client ne m'a fourni AUCUNE INFO.
(j'ai seulement des pages de petites recettes comme celle-ci, donc ça ne me donne pas de contexte ni d'info claires)
Moi aussi je me demandais à qui elles servent...

13:57 Apr 6, 2013 

I find it odd that they should be giving quite such detailed instructions in a general document... can you not glean any other clues, such as whether they might be addressing professional or gen. public customers? Surely your doc must give some sort of hints?

The fact that they mention 'single-shot button' and 'single basket handle' kind of leans me towards the professional machine idea; then again, your added context sounds very much as if it describing the kinds of coffee found in single-dose domestic machines. Puzzling!

I think if there really IS no way of resolving the ambiguity, it would be wisest to choose a non-committal solution that could work in either situation.

13:14 Apr 6, 2013 

je n'ai pas d'autre contexte utile ni d'indications si c'est pour un bar ou restaurant ou utilisation à la maison.
Je pense que c'est valable dans TOUS les cas.
C'est une recette pour faire un type de café d'une certaine façon.
(différentes recettes de café avec/sans crème, chocolat, caramel, cappuccino, etc..)

Donc ce ne sont pas du tout des instructions techniques pour l'utilisation d'une machine, ce n'est pas un manuel tech.

10:55 Apr 6, 2013 

Could we have clarification, please: is this instruction for an espresso machine as used in bars, restaurants, etc. — or is it for a home machine?

Either way, I suspect the EN in the source text is slightly awry...