Naomi

Historical summary

Overview

• Naomi’s 88 available messages span May 25–July 13, 2026 and are overwhelmingly grounded in her work at the SEY café: current coffee availability, service recipes, equipment, quality control, menu operations, and informal tasting judgments.
• She appears closely involved in café service and coffee evaluation. She reports what is on bar or retail shelves, explains recipe changes, participates in cuppings and A/B tests, and discusses practical constraints such as resting coffee, backstock transfers, freezer inventory, and testing during service.
• Her coffee preferences emphasize clarity, articulation, elegance, intensity, and distinctive fruit or floral character. She describes the current straight espresso target as a compact, highly articulated “juice bomb,” while acknowledging that other ratios may produce different benefits.
• She is opinionated but explicitly resists promotional certainty: she jokes that she does not believe in “hyping,” while readily ranking coffees, naming favorites, and describing exceptional lots as sparkling, elegant, beautiful, or emotionally affecting.
• Her technical comments are unusually specific for café discussion, including basket size, paper use, ratios, beverage weights, temperatures, pressure settings, shot times, grinders, burrs, TDS, estimated extraction yield, AeroPress procedure, V60 testing, and differences between straight and milk espresso.
• She repeatedly qualifies uncertain operational information. Availability forecasts are often presented as provisional until she sees the delivery, receives stock, or physically puts boxes away; technical numbers such as water temperature or extraction yield are sometimes explicitly approximate.
• Her participation is concentrated in #current-menu, #espresso-focused, and #what-are-you-brewing, with additional contributions to filter brewing, origins and producers, cupping, and a café brew-along.
  

Topics and views

• Straight espresso recipe and its evolution
  
• On June 4, Naomi described the SEY café’s featured espresso as using a 49 mm basket with a paper filter, approximately 1:2.2, 195°F, a 5-second preinfusion, and a total shot time of roughly 9–15 seconds.
• At that point, the machine had reportedly been set around 3.5 bar for approximately six months, producing shots nearer the long end of that range. The staff had begun experimenting with higher pressure and liked some of the results.
• By July 1, she gave the current straight-shot recipe as 18 g in and 40–42 g out, around 3.5% TDS, with a much lower extraction yield than earlier SEY recipes. She estimated the extraction yield at roughly 8–9%, while noting that she had relied on a calculator and did not present herself as certain about the arithmetic.
• On July 12, she said shots were running around 12–13 seconds.
• On July 13, she explained that extending output from the current 40–42 g, about 1:2.2, toward the previous 45–47 g, about 1:2.5, produced a dirtier finish and a more muddled overall cup in their testing.
• She characterized the current objective as high intensity, high articulation, and high clarity, rather than maximizing conventional extraction yield. She still allowed that longer ratios might reveal other desirable qualities and suggested the staff might revisit them experimentally.
  
• Pressure testing and skepticism about gauge readings
  
• Naomi described a progression from approximately 3–3.5 bar, through comparison with 9 bar, to a current pump setting of 6 bar.
• She reported a majority preference among the SEY staff for 6 bar because it tasted more articulated than 9 bar.
• She also relayed a visiting brewer’s argument that, because the grind is very coarse and flow is extremely fast, the machine may never reach the nominal pressure displayed by the gauge.
• Her conclusion was provisional rather than dogmatic: 6 bar was the current “middle” setting the team preferred, not a settled universal optimum.
• She stressed that commercial-service pressure testing is structurally difficult. Pump-pressure changes are harder to perform during service than ordinary recipe adjustments, and simultaneous A/B testing is often unrealistic.
  
• Milk espresso versus straight espresso
  
• Naomi clearly distinguished the café’s milk-drink espresso from its featured straight espresso.
• For milk drinks, she reported approximately 18 g in, 36 g out, around 9% TDS, and an estimated 16–18% extraction yield.
• The stronger milk shot was designed to remain perceptible through the café’s unusually rich 8% fat milk.
• She recalled that SEY had previously used a Vermont cream-top milk she believed was roughly 11–13% fat. Staff had to remove a thick cap of cream, and she considered it delicious but operationally impractical.
• The milk espresso grinder was identified as an E80S GBW/E80 GBW fitted with Weber Base burrs; the straight espresso used a Lagom 01 with SSP High Uniformity burrs.
• An earlier bulk or milk-style espresso setup was described as approximately 1:2 without a paper filter, ground finer on a Mahlkönig grind-by-weight grinder, with TDS around 8–9% and a more traditional mouthfeel.
• She attributed the difference partly to grinder and burr geometry, strength, and the absence of paper. Even those shots were fast by ordinary café standards, though a few seconds slower than the featured espresso.
  
• Filter and AeroPress service
  
• On June 8, Naomi gave a café AeroPress recipe of approximately 1:16.25, a 5-minute steep, a Prismo, and standard paper filters.
• She specified no agitation, a 45-second bloom, and then one continuous second pour.
• The grinder was a Lagom 01 with brew burrs.
• She believed the water was approximately 200°F, but explicitly said the Tones water-dispenser interface made the actual temperature hard to verify.
• She initially contrasted this with a 93°C espresso-machine setting, then corrected the espresso-machine temperature downward to approximately 90–91°C.
• She repeatedly defended the café’s AeroPress service, saying it tasted very good and frequently won internal A/B comparisons.
• She also referenced a café V60 comparison between Doug and Hao-yung and posted additional brewing attachments whose precise contents cannot be recovered from the text alone.
• In late June, she said the café was still testing possible brew methods and recipes, implying that a broader service-method change was under consideration but not yet finalized.
  
• Coffee preferences and personal rankings
  
• Naomi named Wilson Alba as her clear number-one coffee.
• Her tentative top group was:
  
• Wilson Alba
• Samuel Aragon
• Genezard Perez
• Banko
• William Ortiz Chiroso, possibly displaced by a new David lot
• She immediately added Felix Morocho as another coffee that complicated the ranking, making clear that the list was provisional.
• She acknowledged that Albino and Jhon might have superior structure and more layered combinations of florals and fruit.
• Despite that, she personally preferred Genezard Perez for its elegance and sense of completeness.
• She proposed making a March Madness-style bracket for future coffee releases, reflecting both strong internal opinions and an interest in comparative tasting.
• She called Gaharo very good and asked whether a referenced Bukeye coffee was Musumba, associated with orange, or Gaharo, associated with blue.
• Her one-word “Orange” brewing response is context-dependent and cannot safely be expanded into a specific coffee or recipe from the archive alone.
  
• Specific coffees and tasting reactions
  
• Naomi described Duber as exceptionally special and said it “sparkled” when cupped next to a William coffee left by another member.
• She predicted that Duber would strongly affect someone who already liked related coffees.
• She identified one lot as her first Chiroso, apparently with emotional significance.
• She described a William Ortiz Chiroso or second-harvest profile in relation to maracuyá/passion fruit, after the cupping team ate the fruit to calibrate their sensory language.
• She considered the William Ortiz second harvest worthy of more attention, even while joking about her opposition to hype.
• She said one newly arriving coffee was sufficiently beautiful that the café intended to offer it on filter and espresso, sell retail boxes, and perhaps reserve some in the freezer.
• She praised a leftover Sidra espresso as especially tasty.
• Her comment that “Chorso” would be served as iced coffee appears to refer to Chiroso, but the archive preserves the spelling as written and does not establish the exact lot with certainty.
  
• Cupping, QC, and sensory calibration
  
• Naomi described a QC session for Jijón coffees with two SEY roasters and a phone consultation with José.
• The discussion included why Mejorado coffees can taste strongly floral and how phenolic character develops.
• She called phenol a recurring special interest within the team, suggesting that phenolic flavors were actively analyzed rather than merely dismissed.
• After cupping, the group shared a fresh maracuyá to calibrate around what she called an upper-level Chiroso profile.
• She jokingly denied using a rigorous tasting-note methodology, but the activity itself—side-by-side cupping, external consultation, and reference-fruit calibration—shows a substantive sensory-evaluation practice.
• She stated that some internal cupping notes can be as informal or unconventional as humorous descriptions posted in the server.
  
• Menu availability and retail operations
  
• Naomi frequently provided near-real-time café-stock information, including confirmations for Duber, Dwight, Luis Salas, Gerald, Banko, Danche, Chelbessa, Georgina Puma, William Ortiz, Jhon Alexander Bermudez, Carlos Saenz, Dwight Aguilar Red Gesha, Pepe Sidra, and Pepe Mejorado.
• On June 5, she confirmed Duber and Dwight for the café through the weekend and into the following week, with Luis Salas available if Hyunah had sold out.
• On June 18, she expected Gerald and Dwight to remain available, thought Banko might run out, and believed Duber or Danche would follow.
• On June 27, she explained that café service stock and retail stock do not always align because coffees are rested differently before service and before sale.
• She noted that café inventory and online inventory are separate pools, so an online sellout does not prove that the café has no boxes.
• The Dwight Red Gesha had been packed for retail but was waiting to be moved into the backstock room; she expected it on shelves the next day or Monday.
• Pepe retail was uncertain because the incoming quantity might only be sufficient for bulk café use.
• She invited members to ask about specific retail boxes and said she tried to respond, particularly when someone had missed an online release.
• She considered a live online café menu potentially useful but operationally difficult because offerings change so quickly that even the physical counter board can lag reality.
  
• Named café menu snapshot
  
• On July 5, Naomi listed the café selection as:
  
• Chorso/Chiroso Bule
• Chelbessa
• Georgina Puma
• William Ortiz
• Jhon Alexander Bermudez
• Carlos Saenz
• Dwight Aguilar Red Gesha
• Pepe Sidra
• Pepe Mejorado
• She reported a very small remainder of a Sidra “wave” available for espresso that day, estimating about 20 doses and expecting it to sell out before closing.
• This appears to have been opportunistic service of leftover coffee rather than a durable menu item.
  
• Pricing and accessibility
  
• Naomi said SEY generally wanted to preserve at least one more accessible café price point.
• She rejected the idea that lower-priced service should be restricted to less distinctive coffees, citing Dwight Red Gesha on batch brew for $6 as an example.
• She explained that some other listed options came from frozen inventory, while the $6.50 espresso was consistently a fresh offering.
• Her framing suggests that price tiers were partly determined by preparation and inventory format, not simply by an internal hierarchy of coffee quality.
  
• Café environment and workplace details
  
• She reported ordinary café hours as 8 a.m.–5 p.m., and on the earliest archive date simply said the café was open normal hours.
• A planned new cupping lab would have a Lazy Susan on the table so staff could rotate cups instead of repeatedly standing.
• She identified two colleagues as the café’s roasters, describing them with conspicuous affection and saying she had received permission to reveal their roles.
• She mentioned a cup featuring a staff portrait drawn by a talented regular; another design featuring a unicorn was used in an A/B comparison but had become smudged.
• Her messages include affectionate teasing of coworkers and regulars, references to keeping people away from or behind the bar, and jokes about whether José would be allowed near the bar again.
• She recalled taking another community member to a New York Liberty game, where the person ate three pretzels and enjoyed the event.
• Personal remarks such as these establish a familiar café-community tone but do not provide enough evidence to infer the identities or roles of users represented only by numeric mentions.
  
• Community conduct
  
• Naomi directly asked members not to use slurs in the Discord.
• Her moderation intervention was brief and unambiguous, without a prolonged argument or elaboration.
  

Notable details

• Featured straight espresso, early June: 49 mm basket, paper filter, roughly 1:2.2, 195°F, 5-second preinfusion, and about 9–15 seconds total.
• Featured straight espresso, early July: 18 g in, 40–42 g out, approximately 3.5% TDS, roughly 8–9% estimated extraction yield, and about 12–13 seconds.
• Milk espresso: approximately 18 g in, 36 g out, about 9% TDS, and 16–18% estimated extraction yield, specifically made stronger to work with 8% fat milk.
• Current pressure preference: pump set to 6 bar after extended use around 3–3.5 bar and comparison with 9 bar; Naomi reported greater articulation at 6 bar but treated the conclusion as provisional.
• Longer-ratio result: moving toward 45–47 g output made the finish dirtier and the shot more muddled; 40–42 g better matched the desired compact, clear, intense style.
• AeroPress recipe: about 1:16.25, 5 minutes, Prismo, paper filter, no agitation, 45-second bloom, then a continuous second pour.
• Filter-water uncertainty: she estimated around 200°F from the Tones dispensers but could not verify it easily; the espresso machine was later corrected to roughly 90–91°C.
• Grinders and burrs: milk espresso on an E80 grind-by-weight grinder with Weber Base burrs; straight espresso on a Lagom 01 with SSP High Uniformity burrs; café AeroPress on a Lagom 01 with brew burrs.
• Older bulk-style shot: about 1:2 without paper, finer grind, around 8–9% TDS, slightly slower than featured shots, and more traditional in mouthfeel.
• Historical SEY espresso: she believed a much older style may have involved shots around 45 seconds, possibly predating her own tenure.
• Top personal coffee: Wilson Alba, followed tentatively by Samuel Aragon, Genezard Perez, Banko, and William Ortiz Chiroso or a new David lot, with Felix Morocho also demanding inclusion.
• Aesthetic preference: she conceded that Albino and Jhon could show better formal structure and layered florals and fruit, but chose Genezard for elegance.
• Duber: described as unusually special and sparkling beside a William coffee during cupping.
• William Ortiz Chiroso: associated with a passion-fruit-like profile; the team ate maracuyá after cupping as a sensory reference.
• Jijón QC: included discussion of highly floral Mejorados and the development of phenolic flavors, with José consulted remotely.
• Retail/service mismatch: coffee may be served before or after retail availability because service and shelf stock follow different resting and logistics schedules.
• Online/café mismatch: the two inventories are distinct; an online status cannot be assumed to represent the Brooklyn café’s shelves.
• Menu maintenance: Naomi considered a continuously updated online menu difficult because offerings can change faster than staff can update even the physical board.
• Affordable offerings: SEY aimed to keep an accessible option without confining that tier to ordinary coffees; Dwight Red Gesha at $6 batch brew was her example.
• Frozen versus fresh: some premium café choices were retrieved from frozen inventory, while the $6.50 espresso slot was described as a fresh option.
• Operational restraint: she repeatedly used phrases equivalent to “I think,” “probably,” or “will confirm” when discussing future arrivals, making clear that forecast availability was not guaranteed.
• Internal testing culture: AeroPress reportedly won many A/B tests; cups or designs were also A/B tested; recipes, ratios, pressure, and possible service-method changes remained open to revision.
• Workplace detail: the future cupping room’s rotating tabletop was intended to eliminate unnecessary standing during cupping.
• Community standard: she intervened once to prohibit slurs, without ambiguity or qualification.
  

Participation timeline

• May 25: One brief #current-menu message confirming normal café hours.
• June 4–6: First substantial burst across #current-menu and #what-are-you-brewing; detailed the café espresso recipe, pressure history, straight-versus-bulk espresso differences, menu arrivals, and early reactions to Duber, Dwight, and Chiroso.
• June 8–9: Shifted into #filter-focused and #origins-and-producers; documented the café AeroPress recipe and temperatures, then corrected a batch-brew identification and discussed producer coffees informally.
• June 12–16: Mostly #current-menu; café-stock comments, community banter, a personal top-coffee ranking, comparative views on structure versus elegance, and praise for Gaharo.
• June 18–19: Mixed operational forecasting and deeper coffee evaluation; anticipated upcoming coffees, then described Jijón QC, Mejorado florality, phenol development, passion-fruit calibration, and a café V60 brew-along.
• June 22–24: Sparse, partly attachment-driven participation; filter images, a planned Lazy Susan in the cupping lab, decorated café cups, and provisional weekend availability.
• June 27–29: Strong operational focus in #what-are-you-brewing and #current-menu; explained rapidly changing menus, distinct service/retail/online inventories, delayed backstock transfers, uncertain Pepe retail, active recipe testing, and confidence in the AeroPress program.
• July 1–3: Most technically dense espresso phase; stated current TDS and extraction estimates, separated straight and milk espresso recipes, described high-fat milk, gave grinder and burr assignments, and confirmed new retail and service coffees.
• July 5: Detailed café-menu inventory, limited Sidra espresso availability, an estimate of remaining doses, and an explanation of accessible pricing, freezer selections, and fresh espresso.
• July 12–13: Final and most explicit discussion of espresso design; enforced a conduct boundary, gave current shot time, analyzed pressure uncertainty and commercial testing limits, and defended the shorter 1:2.2 ratio as cleaner, clearer, and more articulated than the previous longer ratio.