Black Cat - Two ways

I've been really getting into trying different coffees across multiple brew methods. Although, sometimes it's not quite fair pitting a drip brew against an espresso when the bean was roasted with the intention of being used for a given purpose. I also sometimes get on a straight espresso kick where I'll go through three to four espressos a day and it is really no contest when I pull a fantastic shot of Redbird and compare it to Redbird in the Solo. I'm sure there are plenty of people who would enjoy espresso blends as a drip but it just isn't for me. So to satisfy need to experiment I figured I would just compare a given espresso blend with two different espresso makers. So todays shots of twelve day old Black Cat will be brought to you by the Twist and Peppina. When I was considering getting a Twist I had read that it gave a shot that was very similar in profile to a lever. I am no where experienced enough to know one way or the other. Regardless, each really shines with different coffees. So how will they do head-to-head?

 

With the Twist I went with a 20g dose which pulled more in the ristretto end in terms of brew volume. Of course with the Twist there's minimal temperature control. Basically, hot water in the cup and chamber for a few minutes. Pull a blank shot with the hot water to warm all surfaces and then pull shot with fresh boiling water. Tasted nice with a pleasant, not overpowering, amount of fruity acidity and a nice syrupy texture.

 

On the Peppina I had to go two clicks coarser on my grinder to get back into my standard range for the 14g dose that I cram into the basket. With about five seconds of pre-infusion the shot was pulled at a flat 201F throughout the entire shot as read from the kettle. I also pulled this shot in the ristretto range. Tasted ok. More acidity than with the Twist and definitely less dense, which is normal with the Peppina.

 

Both shots were less chocolatey than I normally prefer but I think that's standard with Black Cat. I'd have to say that the verdict for this round would be the shot from the Twist.

 

Can you tell which shot is which?