Fetishizes overpriced BS. At that price point it’s just irrelevant for the vaaaast majority of people. Do the extremely ultra wealthy even make their own coffee?
If I had that kind of money I’d buy a car, wtf.
He addresses that concern. This is no machine for you or me to “just add to the countertop”. I think of it as a big proof of concept.
But there are two kinds of people who spend tons of money on small improvements:
rich people with a hobby to fill their life but don’t want starter stuff or are grown out of it
people neck deep in a hobby (i.e. cyclists “regularly” spend 6k on a single bike and hundreds on clothing and accessories) that can afford it.
I know there’s overlap between the groups but it’s something I can think of.
Also, I could think of high end offices that want to really splurge on the coffee kit. The advantage that the machine is instantly hot lends itself to office environments where people want coffee in different intervals.
How many grams of espresso are coming out at the other end? The rule of thumb is around 2x the mass of coffee in the portafilter. However, that’s just a rough guide. Generally, more water -> more extraction -> less sour. Just for experimentation’s sake, try adjusting variables like fineness or water, and let the shot time go longer. See how you like the results.
I tried to follow all the rules of espresso. “Only X seconds of brew time”, “Only this Y grams of water”. I never got a good tasting shot. Then I started experimenting. I have a pretty cheap DeLonghi Dedica, and I began to tailor my shots to how my machine actually works, vs how others told me to do it.
Nowadays, I pull a ~43g shot from 18g of coffee. I have my grinder set to some fineness level that I haven’t needed to adjust in months. The shots I pull are always better than most non-specialty coffee shops. Sometimes, I even get a perfect shot that tastes like heaven. It all became better when I stopped focusing on rules and started learning what my machine likes.
I’ve heard that argued both ways. Some people claim it cleans the lines. But my instincts are to agree with you. If the coffee ground gets greasy that would seem to give it a chance to stick in the pipe or simply stick to existing grease. OTOH, grease in the pipes can be melted by pouring boiling water down.
Since coffee is great for compost, the bulk of my coffee goes to the plants or to the compost. But I’m still keen to clean with it. Not much is needed for cleaning. 2 pinches is enough for one arm pit, or two hands. Some coffee grounds stick to my filter after shaking the bulk of it into a plant so I end up rinsing those down the drain as well.
I had an extremely slow kitchen drain recently where a liter of water took a couple hours to drain. Every week I poured boiling water into the drain pipe that came out of the wall (bypassing the trap), waited ~30-60 min for the temp to drop a bit before giving a dose of enzyme-based cleaner so the enzymes had a warm start and could chow down on whatever was in there. After a month or so there was no noticeable progress. Snaked it. The snake made it all the way to the main pipe but strangely did not clear it. So I poured in ½ liter of sulfuric acid and let that sit for hours. Still not clear. Then I plunged the line with the acid in it using the kind of plunger that attached directly to the pipe. That cleared it. I have no idea what the clog was.
Now I run the dishwasher on the highest temp as a preventative measure. The lowest temp (50°C) is good enough for the dishes but I figure the highest temp (70°C) will help maintain my crappy kitchen drain pipes. It’s unclear to me if I’m wasting energy or being sensible. IIUC, the 70°C temp setting is for pans (which the dishwasher maker expects to be greasy). The clog that I cleared was from the previous tenant (a young student, probably careless and not knowledgeable about drains). The only grease or oil I put down the drain is residual after a bulk of it goes to the compost.
Yeah, caffeine blocks the adenosine receptors in your brain. Adenosine is a chemical your body produces throughout the day to signal you getting tired. That’s why when you drink coffee, a few hours later you might feel a “crash”, because all of the tiredness comes rushing back into your brain at once
Like the article suggests, that blocking of adenosine receptors happening too late can mess with your sleep quality, because your body wants to sleep, but your brain can’t because it doesn’t feel tired. So you might end up getting poorer sleep. This could lead to poorer long term memory storage/encoding, because one of the functions of sleep is to take short term memories and store it in your long term memory.
I drink a lot of coffee, but I usually stop around 4 or 5pm because even though I normally sleep well, I’ve definitely experienced caffeine-induced insomnia.
Also just additional information: I know it’s not great but it’s at least a start! Due to girlfriends allergies, all I have to work with for the time being is oat milk (Chobani Extra Creamy). I’m thinking I could get better results with more practice, but I’m not sure if there’s only a degree of perfection I can reach using this milk alternative. I suppose time will tell
I steam milk for latte's quite a bit. Tip carafe so wand tip is at the side just under the surface of the milk, with the stem against the spout. Engage steam just enough to you hear a tearing sound. Gradually lower the carafe to maintain the tearing sound for 17 seconds,(the sound changes) then immerse the tip until the carafe is getting too hot to touch. Then a tap on the counter, and a couple swirls to break up bigger bubbles.
I would also like to add that the milk and foam separate very quickly. With my machine it starts even before the milk is fully ready, so i like to pour the steamed milk into another carafe and back then the taps to ensure it is properly mixed for best results.
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