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for me a scale means I can think less about the process before I've had coffee. I know I need 15g of beans in and 38g of espresso out to get a cup I enjoy. My espresso machine actually talks to the scale, so it shuts off automatically, but even just having a number to look at to hit stop works for me as well. It's really easy to make better espresso than a typical coffee shop, you just have to care a little about your results. Your goal isn't 50 cups an hour, it's 1-3 a day, so a process that takes twice as long isn't going to even be noticeable. That was one thing I learned when I set up my espresso machine at that convention this summer. I dumbed things down to weigh beans, grind into portafilter, quick tamp, and start espresso, and taught a few people how to do it, and everyone was saying how much better it was than any coffee shop coffee.

Pepper Jack cheese omelet, bacon & biscuits. And an Earl Beige to drink. Life is good.

RIP Stephen. The titan of American musical theater of the last 50 years.

I think for the most part, you don't need a scale but they can't hurt. I've been making perfectly acceptable espresso for years now without one. For me it's a matter of the fact that I don't want my process to become so arduous that I don't want to go through it. Am I sacrificing something as a result? Almost without question. But is it enough to worry about? Not for me. I can always add more steps to the process if I start to become unsatisfied with the results. I've expressed enough of my love of this machine that I won't belabor the point here again. My thoughts for you are wether or not you think whatever machine you buy will be a gateway or an endpoint? If you think this is step one on a slippery slope I'd recommend the Bambino for it's low cost of entry, ease of operation/usability, and predictability of results. As most hobbies teach, you can always upgrade later. If you buy something 3-5x as expensive and end up not enjoying the process or results you've sunk a significant chunk of change into an appliance that doesn't have much resale value.

Happy Thanksgiving weekend! Yumi and I had lunch at Artisans (French restaurant) and then ipic to see The House of Gucci. Adam Driver and Lady Gaga were excellent and so was the food and drink!

I successfully designed (Fusion360) and printed my first part on Wednesday. It's an adapter to transform the diameter of a cyclone dust separator that I'm printing for use with the Shapeoko as my had and I are going to use the machine to make parts/pieces for a quad of Adirondack chairs this winter. Stock part left, my part right. Combined Assembled with 2/3's of the separator, the third piece is printing now and should be done in about 12 hours. Then I have to print one more each of the nozzle/hose pieces.

We had family down from a Covid hot spot in Mass, and one of the people visiting is a RN who regularly tests people. Since it was a nice day, out of an abundance of caution, we had outdoor picnic style Thanksgiving. That involved, among other things, Quiche (a type of pie), Yorkshire puddings stuffed with succotash (also a type of pie), stuffing cooked inside puff pastry (more pie), and apple galettes (a free form pie). To my wife's chagrin, the pumpkin was in the form of scones, so pumpkin pie will need to be made in the near future. For the record, stuffing cooked inside puff pastry is a winner.

yeah, i got in the first wave. I wouldn’t consider it now. Even tho $4000 today seems the same as $1600 4 years ago.

The gulf between me and a ~$4000 espresso machine can be measured in leagues. Like 1000 of them.

the bad espresso thing is the great thing about the decent: lots of data about what went wrong

I just pulled a shot with my 10 year old Breville that none of my local shops could have pulled. Like Dan said, different priorities: I pull one shot a day, typically. I know my machine inside and out, and I think I have the grinder dialed in for this bean. I used the Lunar. You don’t have to have a fancy scale like this (I barely use the smart features; maybe someday), but I do think a scale is important for consistent shots. To me, the first step isn’t so much in the equipment, it’s making a whole bunch of bad espresso. Then after you figure out how to make bad espresso, do the opposite.

that’s why it’s unopened. i got a lunar immediately after ordering.

Inspiration is a mysterious thing.

The Breville Bambino Plus has a small footprint... Half the weight. https://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/breville-the-bambino-plus/?pkey=cespresso-makers

Prepping for the second night of Get Back.

Happy Thanksgiving to the best internet family out there. Like my tall friend much pie was consumed, but not too much. There's no such thing as too much pie.

Smoked 7lb bone in turkey breast. Was delicious.

Challenge Accepted! And for the head casers Met with Joanne's seal of approval

Entre-temps ...

Earlier: Cheese, shrimp cocktail, salmon, ham, turkey leg, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, green beans, gravy, pumpkin cheesecake, almond meringues. Just had a little bit of everything, spent quite a bit of time at the table, taking tiny helpings every once in a while, but it's still the most I've eaten in one sitting. Now: (erp)

^I see that the HD6xx are also on sale - lowest I've seen & "cheap as chips", as they say.

Sennheiser HD8XX are down to $949 https://drop.com/buy/drop-sennheiser-hd-8xx-headphones

poor falcon. not use to be outside.

R.I.P. Stephen Sondheim... 91...