EdipisReks1

Also Ember mug interfaces with the Apple Health app. While standing and drinking coffee my resting heart rate was 71, but peaked at 118. That was probably when I chased after a cat, but it settled back down quickly, but my standing resting heart rate was then 73. Probably because of caffeine. Then I had an empty cup and Ember mug stopped, because it knew. It knew I was OUT OF COFFEE. How did I ever live before when my coffee mug didn’t monitor my heart rate?! Having said that, I always wanted Talky Toaster.

I’m not surprised, but only because I bought my partner similar machines, and I was also shocked at how good they were at mimicking pour over. Speaking of pour over: beyond how convenient it is to have my coffee stay warm, the ability to know exactly the temperature of the liquid, in real time, is the game changer here. In this case I brewed directly into the mug using the Brewista Tornado, from a PID kettle set at 210. Four pours, but the kettle was set to maintain that temperature. Brewing into a warm mug (set to the default of 135) the coffee was 177 degrees upon uncovering, and had gone down to 168 within 20 seconds. Keep in mind that this was a best-case pour over scenario, as the Tornado is dual wall. Recommended. Plus you can make the LED glow any color you want. 135-140 is pretty ideal, and this bean has tons of chocolate there.

Nice coffee maker, Rob! It looks like it should do a very credible job of producing a pour-over like cup. Is the carafe compatible with paper filters, in case you wanted to use it for manual? That’s garbage, Greg. “We got it to work when we repaired it, and it doesn’t work as designed” isn’t… ideal. I bet it gets sold as new. My only coffee news today is that the best part of Ember mug is probably the stickers (I like stickers).

Watches should be causal.

Cats know the warm place.

I’m aware that I’m showing off, but this is what I have in my life.

Could have done art. Cashew milk. 9 bar max, Niche at 14.5, 20 in, 45 out in 38 or so, not including pre infusion. This was real good.

Orphan makes the correct adapter. This is with the IMS basket. Will do the VST next.

Getting ready for espresso.

That was outrageously good.

Going old school here. CAFEC light filter. Like 1360 on the OG. Hoffman special beans.

I think that is a good video, Alex, and good commentary. I’m in a foul mood, so OG it is.

Coconut latte with Counter Culture Apollo. After doing oatmilk only the last few weeks, I had forgotten how coconut-y coconut milk is. 20 in, 40 out in 40 seconds (not including the inevitable pre-infusion with this). As nice a pull as you could want. I’m consistently getting a quick 7 bar peak and a slow, even drawn down at slightly finer than 15 on the Niche with this bean. I have the coffee bar workflow pretty well down, now: with dialed-in coffee (I took Covered_ears advice and am just doing one bean consistently right now), I can go from yawning to a latte in about 10 minutes. Most of that time is waiting for the Bellman to come to pressure. This isn’t anymore inconvenient then using the Breville, really, though that would allow me to pull two drinks simultaneously, so it’s not leaving the table.

Gonna have me a Gesha-off once the new one has degassed a little (was roasted Tuesday, and the Levercraft was frozen after two weeks).

If I had to have only that cortado, over and over for the rest of my life, and only that, I would be happy. Lingering. Milk drinks never linger. Now the question is whether I can do this tomorrow morning.

40 out in 45 seconds. Max 7 bar. Slow ramp down. VST basket. It’s… a nice cortado. First pic is shot, second is cortado with Bellman oat. No bitterness or sourness. Sweet lemon. Outrageously good. I honestly don’t think I could make a better cortado. Niche at almost (slightly finer than) 15 with the Counter Culture Apollo blend. Various normal puck preps thingies. I like this basket.

So much for zero retention. And this was with bellows, on the Niche. The OG is truly zero retention, but this is autistically good enough, so I’m going with it. Two beans, maybe?* *there ended up being about .1 grams stuck on the inside of the dosing cup. I’ll tell you one thing: the VST basket grabs the niche dosing cup. Aggressively. Be prepared for it.

I’m trying to make espresso here.

I just about have my holiday weight gone, so my second best cat is doing grind duty, pour over and espresso. The Orphan OG is far and away the best grinder I’ve ever used. Nobody ever talks about them. Have they sold 12, or something?

I sure hope it’s resolved soon. Espresso is hard enough without that shit.

VST in the house. This is a radically different basic geometry and build from the IMS (ignore the size difference; one is an 18/20 and one is an 18/22). Honestly, just looking at them… I have no idea.

I just made a latte with the Breville that made me say “ooh,” so maybe I shouldn’t be in a hurry to spend money. The problem is that I had to pay attention, and if I’m going to do that I might as well use the Flair.

You know, I guess when you think about it, the Flair 58, Bellman boiler, and my Brewista kettle makes a pretty darned capable double boiler setup.

The other obvious option in the same space is the Lelit Victoria. Already has PID. I need to think about it. Heather’s birthday is next month and that is going to eat my fun money, not to mention coming off of Christmas. I think either is likely to be a good choice for my use case.

I think I’m just going to get a Rancilio Silvia to replace my Breville. Just the base one (though maybe in black; I don’t think I have room for the Pro, or the X, really). With the Flair 58 I don’t really need anything to get better espresso for when I’m being fancy-fancy, but I need something more convenient that is better than the Breville. I thought about the Bambino, which is much nicer than the Breville I have (mine is an old entry level, remember, from ten years ago: it’s pretty nice for what it is, but it’s what it is), but I want a larger machine that uses a 58mm porta and has more cup storage. I haven’t totally decided, but I think it makes a lot of sense, even with that dumb drip tray. And lots of upgrades for after I get to know the machine. Plus easy pressure modulation out of the box. Also: coffee setup art finally on the wall.