EdipisReks1

There is a flat burr retrofit for the Niche coming out soon. I might try the 60mm (the largest on offer for it) SSP burrs when it goes public. I like the 64mm SSP burrs in my Ode, but the Ode has too coarse a thread pitch to easily dial in espresso, even with the replacement burrs. I don’t think it will be an “upgrade,” more “it’s something to do.” I honestly think I prefer the Kony burrs to the SSP 64s, but I haven’t been able to really dial those in (they are brilliant for filter).

Like Dan said, you want to go a lot finer. I do about 45-60 seconds with the flair, usually going to 6 bar and then ramping down. I’m at around 10-12 on the Niche, which is substantially finer than I use with the dual boiler (it would choke). 15 seconds is definitely a turbo shot. Nothing wrong with that, but it’s not the sort of espresso I typically make. My recommendation: go finer until you hit the point where you aren’t getting any water flow, then go a bit coarser until you can immediately peg the pressure you are looking for with control. There will be substantial resistance; patience is key, as with all things espresso. I’ve pulled some long, think two minutes, ristrettos with the Flair 58 that were absolutely delicious. They were a workout.

Just a little decaf cafe mocha for the afternoon. I really do like Wondermilk. Most of my shots are well over a minute from pump start to finish. That includes a preinfusion, but as Dan says, the time really isn’t really all that demonstrative of anything other than how long it takes.

The shot I just had was pretty good considering I forgot to put the shower screen in with the Flair 58. It made it a turbo. Was perfectly enjoyable.

So Delicious Wondermilk whole fat is my new milk of choice. It steams very similar to dairy, and it tastes very neutral in a milkish way.

I won one of the “useful” AliExpress tools James Hoffman reviewed a few weeks ago. No idea which, but I’ll report back! Loving the Dual Boiler/Niche combo, with no real additional need to spend more, but I’ll take free coffee crap happily.

Picked up a little mid-60s Omega Seamaster dress watch. A new green Horween shell strap and voila: the watch I wanted the Cartier Drive to feel like on the wrist. Keeps -10, which ain’t bad at all (it was given a VERY basic service by the seller).

I’m doing some pretty excellent shots with the BDB. Slayer mod next, though I doubt I’ll be able to do as much as I can with the Flair 58. This was a medium-light roast Guatemalan. Despite the roast, it was a chocolate bomb. I use 198 for medium-light. I prefer to not do lighter coffees as espresso or filter without having PID: Dan is totally right about light roasted coffees really benefiting from control.

I’ve got it dialed in and I’m grinding for and brewing some of the best espresso I’ve made. The Flair Pro2 is brilliant. You could get away with one case for it (I have three, because I have scales and funnels and three different brewheads with gauges, and tamps, and yada, because of course I do). Is it the Flair 58? Well no. Of course it isn’t. And I’m pulling the great shots because I’m pulling shots every day, but the Flair Pro 2 represents an amazing ROI for anybody reading this who wants to get into espresso, especially if you travel, for not too much money.

I gotta say, I really love this watch. My first calendar that I bought to be worn, and not to be flipped. The movement is a bit of a looker. I don’t normally do exhibition backs.

Just bought this.

Out of town, using a Lido E-T grinder and Flair Pro2. This was a delicious shot.

I’ve gotten the dose and grind right with an 18/22 IMS basket and I’m now pulling free-range organic cruelty-free artisanal flecks and stripes. That was a good shot. Counter Culture Apollo, which is one of my three “house espresso” beans.

Onyx is a roaster I need to learn; it’s the standard benchmark for a lot of other roasters and coffee researchers for a reason. But it’s a little expensive for daily drinking! I have a freezer full of expensive beans that I don’t drink that often, so I wouldn’t have to buy a ton of whatever. I go through, tops, 50grams of coffee a day, and usually much less, so I don’t need tons anyway.

Finally have a bottomless portafilter on the Breville. Boy is this a different machine with a precision basket (IMS competition 20/22, in this case: I pull 20gram with it usually). Interestingly I am quite a bit coarser with the Breville than with the Flair 58. I suppose this makes sense: even with the 10 second preinfusion I’m doing it still takes a while for the puck to degrade; I’m doing a higher pressure and longer initial infusion usually, and I can feel resistance and ramp up force (not pressure, but torque on the arm) to compensate, which means I can go quite fine. 21 vs 15 on the Niche. I’m running 197 on medium espresso roast (Intelligentsia Black Cat, in this case). 197 is right in the middle of the range I may go hotter for lighter roasts. The Breville doesn’t make as interesting a shot as the Flair, but it consistently makes excellent shots. Even some striping and flecks.

Oatmeal Johnny has settled in pretty well, a couple months in. He has slotted straight into “like Dunhill, but young.” Even Silver would agree, I think.

Longer ratio definitely works great with this basket. Looking forward to getting back to my IMS and VST baskets, though. Soon! I really like the Dual Boiler. It makes excellent coffee,* right out of the box. Heat’s quickly, great steam. Easy to use and program. Build quality reminds me of, say, the better Marantz separates. I do wish it just had an E61 group, but it’s not that big a deal, as I would need multiple portafilters anyway, as I’m too lazy to move one between two machines. I wouldn’t want a bigger machine, though, unless I had a custom coffee bar. 2 bar preinfusion followed by 9 bar brew is good enough that I might not even bother with the Slayer mod unless I have the machine open already; I will use the Flair when I want to play around with profiles, at least for the time being. *I can get better coffee out of the Flair, but not consistently.

Will do in the morning. Thanks Dan!

Took me a little minute to realize the Breville portafilters almost but don’t quite work with standard baskets. I had returned the Normcore portafilter I had bought because I thought the machine wasn’t going to arrive (I had in fact already gotten a refund; the Breville showed up the next day of course) so I’ve reordered (along with the Normcore shot mirror). The stock basket is pretty small, so I either have to coarsen way up for my normal sorts of doses, or dose down. I’ve chosen to dose down. 14g:30g in about 30. Made for a great latte. Milk texture is just an absolute snap with this machine. I’ll lower it a little, when I do the slayer mod, but OPV is set spot on 9, which is nice.

Not god awful for the first drink made with the new machine (a decaf). The steam on this is pretty crazy compared to the Bellman.

Finally received this.

Calibrating takes approximately 5 seconds, so no reason not to. I always calibrate a new grinder. I do AeroPress around 25 (on a calibrated unit). Attached is a picture of the point to which I calibrate. Right-side-up is all well and good, but the trick is to get the coffee and water, you know, “in the AeroPress.”

I almost always do 15:1 or 16:1 with pour over. 17 is pretty long.

Not my brightest moment. However, I did manage to combine inverted and standard in the worst way possible

CAFEC light roasts are much slower than standard Hario filters. The CAFEC Abacas are similar to Hario in drawdown. 10 minutes is totally normal for a fairly fine grind in the CAFEC light. They are designed to do it; it’s a hybrid method of brewing in the simplest way possible. I don’t “get” the CAFEC light roast filters, in that I never quite know what to expect, but I really like the results.