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. 

 

Edited January 25, 20224 yr by EdipisReks1

How lucky am I? I may actually cup this in a couple days. How often do you have three Geshas, let alone from three different countries?

Edited January 25, 20224 yr by EdipisReks1

I know the Ember was a game changer for my wife.  With the kids running around, she was dealing with cold coffee multiple times a day, every day.  I bought her the original 10 oz for her birthday a few years back, and when the 14 oz was released, I upgraded her that Christmas.  136 degree Americanos make Lauren a happy woman.  

I scored some Oatly barrista oatmeal milk today.  Am very curious to see how I like it.

I feel like I'm fixing something that's not broken, but then again if I don't explore new things I'll never know...

HS

I am doing cashew milk at the moment. I hadn’t used it before. I’m uncertain still, but agreed. 

Oat milk cappuccino made me grin. Took a sip before I took a pic. 

I mean, hah. That’s like really good risotto: ain’t had better than at home. 20:45 in 48, 7 bar maximum with the espresso. Whatever amount of oat I steamed, which was just ice cream on the bottom and foam just hard enough to be cappuccino on top. 

Oh, wow it was good. I rarely grin on things I make, as I’m never happy with anything I do.

Edited January 27, 20224 yr by EdipisReks1

I have come to the conclusion that cashew milk cannot be successful steamed. At least not by me. Makes really good booze-y hot chocolate, though. 

Edited January 28, 20224 yr by EdipisReks1

I continue to like oat milk. It is not identical to cow milk, but you can definitely get radically different steamed texture with it, the same way you can with whole milk, though the very fine touch that the Bellman allows helps, of course.

The great thing about the Bellman is that it allows bimodal modulation: I can change temperature (and thus pressure) and flow rate at the same time. I can’t think of another milk steamer that allows one to do that. Does even the Decent allow that? I don’t know.

Edited January 28, 20224 yr by EdipisReks1

Steam isn't the decent's best attribute.  The DE1-XXL is apparently better, but only in that it's a more powerful heater.  

Gotcha. Honestly I’m likely to be disappointed in any non-manual set up, probably. 

I'm very curious to try the barrista oat milk this weekend.  I have some espresso beans that should make life fairly easy on nailing the shots within a reasonable range so I can focus on the steaming.

The Bianca has plenty of horsepower.  One fail on my part is I purchased a pitcher to accommodate multiple drinks.  I need to get off my arse and get a smaller one that will allow me more control / flexibility for the singles I almost always make.

HS

2 minutes ago, HemiSam said:

I'm very curious to try the barrista oat milk this weekend.  I have some espresso beans that should make life fairly easy on nailing the shots within a reasonable range so I can focus on the steaming.

The Bianca has plenty of horsepower.  One fail on my part is I purchased a pitcher to accommodate multiple drinks.  I need to get off my arse and get a smaller one that will allow me more control / flexibility for the singles I almost always make.

HS

My recommendation is keep using a big pitcher, and just waste more milk.  It's way easier to get good texture with enough volume to give you time to make changes

 

Yeah, it’s easier, and I bet you can figure out a use for left over steamed milk in the morning, Sam. Would be great on, say oatmeal.

Having said that, I almost always steam precisely what I want for one cup at a time as closely as I can. It is definitely more difficult, but it just comes down to practice. 

I sent Sam a PM with a link and an explanation of why, but if anybody is interested, This is the pitcher I steam with. It works very well for one drink, but is just big enough for two (ymmv, as I make traditional lattes, which are in 8 ounce cups). This refers to the 20 ounce version, of course: 12 ounce pitchers are very small. 

The uncoated, brushed interior of the Subminimal Flowtip increases nucleation points, but I’m not convinced I steam any better with it than a fully coated pitcher. The increased friction probably makes pouring slightly more precise, but I don’t do latte art, let alone need that sort of “advantage!”

Edited January 29, 20224 yr by EdipisReks1

. 

Edited January 29, 20224 yr by EdipisReks1
Dorky dork stuff nobody cares about

Thanks for the info, Jacob.

Sipping an El Salvador Santa Rosa pour over...lovely.  Damn Onyx Coffee Labs...LOL.

I tasted the Oatly Barista oat milk this morning straight up cold....what one would expect of oat milk I think.  A bit sweeter than I expected but pleasant enough assuming one likes the taste of oats.  Nutritionally they contain similar calories, fat count although the cow's milk definitely has more saturated fats, sugars/carbs higher on oat milk and protein markedly higher on cow's milk.

I used my frother (not the steamer on the espresso machine) and whipped up the Oatly.  It does a nice job as far as creamy texture so clearly the added fat from the expeller oil does its job.

I'll brave it in a cappuccino this afternoon and see how I feel about the flavor in coffee.  Interesting experiment thus far.

HS

For the espresso-curious like me I thought this was a useful primer on some of the terminology and concepts that are getting discussed in this thread.

 

Oat milk is decidedly not for this camper.  It has a funky taste that I could not get past in the espresso/cappuccino.  I made another with cow's milk just to be certain it wasn't my mind playing tricks on me and it was markedly more to my liking.

The better half is plant based whole food centric and hopefully it will not go to waste.

HS

Maybe we should all only drink coffee inspired by music. 

Ordered a Weber blind shaker. I guess silly to spend $100 shipped on a special cup that’s fits my VST basket better, but probably not the biggest waste of money I’ve ever done. And makes more sense than getting an OCD distribution tool (I love the Crema tamp/distributors for my 51, 49, and 46mm, but I am not happy with it for 58; not because it doesn’t work, it does, but the edge of the VST basket is taller and I have to adjust both the tamp and the distribution sizes to use: first world problems, I know).

Also, tried a Rao high extraction. I ground too fine and peaked too high and too late, but it was a pretty interesting shot, and not bad for a first attempt. I need that SEP.

Edited January 30, 20224 yr by EdipisReks1

A good espresso this morning. I just pulled a traditional, fast ramp up to 6 bar and a slow ramp down. 18.5 in 38 out in about 40 seconds. Not my best puck prep ever, but it came out pretty and delicious, so maybe not doing as good of a job as I would like is the way to go!

Went with an almond milk cappuccino for last coffee of the day. Figured I might as well make it silly. 

Good stuff, Jacob.  Great to see you pulling so many fun shots.

Took the day off and started with a nice chemex pour over.  Boy it beats getting up early and drinking crap at the office.

Going to take the espresso machine for a ride after lunch.  

I'm having a bit of difficulty dialing in the Niche.  I am at way a lower grind setting than most to get the pressure I would expect at the group head.  I did find the tip over limit where it was so fine it stifled the shot.  Backed off and went too far in the other direction.  A bit frustrating, but the coffee is quite good so I think I just need to get over it.

I'm going to clean it again today and recalibrate just in case I did something weird the last time around.

First world problems FTW...

HS

What setting are you at, out of curiosity? I would definitely suggest recalibrating. Make sure the burr carrier is tightly to the right before using the calibration ring  

Having said all of that, I’m at around a 15, a little coarser or a little finer depending of course. This is going to vary by individual calibration, but I’m curious as to where you are currently on the dial.