The Silk Next Milk was willing. I just wasn’t quite.

Edited February 15, 20224 yr by EdipisReks1

Weber Looking Glass on order. I find the Flair mirror to be irritating in exactly the way the Looking Glass seems to solve. 

Just a couple of interesting diagrams for dialing in your brew.

Brew:

Web app to use it The Coffee Compass - Barista Hustle

Pulled:

 

I want that top one framed on my wall. 

i took a week off caffeine recently for elimination-testing reasons and the bean stash wasn't entirely empty... of course i didn't stop buying and now my counter collection is absolute 🔥

Aura, I've heard of Hatch and tried Dragonfly. Would you rec Hatch in general? I know a lot of people tend to find Dragonfly overpriced (I never drank their Gesha, but I did try their Yemeni one time).

normal Dragonfly prices are brutal and i wouldn't be a buyer... Similar to Bird Rock and Paradise. they recently did a big clearance and i grabbed the Elida Estate green tip at almost half off and it's much closer to worth it. not sure if those sales are normal or if i was lucky. 

Hatch is awesome and i would recommend. i had their advent calendar last year and it's the best run of coffee I've ever done. also their relationship with Finca El Paraiso seems incredibly unique and gives them access to stuff i haven't seen elsewhere. Paraiso is a ridiculously good farm, probably in my top two.

(i should note i only do pour over. no espresso)

Ahhh, yeah, that makes sense -- Dragonfly's sales do seem like a marketing tactic to me.

As for Hatch, I'll have to try them out. Thanks for the recommendation.

Good stuff Bryan!

I went to a couple roaster/cafes in Louisville, over the weekend. All I can really report back is that my coffee game at home is pretty strong. Of course, I’m just making for me. Easy to pull one great shot with this workflow.

The Weber Looking Glass is exactly what you would expect: perfect and worth the money, but a luxury. I mean, espresso at home is. But this mirror is perfect for the purpose. The Flair mirror is merely adequate, and repurposed makeup mirrors I’ve tried don’t really work well. 

Bellows for the Ode arrived. I think it’ll work great.

Took delivery of a couple of coffees from my local roaster, Memli.  The Guatemalan Alejandro Lainez Chejoj I had him roast for espresso (not as dark a roast as most the espresso I've bought thus far but definitely darker than his pour over roast).  It made a lovely shot just now.

I look forward to trying the Kenyan Kiunyu AB Kerugoya Kirinyaga for my pour over in the morning.

HS

Mini-review of Colombia Decaf Rainbow by Metric Coffee.

On the bag they put notes of apple cider, caramel, and citrus. At first blush it seems like "just another Colombian EA decaf" but I think it's in the leading 30% or so.

As a pour-over you can expect a fairly interesting decaf, with all of those aforementioned flavors. It's not particularly complex but is a very approachable coffee, great for sipping. As an espresso, the most accurate form of apple cider I can think of is those Martinelli's apple ciders -- very apple juice-like, with some spices but definitely mostly the former. If you want shots redolent of apple juice and don't want extra caffeine, this coffee is hard to beat.

I got a sample of a rwandan coffee from olam yesterday and roasted it. i made a cortado this morning and then immediately ordered a 30kg bag of beans. 

16 hours ago, Covered_Ears said:

 As an espresso, the most accurate form of apple cider I can think of is those Martinelli's apple ciders -- very apple juice-like, with some spices but definitely mostly the former. 

Hah! I haven’t thought about Martinelli cider in a long time, but I sure tasted it as soon as I read that line!

9 minutes ago, grawk said:

I got a sample of a rwandan coffee from olam yesterday and roasted it. i made a cortado this morning and then immediately ordered a 30kg bag of beans. 

That’s certainly a strong endorsement!

Edited March 3, 20224 yr by EdipisReks1

34 minutes ago, EdipisReks1 said:

 

That’s certainly a strong endorsement!

it was a $400 cup of free coffee

Cappuccino this morning with some light roast Ethiopian (the person at the counter of roastery didn’t know the varietal, and it’s not labeled, but I think it’s Sidamo: it’s fairly well roasted, though it has some Quakers) and Silk Next Milk. Another place where I COULD have done latte art. 

I’m super happy with Silk Next Milk (at least the “while fat” variety); by far the best plant milk I’ve used for coffee, and very close to the flavor of dairy when steamed.

 

Edited March 3, 20224 yr by EdipisReks1

A little thing, but if you need a 58mm tamper, this is a very good one for the money made by a Ukrainian company. I have one in red. It’s dead on 58, so basket fit is pretty universal (though of course there can be a little ring depending on basket and/or dose).

I ordered a Normcore portafilter. Specifically fits the Flair 58 (well, it’s just an E61 portafilter, but they do call out the Flair specifically!). I don’t like how light the Flair portafilter is. This should fix that. Also includes an 18gram precision basket, which is strangely not something I have (22 IMS and 20 VST; the stock Flair basket is 18, but it’s not great: it’s fine, but I don’t use it).

Edited March 4, 20224 yr by EdipisReks1

/dupe

Edited March 4, 20224 yr by EdipisReks1

A good long pre-infusion with Counter Culture “Slow Motion,” which is a decaf. 

I would be happy with this shot from any coffee house in the world. 

Pic is after dosing with the Weber Blind shaker. I used my knock off OCD, but I could have gone straight to tamp. 

It was delicious espresso. 

I made latte art.

I’m aware that this is “cat doesn’t want to be bothered so I’m going to aggressively not bother cat.”

Edited March 5, 20224 yr by EdipisReks1

That was an incredible latte. Keep in mind it was the only shot I pulled today, and the only “milk” I steamed.

I don’t think I can do better. I can do  “different,” and certainly “easier,” but I don’t think I can do better. 

Edited March 5, 20224 yr by EdipisReks1