It hasn't been long since... I put out my first impressions video on the flat burr niche modification about six months ago, and I planned on following it up relatively quickly with my final take on the mod, its performance, and anything else that popped up along the way. But then all of a sudden, Niche...
If you look at a coffee grinder.... in their most simplest form what do you see? You’ve got is a body, a motor, a set of burrs, and a sometimes spattering of other features here and there, but there really hasn’t been a lot of tech involved. Well the grinder we’re looking at today, the Lucca...
Just about a year ago... the Option-O Lagom P64 landed on my bar. The journey to get there wasn't smooth. After the massive disappointment that was the Weber Key, and their subsequent reaction to my opinions, I set out again to find my own endgame grinder, essentially the last grinder I'll ever buy. After some research...
Home espresso machines come in a lot of flavors... and in my relatively short coffee career I've been fortunate enough to get my sticky barista paws on a lot of them, but the machine we're looking at today, the Lucca A53 Mini, knocks a couple firsts off my list. It's my first experience with a La...
This may be a bit of a surprise... but in my seven years of blogging and five years of making YouTube videos about coffee stuff I've never once done a review on a scale. I've done my best resist it, because let's be honest; it's not an exciting topic. But considering how much of an important...
The DF line of grinders... has become more or less a disrupter in the home coffee space, and the new DF64V is again putting the market giants on notice. Considering it's packed with features like adjustable RPM, a brushless motor, and coated burrs. All of which are often reserved for those willing to drop four figures or...
In a home coffee market seemingly dominated by single dosers... Eureka took a look at the competition and said "nah, we’re gonna go with a hopper". On the surface the Mignon Libra looks a lot like many of its other Mignon relatives with its tall, rectangular body, single adjustment dial and telltale squared off hopper. But...
After weeks of brewing, tasting, testing,... an unboxing, and a workflow video, the time for the full Niche Duo review has finally arrived. As always, a proper review is something that can not, and should not be rushed out. Taking my time has also allowed me to collect a handful of questions from viewers to provide...
When I hear the name Timemore I immediately think of hand grinders... but now they’ve got their sights set on entering the electric market, and they're doing it with not one, but four models of their new Sculptor. Today though, we're looking at one in particular, the Sculptor 064s. Like many of the grinders making the rounds...
I fancy myself a pretty experienced espresso guy... so you can imagine my surprise when a machine landed on my bar that had not once popped up on my radar. The Crossland CC1 is a home-focused, feature dense, and affordable prosumer espresso machine that at a glance looks like a lovechild of two of the biggest...
The grinder market seems to be rapidly expanding... but I'm happy to see that not all of the options are aimed at the hardcore home enthusiast looking to drop serious cash; the casual and early stage rabbit-holers need a little love too. Which brings me to the topic of today's video, the new Fellow Opus. This...
This one is a walk down memory lane... because the humble Baratza Encore was my very first home coffee grinder, and even as I progressed in my coffee career its blend of affordability and performance kept it at the top of my recommendation list. Literally anytime I was asked by someone considering taking the leap into...
Flat burr grinders get all the glory... and often are on top of many barista's wishlists. But the humble conical shouldn't be counted out, and one that's recently caught my eye is the new Varia VS3. On paper it's a lot like many of the other grinders that have hit the home coffee scene in recent...
The DF line of grinders... have become pretty prolific over the past couple years, and it was only a matter of time before they progressed past the reasonably popular and priced 64mm burrs and dreamed bigger. Enter the new and highly anticipated DF83. Much like its fellow DF grinders this single dosing, low-retention all-round coffee grinder...
For many home baristas... the La Marzocco GS3 MP carries a lot of weight. It's been around for quite awhile, and has created a reputation for being one of the most sought after home espresso machines on the market. Packed with big dual boilers, a stable PID controlled temperature system, a commercial grade rotary pump, and...
For years the Niche Zero was the grinder to have... in the home coffee scene. It was so popular they would sell out in minutes, and their Instagram account grew past 100,000 followers. Which is kind of unheard of for a equipment brand with only one item and just a few years on the scene. Of...
It's been a big year for grinders... and it's not over yet, because a brand new option just hit the market, the Rancilio Stile. Intended for both home and commercial applications, it appears to be made for some serious use. On the outside it shares their classic understated and straightforward design, and on the inside its sports...
Everyone loves an underdog... and living in the shadow of popular siblings can be a frustrating existence, but the Lagom Mini aims at bringing the premium feel and brewing experience of its bigger burred family members, the P64 and P100, to those not looking to drop a lot of money on a coffee grinder. But they still...
Coffee people are a fickle bunch... when a hot new piece of gear drops everyone and their cousin's brother's uncle are going on and on about it, but as soon as something else hits the market it's gone as fast as it came. Yet, there's one piece of coffee gear that tends to always maintain a...
There are few brand names in coffee... that carry as much history and respect as Mazzer. They've been in the coffee grinder and burr business for nearly 75 years and have built a positive reputation across the entire industry. Their burrs have become synonymous with quality, and many other grinder companies build their products around Mazzer's...
Rancilio is no stranger to espresso... they've been building machines for 95 years, and put them on home counters in 1997. Over that time the Silvia has become synonymous in home barista circles and is now in its sixth generation. From the humble single boiler, to today's dual boiler with PID and "soft infusion" the Silvia...
There must be something in the water... because powered hand grinders seem to be all the rage, or at least I'm getting them in waves. Regardless, here we are, and today we're with Timemore's Grinder Go Advanced. Unlike its close relatives the Slim and Chestnut X this grinder contains a unique twist for a piece of...
Crowdfunded coffee gear and I have a rocky relationship... there's been ups, downs, and everything in between. That same attitude also translates to hand grinders, which as I've said before aren't really my thing. But the Goat Story ARCO is a little different. It's a hand grinder, but also an electric grinder. It appeals to those...
A filterless coffee brewer isn't unheard of... but I don't recall any of them using that particular aspect as their main marketing point, and that is where the Pure Over comes into the picture. This relatively new pour over dripper designed by Portland based glass artist Etai Rahmil was originally a Kickstarter that was fully funded...
When it comes to brew methods... you can't find two as massively different than espresso and cold brew. One takes 24 hours and the other, 24 seconds. So when I saw the Osma I couldn't help but be intrigued. If you aren't familiar, the Osma is essentially a combination of an espresso machine and a cold...
If you're an eagle-eyed viewer... you've maybe noticed a new addition on my bar in some of my recent videos, and that is the Option-O Lagom P64. From a distance it looks like a microscope, but similarly it is intended to magnify the flavors of your coffee...see what I did there? If you aren't familiar its...
If there is one question... I get asked on a very regular basis it's why a relatively simple espresso machine like the La Marzocco Linea Mini is worth $5,000, and to be honest it's not an easy question to just answer off the cuff. The response I often use is related to cars, because you can...
Okay, I admit it... last week's video was a bit of a tease, but I needed some extra time to work on the full review of my new Weber Key. Which was for many coffee lovers, one of the most anticipated coffee grinders since the Fellow Ode, and we all saw how that worked out. The...
This may surprise you... but I'm actually very risk adverse. So of course crowd funding isn't really my thing, it feels a bit like a gamble, and when I saw the Weber Workshops Indigogo campaign for the new Key grinder I was a little apprehensive. But I found myself powerless, I had no idea how much...
It may not come as a surprise... That capsule based coffee machines have never really been on my radar. That is until I heard of the Morning machine. It boasts some features that seem better suited to top of the line espresso machines. Things like pre-infusion, blooming, automatic volumetric, and three phase pressure control. So if...
The home grinder market... has more or less exploded with options over the last couple years, many of them single dose, aimed at taking on the current king; the Niche Zero. Some of them even touted as the "Niche killer", and now Eureka, a grinder company with over one hundred years experience, has entered the battle...
It takes a certain type of coffee person... to want to manually hand grind their coffee. It may or may not surprise you, but I'm not that type of coffee person. I've grown very accustomed to my daily ritual using an electric grinder, but the growing popularity of quality hand grinders is hard to ignore. There...
Air is the enemy... of your coffee's freshness. There is no way to put a complete stop to oxidation that will eventually make your coffee go stale, but thankfully there are some containers out there aimed at helping slow the process down. Today's tester is for the Planetary Design Airscape. It's been on the market for...
I'll admit it, I'm late... to the Fellow Ode party, but its definitely not for lack a trying. I've been reaching out to Fellow on multiple avenues trying to get an Ode for review since late 2020. Unfortunately every lead led me to a non-response, a pass off, and one case being purely ignored (see the...
For quite some time... beverage enthusiasts have been making and designing their own glasses to elevate their drinking experience, and the company Kruve has continued to try to innovate in the coffee vessel space. It all started with their award winning filter glasses, then the pro-swirl espresso versions, and now with the new Kruve Imagine line...
In the very recent past... handheld espresso was more or less a distant fantasy than it was a true reality. Even though there are multiple accessories and compact options on the market, most if not all fall kind of flat. The Joepresso, and the Fellow Prismo claimed real shots from your Aeropress, and that just isn't...
Just a few short days ago... there was a knock at my door, and there on my doorstep sat a box that I wasn't expecting. It was from Fellow, and after my most recent harsh (but fair) review of their new French press I wasn't sure what to expect. My mind raced. Is this a cease...
In the coffee world... very few manufacturer names fill the hearts of baristas with quite as much excitement as Mahlkonig. With nearly 100 years of coffee grinding pedigree, and a line of legendary cafe heros like the EK43 and Peak, they are finally entering the world of home brewing. The brand new Mahlkonig X54 is their...
It's time for a home brewer renaissance... and it's possible that the Ratio Coffee home brewers will be the vehicle for such a change. Personally, I do love a good pour over, but there is still a place in my kitchen for the perfect brewer...once I find it. Many of the current options have been around for...
Dairy alternatives and I... have a bit of a contentious relationship, I've always wanted to like them, but I feel like they tend to fall short in one way or another. Whether it's how they taste, how they blend with coffee, their foamability or mouthfeel, they just don't check all the boxes. I'm clearly not the...
No one ever said that coffee... was a cheap hobby, and at this point in my whole coffee loving life I've fully accepted that as a reality. Yet, there are still times where the price of some coffee gear really makes me give it a double take, and the Clara French press from Fellow is on...
I'm a man of my word... and a couple month's ago while reviewing the Robot I said I would soon be releasing a head-to-head battle with the Cafelat Robot and the Flair, but what I didn't tell you was I was waiting for the new 58 to drop. In the world of hand pressed, fully manual...
The time has finally come... after a year of speculation and vague information the brand new Flair 58 has finally arrived on the scene. I've been a big fan of the Flair machines since I picked up the Signature Pro about two years ago. It was my first foray into hand pressed espresso, and I was...
Brewing coffee quickly... hasn't always been looked at as a good thing, but as we've developed a better understanding of extraction it's become more widely accepted. First science told us to run faster shots of espresso, and now the Espro Bloom has entered the fray claiming tasty brews in record time. They do this by utilizing...
The hand grinder market... has really blown up over the past few years, with new options hitting shelves and websites at a pretty solid rate. There are names that most coffee enthusiasts kick around on the regular like the Comandante and the Kinu M47, but there's a newcomer to this market, and its boasting some pretty...
The unsung hero of the coffee bar... is the humble grinder. The espresso machines, coffee drippers, and latte art pours tend to often be the stars of the show, but today I'm revisiting my experience with a Niche Zero year one review. If you've been around for a minute you may recall the original review I...
Four years ago this week... I became the proud owner of a brand new, crispy white, La Marzocco Linea Mini. In that time it has given me endless hours of entertainment, content for videos, increased my barista skills, and also helped motivate me to create not one, but two businesses. So I do generally look at the...
When I think about making espresso... I generally picture myself at home, or in a cafe working behind a classic countertop machine, but I also have to remind myself that other people actually leave their house sometimes. So something like the Wacaco Nanopresso may actually be a the perfect option for those adventurous, espresso-loving spirits who...
There comes a point where one may ask... how many coffee drippers is too many? Well, I'm not sure yet, and I know I haven't reached that point just yet. So I felt like the Origami Dripper is a welcome addition to my already somewhat crowded home barista coffee cart. For what seems like quite a...
It seems every couple of months... a new distribution tool materializes out of the bottomless dark void that is third wave coffee gear economy. The WPM (Welhome Pro) ESPCUP is the newest contender to an already pretty full arena of tools. With big coffee industry names like ONA Coffee, Pullman, and Saint Anthony's Industries already having...
Coffee can take many forms... and throughout the roasting process it goes through a variety of transformations. Each phase of the roast brings out a unique flavor characteristic. Now, whether it tastes good is, like all coffee, is subjective. For me, the ideal roast is always past first crack. But as a lover of coffee I...
La Marzocco has a habit... of making Mini versions of their commercial machines. I'm sure you've heard of the Linea Mini, but in case you haven't, its pretty epic. Their newest addition to the Mini line up for home baristas is the La Marzocco Swift Mini. The full-size Swift is a cafe workhorse that you'll find...
