If there’s one thing in coffee... I’m always impressed by its the ingenuity of manual espresso machine design. I’ve used the press, I’ve used the twist, and now with the Superkop, I’ve used the ratchet. And if your first thought during that last sentence was "superwhat?" I was right there with you just a few months ago. I...
On my journey to expand my coffee content... I'm once again trying something new that I lovingly call the Barista Challenge. The game is simple, roll the latte art dice, pour the design, and win some cash. Of course there are some additional multipliers in the mix. For example, if you roll a basic heart, that's...
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...
If you've never heard of... the El Rocio Zarre V2 you wouldn't be alone, its a brand and machine I've only recently been seeing over the past couple months. The main reason for this is El Rocio is a Korean made machine and up until their partnership with Prima Coffee Equipment wasn't available for the US...
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...
If this title looks familiar... its not just your imagination, its not deja vu, I did a video of the exact same title almost exactly three years ago. In that time not only has my espresso game evolved, but so has the whole industry along with most of baristas (home and cafe) use on a daily...
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...
I'm sure you have heard... how important water quality can be to your coffee, and unless you're new here you've most likely you've heard it at least a few times from me. Now its something that I understood on a very surface level. For example, too many minerals can create a bitter cup, and too few...
On a cold January day in 2017... much like this one, I brought home my brand new La Marzocco Linea Mini. This was almost exactly five years ago, and at the time I was just a new coffee enthusiast looking to learn the craft, but little did I know that it would take me where I...
I've said it before... and I'm going to say it again; espresso is a finicky beast. Anyone who's made it, even just once, has experienced how many variables are in play. Even though getting a tasty shot is based almost entirely on personal preferences, there are still some golden rules to process, and one of them...
Espresso drinks aren't all that complicated... and even though there is so many you could fill a small book with them, they are made up of two ingredients, espresso and milk or water. In this case I'm talking about the latter, more specifically the Americano, and by association the long black. Now, these two have very...
Instagram and I have a love/hate relationship... Of course I see it as a great place to share my work, connect with viewers, and even find inspiration. Yet, on the flip side it has a lot of blatant attention grabs for likes and shares, and many things that are purely for the visual aesthetics and not...
I think it's pretty clear... that there is no shortage of accessories on the espresso aftermarket. Each one claiming better taste here and more extraction there, and I've tried my fair share of these accessories and shared my tests and thoughts. It should be no surprise that not all of them can be winners, but that...
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...
The holiday season is fast approaching... and with all the delays in both manufacturing and shipping I figured I'd get this video out a little earlier than normal. So for those looking for some affordable coffee gifts, or just wanting to know what coffee toys I've been loving through 2021 than this video is for you....
Just when you thought espresso... can’t get any more intricate and labor intensive something else crawls out of the depths of coffee forums, so today let’s talk about the staccato shot. The word staccato translates from Italian to English as "detached". Which in this case means each grind size are detached, or in other words separated...
The Aeropress never goes out of style... for many reasons, its versatile, simple, and has more of an aftermarket than a Honda Civic. It's even got its own competition, the World Aeropress Championship (WAC). Yeah, it's a big deal. Personally, up until a year or so ago I had a rocky relationship with the Aeropress, but...
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...
If you’ve been making pour overs... in the last decade or so you’ve likely been trained, taught, or told that a bloom is an absolute necessity for a quality cup. The reasons for the process are sound, as it gives the coffee time to expel C02 built up in the roasted coffee’s cell structure, which can repel...
As you may already know... espresso comes in many different shapes and sizes. Its an ever-changing, ever-evolving beverage, and now things that were once considered mistakes have become something we aim for. In the not so distant past a fifteen second shot of espresso would go right down the drain, but today we call it the...
Are you ready to take the plunge... into the world of espresso at home? Well, incase you haven't noticed I've done that myself, and I get a lot of questions from folks looking to do that exact same thing. I personally made some mistakes myself, and since then I've talked many friends and viewers through the...
Thinking about espresso... is what I do with a good amount of my time, and if you're reading this its fair to say it may be something you spend time doing as well. There is a wide array of espresso options out there, and in my espresso anatomy series I've covered a lot of them. The...
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...
There is a wide variety... of pour over drippers out there, and they come in many different shapes and sizes. Also a pretty good number of them look nearly identical, and the differences can be pretty subtle; like a mere ten degrees for example. In fact that's what we're looking at today. If you're reading a...
When it comes to espresso... experimentation is half of the fun, at least to me it is, and since you're here reading about some seriously nerdy coffee stuff you likely feel the same way. So in the spirit of experimentation and my own personal curiosity I decided to test something I've been wondering about for awhile....
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...
It's far too easy... and also extremely common for folks in the specialty coffee scene to dunk on Starbucks, but today I want to give you some reasons why they actually deserve a little respect. Of course, this isn't a "we should all love them" kind of video, and they most definitely have their flaws. I...
Now well into the... fourth year of this humble coffee blog we're really starting to dig into the minutia of brewing, and in terms of espresso talking about shower screens is really getting into the weeds. Otherwise known as dispersion screens, these little discs of metal and mesh play a surprisingly vital role in the espresso...
For awhile now... I've been toying with aging coffee, both green and roasted, in my freezer at home. One particular package of coffee was roasted, vacuum sealed, and subsequently traveled from Japan to my freezer here in California. This coffee has sat patiently for almost exactly two years now. If you've been around for awhile this...
If you ask a barista... latte art isn't just an art, it's a lifestyle. It's also the quickest way to break a barista's heart, just stir it up right in front of them. As you become more and more versed in specialty coffee culture it becomes clear that the skill of steaming and pouring velvety milk...
When it comes to espresso... and my series of videos taking deep dives into the many forms of this beloved beverage, I feel like one very important option is missing. Whether you call it the double, the normale, or embrace your inner Italian and call it a doppio, it's time I dive into the most common...
The fact is tea has been... around way longer than coffee. A quick online search will tell you tea goes back some five thousand years, as compared to coffee's paltry five hundred. I'm not here to tell you one is better than the other, I actually appreciate both immensely. What can I say, I'm a beverage...
Nothing seemed more appropriate... for a video released on New Years Day than one that uses confetti for a pour over filter. I do have to say this was not my idea, and I saw it originally on the Melodrip Instagram page and found it pretty intriguing. When the urge struck I decided to give it...
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...
Paper coffee filters... seem like one of those simple pieces of coffee brewing that pretty much don't get much love in terms of updates and innovation, until now. CAFEC has entered the filter fray with something new. Just a few short months ago they started offering roast specific coffee filters. Using their proprietary hot-air drying method...
The single shot of espresso is one of the rarest... if not the rarest espresso drink in all of modern coffee and cafe culture. Ever since I began learning about and working in the specialty coffee industry (which is a paltry five years) a single shot has been a split double. That basically means you're likely...
Since it's quarantine season... and I'm spending 99.9% of my time at home. So I figured there is no better time to do a video that's been highly requested, for some reason I don't fully understand. Yet, here I am and I'll be going over my morning routine. As a bonus, not only will I be...
Extraction is a dense topic... and this experiment may lift off a bit of that density. It will provide some answers, depending on how you feel about my scientific methods, or in some peoples views, lack thereof. Armed with an idea, a refractometer, and two bags of the same coffee I decided to dig in to...
The wave heart... is most definitely one of those little known, little seen latte art pours. Personally, I don't think I've ever seen, or been served a drink with the wave heart in it. Nor does it get much love on all of those latte art focused Instagram accounts, which generally post everything from hearts to...
There are many debates within the coffee industry... and one of those debates that has been raging for years is flat vs conical burrs. The passion each group carries about their burr preference is up there with the Montagues and Capulets (yeah that's a Shakespeare reference, deal with it). Of course I have my preferences, and...
Not all brew temperatures... are created equal. I feel like this topic is something that isn't talked about very often, but it can be hugely beneficial to your final cup flavor. For example, have you ever wondered why cold brew and hot coffee from the same beans taste so incredibly different? Well, that's down to a...
Thats right, I quit... my roasting job as the head and director of coffee at a local cafe here in San Diego. I'll spare you'll the details as to why, but long story short new investors came in and decided I wasn't an important part of the staff. Did I mention I also designed and ran...
Steaming alternative milks... adds a whole new level of difficulty to the already difficult task of steaming milk in general. The fact is steaming alternative milks isn't rocket science, but there are a couple little nuanced tips that make whole process, including pouring them, easier. To share these tips and tricks I picked up my favorite...
The one and one... is a go-to order for me when going into a cafe for the first time. If you don't know what the one and one is, its a split double shot of espresso, one is served straight, the other is served as a macchiato. It can be made in a traditional way (dry...
The Viennese is one... of my personal favorite specialty espresso drinks when I have a bit of a sweet tooth. As you may of gleaned from my previous posts and videos, I don't do a lot of flavored espresso drinks. Yet, the Viennese is a bit different. It's a classic, and most shops (at least here...
A rose by any other name... would smell as sweet as a delicious latte with some rose art. I think that's what Shakespear said. Either way its time for new Damn Fine Tutorial for a new (at least new to me) design. Personally I've never been huge on latte art pours that aren't symmetrical. But since...
The great portafilter debate... has raged for as long as I can remember. Or at least as long as I've been in the specialty coffee industry. Which is a paltry four years. Yet, I've had my love affair with the bottomless portafilter. It was just a fling though. It was short, passionate, and messy. It splattered...
The KB90 dropped... out of nowhere. It gets its namesake from Kent Bakke, former La Marzocco CEO and current Board Chairman. He is also the pioneer of the newest and most exciting feature of on the KB90, the 'Straight-In' portafilter. It's something he's wanted to develop for years, as part of his continued vision to make...
As a coffee professional... I'm ashamed to admit I've never been to Portland. Considering the sheer amount of amazing coffee in that town it is most definitely on my must-go list. As part of that pilgrimage visiting the fine folks at Dapper & Wise will be on the itinerary. Since I've already had a couple of...
The debate has raged on... for as long as I can remember, or at least the time I've been in specialty coffee. Which granted, isn't that long. But since I began my career I've heard, read, and contemplated all of the definitions for the differences between the beloved cappuccino, and the rising star, the flat white....
Australia's espresso game... is top notch. Considering drip coffee is a relatively new beverage there, the espresso market has had a lot of time to mature. With big names making the move across the pond, like Toby's Estate, and Proud Mary, Campos Coffee didn't want to miss out on North America's exploding coffee culture. Based in...
It's easy to fall into a routine... and begin to take the things you have for granted. I do my best to step away from those feelings when they creep up, but I'm only human and sometimes you need something like the holiday season, or more specifically Thanksgiving to bring you back around. Even though Thanksgiving...
