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About ~10 years ago, a co-worker brought some overpriced Kona beans into the office for me to brew since I was the resident coffee nerd hand-grinding beans and making french press for everybody in the office. Ignoring the fact that the beans I brewed were stale, it was pretty evident even back then that the brand is just preying on uninformed travelers who think the packaging looks fancy.
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Oct 6, 2023 20:36
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The Bambino will be fine, but the lack of temperature PID can lead to sour and inconsistent shots if you're doing more than 1-2 of them. For the price, you're pretty limited in options. I've had my Bambino for 6 months now and definitely yearn for something with a PID, but those are $500-$1000+. If I could do it all over again, I'd probably get a ~$500 Breville Barista Express with a built in grinder or something. Is your wife really fine hand-grinding her shots? I'd get sick of that real quick. The portafilter does indeed suck. An IMS basket is a must. A self-leveling tamper is also nice to have. I'd get all 3.
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Oct 17, 2023 19:12
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HenryJLittlefinger posted:Nah, she just uses the finest setting on the Capresso, which tbf is finer than any grind I've ever had out of a counter top grinder. I have hand ground a handful of times at the finest setting on the Timemore, and I wouldn't want to do it more than once a day or if I was in any kind of hurry, but it didn't bother me much. It's easier with oilier store-bought beans than my own roast. I can't say I'd recommend grinding with the Capresso and trying to use it with any espresso machine - most machines are likely to choke. Being able to easily adjust your grind is one of those "ease of use" aspects that can drastically improve your process and make all the difference between "I love making espresso" and "I hate making espresso". We have all different preferences for our morning rituals, so it's up to you to decide what trade-offs you're willing to make. Nobody likes throwing money at a grinder, but my process would be so much easier with a Breville with a built-in stepless grinder or $200 Baratza Encore ESP that can be adjusted on the fly in seconds.
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Oct 17, 2023 21:02
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HenryJLittlefinger posted:Yeah it's not worth it to me to add another $200 to the cost. If nothing works with the equipment I already have I'll just pass on it entirely. The Capresso will probably be fine, but you'll want to dial in any beans for your partner so they don't have to play with it - there's probably only a few adjustments that will work well for espresso, so it's a fine line between "it will choke" and "it's too coarse". While not "made for espresso", you'll likely find a grind settings that works well enough, but you won't be able to make any finer adjustments. For my use-case, the Bambino has been fine, but I've run into a couple of instances where I've had friends over and they all wanted lattes or espresso cocktails or whatever and suddenly my Bambino is only churning out sour shots at 212 degrees. Realistically, there's just a certain barrier of entry with espresso that is hard to overcome at-home, vs going to your local coffee spot and getting an espresso for $2 a shot. I've got a TimeMore Sculptor 064s stepless espresso grinder preordered that I'm eager to play with - for our household, it's easy to justify spending a couple hundred dollars for something that will get used daily for 5-10 years. Corb3t fucked around with this message at 22:52 on Oct 17, 2023 |
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Oct 17, 2023 22:48
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I also applaud anybody who takes a look at the costs associated with espresso and decides it's not for them - the barrier is still incredibly high, especially if you're fine going down the street and getting a latte when you're in the mood. When I first looked into espresso, I wanted to avoid pricy grinders but quickly realized everybody was right when they told me I needed it. If you really don't mind manually grinding beans, it will get the job done, but it will be a bit annoying. I've seen some espresso nerds even create elaborate manual setups using a drill to grind quickly instead of dropping $200+ on a grinder. The prices have definitely come down, at least with grinders - a decade or so ago, a good friend of mine went on his Honeymoon to Italy and fell in love with espresso, came home and dropped $1300 on a Mazzer Mini 64mm stepless flat burr grinder. I backed a Kickstarter for TimeMore's Sculptor 064s 64mm stepless flat burr grinder for $300 just a few months ago - it should ship by the end of the year, and retails for $450. It doesn't have the same build quality as the Mazzer, but it produces a pretty similar result for $1000 less. Espresso machines have come down, too, but there's still a high barrier of entry for anything with a proper PID + Flow Control. Corb3t fucked around with this message at 21:07 on Oct 18, 2023 |
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Oct 18, 2023 21:03
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Pilfered Pallbearers posted:Why is ordering online not an option? Like 90% of us in the thread order online, and I usually get bags 2-4 days after roast date. S&W Craft Roasting is awesome and really affordable. Order in bulk and freeze the rest for later - I've probably got 5 or 6 pounds of random bags I've picked up but didn't get through. I almost always let my beans de-gas for 14 days and freeze them for later. I'm really fortunate that my local roaster is Hyperion. We subscribe to a 2 pound bag for $36 a month. Corb3t fucked around with this message at 22:47 on Nov 1, 2023 |
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Nov 1, 2023 22:44
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.Z. posted:Hoffman sharing the results of his America Taste Test event. I love stuff like this. Girls/Older Gens hate naturals and lighter roasted beans because their palates are hosed by dark roasted Starbucks and Folgers. Corb3t fucked around with this message at 19:43 on Nov 10, 2023 |
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Nov 10, 2023 19:40
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Bambino and Bambino Plus are great and you won’t find a better espresso machine for under $500. If you really want to live on the edge, install a dimmer switch with $5 in parts and you’ll have a pretty nice machine that you can manually control the flow on. No PID, which kinda sucks, but you won’t find those in many machines for under $800.
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Nov 19, 2023 02:45
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SocksAndSandals posted:Hi coffee goons. I'm trying to improve the consistency and taste of my morning coffees. Currently using a cuisinart drip thats been doing a decent enough job. Initially was going to replace it (with a Technivorm) but on reading this thread I'm thinking of adding a grinder instead as my next step up. You can definitely go with the OXO - It looks like it's made up of slightly better materials than the cheaper Baratzas. For many coffee nerds, one of the biggest benefits of Baratza grinders is that they're built to be repaired and Baratza readily provides parts for them, so if you were ever have an issue with it, you could easily get it fixed vs throwing it out altogether. Ultimately, It's up to you whether or not you prefer the higher quality enclosure of the OXO or the reparability of the Baratzas.
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Nov 21, 2023 16:03
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Cannon_Fodder posted:Fellow has a nice discount during the mad days of November. Could probably even do espresso with those upgraded burrs.
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Nov 21, 2023 22:59
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Freeze your beans people. I usually let my beans degas for 7-10 days before every bag goes in the freezer and gets used straight from the freezer. Have a decent collection of samples built up of fun naturally processed and co-fermented coffee.
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Nov 24, 2023 23:47
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Mr. Mambold posted:This is for green though, which still contain all the moisture? Sorry, yes my suggestions are for roasted beans, but a friend of mine has a roasting business and definitely freezes some of his bulk green beans.
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Nov 25, 2023 00:07
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Looks like my TimeMore Sculptor is going to ship in the next couple weeks - I'm excited to dust off the Bambino again now that I'll have a truly stepless grinder to dial in my shots. I just got kinda lazy about dialing in beans every month with our Fellow Opus, which is a great grinder, but not something I'd recommend to somebody primarily using it for expresso. Lately we've been drinking v60 pourover, which we really enjoy. I guess we're going to be one of "those people" with two grinders - my partner will never use the espresso machine, but she'll make v60 or chemex if I happen to not be around the house, so I want to keep the Opus around so the grind doesn't even need to be touched for either grinder. I sold our old Baratza Encore to a non-coffee nerd friend of mine when we got the Opus and he was pretty happy with it overall, but he complained about static coffee getting everywhere so I told him about RDTing and he was amazed at how much it helped. Corb3t fucked around with this message at 16:43 on Dec 1, 2023 |
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Dec 1, 2023 16:41
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Me and a friends Sculptor 063s arrived in the US today. Built like a tank. No issues with mine, other than some minor UX annoyances (button should be in front, wish it was easier to eye changes to the grinder notches, beans can get stock in the hopper). Grind retention seems really low - way less messy than my Fellow Opus. Need to grab some cheap Costco beans to run through it, but I did my first 3 shots of espresso in months to just get a feel for what my Bambino can handle with a nice 1-minute pre-infusion - roughly the "1" notch. Edit: I didn't get any shipping notification from TimeMore themselves. Corb3t fucked around with this message at 22:23 on Dec 15, 2023 |
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Dec 15, 2023 22:20
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Cannon_Fodder posted:Sorry, a 1 minute preinfusion? Yeah so I installed a $5 dimmer switch mod on my Bambino so I typically pull a manual shot with the pump's power reduced, pause the machine when I see first drops, wait 1-2 minutes while prepping/cleaning, then do a slow ramp of pressure for a sort of manual flow controlled shot. Inspired by espresso methods outlined here. Here's my post about it: Corb3t posted:The dimmer mod was a success, and looks pretty clean: Corb3t fucked around with this message at 19:43 on Dec 16, 2023 |
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Dec 16, 2023 19:38
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My NanoFoamer Pro will be here in a few days, but my hope is that my faucet's ~125F tap water is hot enough to power through any layer of milk when I rinse it out. My Bambino has a steam wand that works just fine, but it will be nice to fill the NanoFoamer up with enough milk for 2 lattes while I prep + clean other things in the kitchen.
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Dec 19, 2023 18:39
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Lance did a great video on the Gaggiuino project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4pTFCGVlmQ
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Dec 19, 2023 22:39
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NanoFoamer Pro + WDT Flick + Shot Glass arrived. I'm not going to open the Shot Glass, probably flip it on eBay or something? WDT Flick is nice, the needles are a little thick but I like that it's magnetized and can stick to my Bambino. It's heavy and made of nice material and flicking the needles back into it is pretty enjoyable in a fidget toy sort of way. I'll WDT when I make v60 and Chemex, so this will get a lot of use. The NanoFoamer Pro - Decided to make 3 Cortados to try it out. Quickly learned if you don't put the silicone insert that goes inside against the very bottom, it won't properly create a whirlpool. Definitely leaves behind a thin layer of milk at the bottom that takes a Scrub Daddy to get clean, but not the worst thing in the world. It's a little loud, but it will definitely be getting used in our household for the foreseeable future. The TimeMore Sculptor 064s has been great, definitely could use a few QoL improvements like better popcorn mitigation in the hopper, but this thing is way less messy than my Opus and I like that I can leave behind fines for pour over, so I guess I should just get rid of the Opus altogether and reclaim some counter space I guess? I've been making pourover + a couple shots of espresso every day this week and re-adjusting for espresso hasn't been a problem. If somebody released a magnetized portafilter stand, larger magnetized catch cup, and bellows hopper for the 064s, I'd pick them up, but I'm really just nitpicking at this point. Edit: Apparently Timemore has already teased a hopper extension which would solve my hopper issues. The existing catch cup only holds around 50g of ground coffee, so hopefully the hopper extension comes with a bigger catch cup as well. Corb3t fucked around with this message at 23:16 on Dec 21, 2023 |
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Dec 21, 2023 22:51
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RDTing will cause some beans to get stuck in the Sculptor hopper but not a big deal if you’re diligent about making sure it’s empty at the end of your grind. Hopefully a larger hopper with a steeper angle will solve that annoyance.
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Dec 22, 2023 04:34
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SEX HAVER 40000 posted:the thing to me about the niche is that espresso vivace, one of the best cafes in the world (certainly the best in seattle) and the first place in america to introduce things like PIDs, bottomless portafilters, and latte art, uses niches with extra large hoppers to grind all their beans. can't argue with the results I’m not saying the Niche isn’t a great grinder, but I can’t say this is a compelling argument for me - as with many things, it seems like many veterans of many domains end up being a bit too dogmatic in their approach or the tools they grow accustomed to, almost to a fault. Espresso is a great example - I couldn’t care less about Italy’s regulations or guidelines around the proper way to brew espresso, brewing ratios, shot times, etc. It was invented over a hundred years ago and random Internet nerds are still figuring out ways to make the perfect cup.
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Dec 23, 2023 00:09
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If I threw my gently used Fellow Opus grinder up on SA Mart for ~$100, would any coffee goons be interested? Counter space in our household is a hot commodity and I just don't think I'll be using it much anymore now that my Timemore Scultpor 064S is here.
Corb3t fucked around with this message at 19:37 on Dec 27, 2023 |
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Dec 27, 2023 19:32
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Cannon_Fodder posted:It's this any better than a Baratza Encore ESP? Maybe better for pourover, but not for espresso - the ESP lets you make minor adjustments on the dial externally, while the Opus has an inner dial that you have to make minor adjustments with. I've gotten the hang of it, but having one dial like on my Sculptor 064s is a far better user experience for espresso.
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Dec 28, 2023 18:07
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The DF83V looks really great and seems to have solved many of the issues from prior iterations. The power button seems a little cheap, though: https://youtu.be/UN_cJONMvZ4?si=x81lKFlTJCE4B9uC
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Jan 3, 2024 01:08
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"Bourbon" variety of coffee beans also threw me off. Is it aged in a bourbon barrel or something? Nope, but still definitely one of my favorite varieties.
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Jan 11, 2024 15:07
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We pick up a monthly 2lb bag from Hyperion for $28, typically single origin but not always. This month we got a natural processed Ethiopian that’s pretty good.
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Jan 19, 2024 04:31
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Have you ever considered doing a cupping session of different grind settings so you can try them side by side? Should be a pretty quick and easy way to compare and contrast while keeping all other variables the same. For dialing in espresso, I often dial in new beans by doing 3 shots at the same grind at a ratio of 1:2. 1:2.5 and 1:3 shots and seeing which I prefer. The salami poo poo method is another fun way to better understand sour vs bitter: https://youtu.be/_yIpi5KPUys?si=wwDsggkLB5iZAUDq Corb3t fucked around with this message at 02:06 on Jan 31, 2024 |
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Jan 31, 2024 02:02
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BrianBoitano posted:If anyone is on the fence, this is a great price for Flair - ebay shows most "sold" listings at $220-250 shipped. I messaged him and shipping is from Colorado. Not to be a jerk, but a screenshot of some random forum doesn’t really help me buy this. I’d totally get it, although it’s probably sold by now. Is it Facebook?
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Feb 7, 2024 01:28
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The Flair Pro 1 or 2 is tempting, and I like that it’s portable, but it not having a normal sized portafilter is a bit annoying. I’m guessing it was easier/cheaper to engineer with a thinner water chamber.
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Feb 7, 2024 04:25
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I’d imagine most coffee nerds actually enjoy their rituals & routines, but it does get quite silly at how elaborate they can get. The great thing about coffee is that you can get really good results with affordable gear. I actually have a friend who recently got into espresso after going on a trip to Italy and receiving a $3500 ECM Synchronika and $850 Eureka Libra grinder as a wedding gift and he hasn’t even bothered getting a scale for pulling shots by weight. I know a couple other people with pricy super automatic machines that they end up using them for drip most of the time. Not everybody turns everything they blow a bunch of money on into a hobby  Lance is continuing to kill it over on YouTube, he compared the extraction of using a shaker vs various wdts with a df64: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ivwCm95nLc He also did a video covering what gear he uses to typically make a drink: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUc3lvF8mHM Corb3t fucked around with this message at 07:06 on Feb 7, 2024 |
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Feb 7, 2024 06:02
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What’s the deal with people like Lance hating the flavor of cold brew? Something about the low temp brewing process not extracting as many flavor compounds?
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Feb 7, 2024 21:08
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Black & White is great, I picked up a 2 lb bag of their cinnamon anaerobic, as well as their holiday anaerobic and we blew through it within a month or so. I should order more. I've been tempted to pick up one of those steel balls to throw into the freezer and suspend above chilled cup for coldbrew espresso shots. The Meticulous espresso machine has a nice magnetized accessory for it, whenever that ships.
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Feb 8, 2024 00:39
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I stopped into Sump coffee roasters in St. Louis over the weekend and had a tasty Goji Gesha pourover. I try to hit up a nice coffee roaster or two whenever I visit a big city, but none of them can match my local spots bean selection, Hyperion, especially pricing-wise.
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Feb 22, 2024 20:50
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Gunder posted:Got my Decent today, and it's instantly amazing and also totally overwhelming. I pulled three shots with it and didn't really get a bad one, although I do need to tweak some things tomorrow. This is basically how I do a manual shot with my Bambino + dimmer switch. The flow + pressure and temperature stats are rad. The Decent is awesome - I wish I had jumped at the chance to get one before it was released for under $1000 almost a decade ago - I was a ZPM backer on Kickstarter who backed out after payment was collected but managed to get added to Decent's e-mail list as they were starting production, but I was hesitant to drop that much on another espresso machine after seeing the failure of the ZPM (admittedly, ZPM had a lofty goal in hindsight). Being able to brew Filter 3.0 and other methods with one is half the fun - It's definitely more than just an espresso machine. Corb3t fucked around with this message at 00:14 on Mar 9, 2024 |
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Mar 9, 2024 00:10
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BrianBoitano posted:Oops I did it again (obsessed over my favorite hobby then posted about it to make it everyone else's problem) Part of me still wants a manual lever robot or flair to play with on weekends, but boy am I never interested in hand grinding unless I’m doing it on the go. Preheating also seems like a pain, but putting the chamber on top of the kettle is a great solution while you prep other things. In terms of workflow, the nanofoamer pro could go either way vs a steam wand - I personally like the results of the nanofoamer pro more, and it allows me to clean up and prep other things while it’s going, but cleaning it could be considered more work than a wand for others. It’s gotten to a point where I can get our morning drink (cortados, lattes, tea lattes, and pourover) ready within 15 minutes, which is pretty manageable in our household while the morning begins. Definitely getting a Stagg Pro when my Meticulous ships so I can automate a boiling time every day though.
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Mar 10, 2024 17:17
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I love Colombian Bourbon/Gesha season. And now I wait. 
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Mar 24, 2024 01:16
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The Argos looks awesome. Definitely has some quirks, but it looks really nicely made and won’t take up too much space on a counter.
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Apr 12, 2024 13:37
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Fellow just announced their Aiden smart connected pourover machine for $365. It looks pretty cool if pourover is your jam: https://fellowproducts.com/products/aiden-precision-coffee-maker  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0ydY4B6T1Y
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Apr 12, 2024 22:20
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This is a great walkthrough of the Aiden: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-C8VzKqhSw Some things of note: - Brew extractions beyond 22% - The shower head’s inner nozzles can provide enough water pressure for high agitation into your coffee bed. - They’re really hyping up the temperature control and stability throughout the process - lots of double walled materials and seals to keep steam in the coffee bed and basket. - Looks really nicely made - Giant removable water tank, wheels for counters without much vertical space, cable management. - 1 button SCA approved auto brew function. - Guided brew function to walk you through brewing specific bean profiles. - Preorder comes with 3x bags of coffee valued at $75. It looks really slick. I kinda want one. Corb3t fucked around with this message at 19:42 on Apr 13, 2024 |
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Apr 13, 2024 15:12
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It's going to be SCA certified, as well, so at the very least, it's as good as most similarly priced machines that everybody recommends like the Moccamaster.
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Apr 13, 2024 20:43
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I'm definitely envious of Robot and Argos owners - It's been roughly a year since I backed the Meticulous Kickstarter - They're right on the cusp of getting mass production under way, so I'm optimistic I'll get it by early Fall. Hmmmm, maybe I'll sign up to beta test an early Meticulous machine so I don't have to wait longer for mass production to get around to building mine. They've stressed they will replace any units with problems. I was backer 231, and they expect to have ~200 units built by July.
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May 8, 2024 20:47
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