A few weeks ago I stopped for coffee in a small Pennsylvania town and was greeted by this beautiful Victoria Arduino machine with old school pull down levers. Hammered tin finish really was spectacular. We just won’t talk about the coffee made with it.
Love the new-ish La Marzocco machine at DC stalwart The Coffee Bar‘s Shaw location.
This winter I was starting to get annoyed at my grinder. More and more it was making a mess, to the point I thought there was something wrong with it or that the inner part of the collection cup had somehow disappeared. I always weigh out 16 grams of beans, and was losing as much as seven tenths of a gram in the finished product. Then one day out of the blue my college friend Tony sent me an article about the Ross Droplet Technique.
The idea behind it is adding very small amounts of water to beans before grinding reduces static electricity, resulting in reduced flyaways, a neater grind, and much higher retention. Makes perfect sense, then, that I was seeing more problems in winter. I live in an area that has high humidity for much of the year, with a significant drop in humidity in winter.
I gave it a try with one very light spritz from a spray bottle, and I’m now a convert. Much less mess, much higher retention. I’m not sure if it is improving the brew, but anything that combats channeling is going to lead to more consistent quality. I did find that too much water, particularly with oilier beans, could gum up the grind a bit.
Similar to the Weis Distribution Tool, it’s a case where I hadn’t know this existed, but since learning of it I’m seeing it in almost every Instagram clip of a barista making coffee (follow enough coffee shops and roasters, and you too will see tons of espresso making and latte art mastery). I’m going to have to watch them more carefully to see if there are other touches I should be trying. Bottomless portafilter? Dosing funnel? Distribution tool? Spring-loaded tamper? I’m game for anything that helps make better coffee.
I’ve procrastinated enough, as it’s just over a week before Christmas as of this writing, so let’s get right to it.
To borrow slightly from James Hoffmann’s gift guide:
Do: some basic research
If you have a coffee person in your life, the easiest thing to do is get them talking about coffee with a few seemingly innocuous questions. Then listen. What’s the best place to get coffee near their home? Do they make their own coffee at home? How do they make it – coffee maker? French press? Espresso machine? Pour over? Nespresso? The answers will set you up for success as a gift giver. Giving someone a bag of great coffee beans goes from being a thoughtful idea to a complete waste when it turns out they love their Nespresso machine at home.
Don’t: get them a travel mug
I hadn’t thought of this until Hoffmann’s guide, but it’s almost a universal truth these days that between the office, the car, and a drawer at home, the average person already has too many water bottles/thermoses/travel coffee cups. The exception is if they ask for one, then go nuts.
Let’s get into a few wonderful things you can get the coffee person you love – or for yourself.
Continue readingI’m at work on this year’s version of my annual holiday gift guide, but you might first want to check out this primer from coffee god James Hoffmann’s youtube channel. There’s a lot of really good stuff here on what to gift someone into coffee, helpfully segmented in terms of just how much they’re into the stuff as well as price points, and even better is the information about what not to get them.
I might have a very minor quibble with some of the points (opinions, everybody’s got ’em, amirite?), but well worth your time.
I mentioned recently that I was saying goodbye to my Rancilio Rocky grinder after much faithful service. The reason was that I have lost the will to ignore the siren song of the gorgeous gear produced by Fellow Products, and have bought an Opus grinder. You may recall a recent post about the Opus and a new Moccamaster home grinder.
If I’m looking for justifications beyond the fact it looks so damned good, I was interested in the Opus because of its smaller footprint and quieter grinding. I was also attracted by the Opus coming with a simple grind guide on the inside of the hopper lid, which will make our lives easier when we’re grinding beans for my wife to use in her French Press.
photo: Evan Malachosky/Gear Patrol
Continue reading
Unless the buyer flakes out on me (always a risk with Facebook marketplace), today I will say goodbye to my Rancilio Rocky grinder. This was the first piece of quality equipment I purchased, and it’s given me almost 6 years of joy. I hope it enjoys its new home and whirrs away for many more years.
No issues with it, just succumbing to lust for beautiful looking gear. New toy is on its way.
Further proof that the universe of coffee gizmos and knickknacks is infinite and, for some of us, remains irresistible. Behold, the WDT tool.
WDT stands for Weiss Distribution Technique, which is a fancy way of saying gently stir ground coffee in the portafilter before tamping, to break up clumps and even out the density in the puck. The promised benefit is a reduction in channeling (water finding empty space within the ground coffee during brewing), which should lead to more consistent quality and higher extraction. The technique was developed by a PhD computer scientist and home coffee enthusiast, John Weiss.
I recently got one, and tried it for the first time today. To be honest, I think this is something where it will be impossible to find significant impact. If nothing else it will mean a little more confidence as a home barista, and I found it oddly soothing to stir the grounds gently, which felt soft and fluffy.
Thanks to my friend Charles for sharing his story of roasting coffee beans at home. Interesting read!
Coffee roasting at home; A review of the Fresh Roast SR800.
About 20 years back, I thought roasting my own coffee would be my thing. However, living in South Africa then my options for home roasting equipment were limited. The idea quickly faded due to likely mess, smell, and cost!
For Christmas 2022, I was given a coffee roaster by my wife (bravo to Robyn for encouraging you! – mm). It is a Fresh Roast SR 800. Nothing fancy, but with many good reviews. It is not a barrel type of roaster; no disrespect to it, but think of a multi-heat level hair dryer blowing up into a cylinder.
Here is my short review and perspectives on roasting at home.
Continue readingHave seen many in red, but this is the first time I’ve come across a La Marzocco machine in blue, especially such a vivid shade. The fleur-de-lis are a nice touch. What a beauty! At Swing’s roastery/café in Alexandria, VA.
