Brian Ludviksen joined us at Counter Culture Coffee's espresso lab:



Once he amped up on a few servings of caffeine-infused liquid, he demonstrated the new Nuova Simonelli Mythos grinder's latest declumping modification:



The left portafilter was filled by the previous model, the right portafilter from the new model. The new model is obviously less clumpy than the old. While I appreciate the appearance of smoothly ground coffee spilling neatly into the basket, I do not believe all clumps are malevolent. Back in the day of the Titan Grinder Project, the Macap conical produced massive clumps of extruded coffee grounds. And yet its espresso extractions were (nearly) as orderly as the other conicals, leading me to conclude clumps are not necessarily created equal.

Playing with the camera features, I snapped a few photos of folks chatting:



Marc Curry is a fairly recent regular. No idea what Ian was explaining, but Marc appears mesmerized by the conversation:



Parting tulip courtesy of Lem Butler:

Should we always assume that the informal espresso lab is happening at 7:30am each Friday unless a cancellation/relocation has been announced in this thread? I'd love to make it out to one of these soon

Yes, that's correct.

I finally made it out to Counter Culture on 4/5/13! The morning rain meant that I had to wade through quite a bit of mud to get there from the bus stop, but the hike was well worth it.

To start, I pulled shots off their Strada in the training center, which was exciting since it was my first time using a paddle group. Other new things I saw? Sieved coffee going into an Espro press, an array of stunning Takahiro kettles, and the least clumpy grinds I've ever seen come out of a doserless grinder.

The best part was when I hung out with the Counter Culture staff between the 7:30am Espresso Lab and the 10:00am Tasting. I was there to watch and chat with Jonathan, Nathan, Lem, Hannah, and Tim among others while they prepared tasting setups and discussed the (then) upcoming SCAA Boston.

P.S. I poured this 6 oz. rosette!

Dan,

How about a Friday morning meet-up at New World next Friday the 24th? There's a customer who wants to bring his PID Silvia along with his new Mazzer Mini and compare it to the Gaggia/Silvano and Vario. Since you just reviewed the Silvano, maybe we an have a little throwdown between those machines and grinders?

Mike

HB wrote:Yes, that's correct.

Someday, I want to attend one of these, then fill up on some good BBQ. That would be a good day. That is, if good BBQ can be found in NC

Q Shack. Was driven there so not sure if Raleigh or Durham. Best in area.

Marvin

Nuprin wrote:How about a Friday morning meet-up at New World next Friday the 24th?

Sounds good! But keep in mind the turnout may be low because it's a holiday weekend.

Do you want to move to the following Friday, May 31st then?

OK, that will also give me a chance to mention it to attendees at this Friday's get-together in Durham.