I only use manual agitation with siphons. But the main goal of agitating your grounds is to add turbulence and aid extraction. The pouring action (or bubbling in the case of siphons) creates a ton of turbulence as it is. As far as filter shape and distribution goes, you do end up overextracting some...

It can be normal, especially if there is a high ratio of robusta beans in the blend, but I've still pulled crazy crema shots with single origin arabicas. Crema is gas encased in a water-lipid emulsion. After coffee is roasted, it gasses off. The level of CO2 in the coffee decreases over time, equali...

Absolutely. A roast profile ensures that the beans have the proper amount of development. You can take a bean to full city in a couple of minutes in an air popper, or 45 minutes in a pan, but the results will be very different. Think of it as making chili. Sure, you can combine meat, beans

This is extremely rough, but maybe it will give you a start. From the Russian M39 manual

This is the M30 manual, hopefully the programming will carry over. {link}

Don't drink and drive, don't text and drive, and don't pull shots and drive. It looks like a 12v moka pot. For travel coffee, you're better with the Melitta Travelmate {image}

Check if there are any Barista Guild classes available anywhere near you. The level 1 certification is usually a two day thing, but it will definitely get you started on the right foot. baristaguildofamerica.net

it is difficult to prescribe brewing parameters for a given coffee that will be applicable to everyone. what works well for us on our GB/5 likely will not see the same results on an e61 home machine or a la pavoni. personal preference may also play a large factor. personally i like our classico brew...

It is a category on some cupping forms, just not everyones. I place high importance on it for a few reasons. One as you mentioned it is a a basic taste and evaluating its relative intensity should be one of the more objective categories on a cupping form. It also indicates that the coffee was picked...

Grant, We ship to Canada all the time and I'll bet most of the other sponsors here would also if you contact them about it. It's quite simple and relatively cost effective using USPS, especially with the New Flat-Rate Boxes for International (we can stuff 6-7 lbs roasted or 12-15 lbs green in these)...