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  • Announcements
  • TomC: The latest Favorite Espressos Review for 2017 is now posted and open for comments here
  • Quotable Quote:
    "Many will say this endless state of innovation is good for the industry - very hard to argue with - except to say the too much breeds cynicism. Cynicism is what the high end audio world is learning to cope with right now (and it isn't pretty)." --Assaf Litai, Deliciously overextracted
  • Quotable Quote:
    "I do a lot of reference cupping, and I know that there are flavour nuances I can no longer detect. Getting old sucks, except for the alternative. Basing your buying decisions on ancient guys with buggered tastebuds is also likely to lead to suckage." --Alan Frew, Opinions of coffeereview.com?
  • HB: Finally! The first Favorite Espressos 2017 review is complete. Your comments are welcome.
  • Quotable Quote:
    "Habituation to the flavors of the roast one commonly drinks is the main reason good baristas can pull lousy shots -- excessively burnt dark roasts, bitter caramel medium roasts, and cutting salty/bitter light roasts -- the baristas literally don't taste it anymore, and get upset when someone tells them their shots are not balanced." --Jim Schulman, Weird case of salty espresso
  • Quotable Quote:
    "Not much, but [the robot barista] satisfies the relentless need for bay area residents to do something novel with their cellphones." --Tom Chips, Robot Barista?? Good bye jobs
  • HB: The price may put it out of reach of home baristas, but cafe owners should check out the PuqPress Automatic Tamper Review. Precise, consistent, easy = one less training worry.
  • HB: Check out the TRENDING navigation choice for what's new in the forums. Questions/comments about this feature are welcome here.
  • Quotable Quote:
    "Digital readouts, unless properly calibrated, offer what I jokingly refer to as 'digital comfort'. They offer the illusion that the actual brew temperature is a fixed number, ignoring that (a) unless calibrated, it's probably wrong, and (b) brew temperature isn't a single data point, but a curve throughout the extraction." --Dan Kehn, Help select new espresso machine! Budget $4500
  • HB: Welcome Caffe Lusso to the roster of HB sponsors! See Favorite Espressos 2016 for more details (it was the second coffee reviewed in 2016).
  • Quotable Quote:
    "While taste should be the final evaluation, if you are looking to improve consistency, the scale is the most important diagnostic tool there is. Taste will tell you if it's good. The scale will tell you how to make it good again." --Michael, Grinder Epiphany with the Baratza Sette 270
  • Quotable Quote:
    "Most people who advance through the coffee hobby far enough eventually end up with a Titan, and even still, they eventually abandon the idea of the all-in-one grinder. That a grinder can grind from press to Turkish, doesn't make the owner's tolerance for the hassle of going back and forth any higher." --Peter Russell, Baratza Sette: The Good, Bad, and Interesting
  • Quotable Quote:
    "Financing an espresso machine is a sign that you probably shouldn't be buying it... borrowing to buy luxury items is most often an aberration and a terrible role model, especially before establishing a basic financial path with realistic expectations for the future." --David (bluesman), Affording coffee as a hobby
  • Quotable Quote:
    "I wouldn't have dismissed it on the basis of 'eye cupping', the only way to judge coffee quality (or otherwise) is in the cup. And by that I mean actually cupping it and not putting it through an espresso grinder/machine/refractometer dance with all the attendant variables." --Alan Frew, Coffee quality based on photos
  • Quotable Quote:
    "There's people on sites like this who steadfastly tweak and work on stuff in search of perfection, far in excess of what is needed to simply produce a cup of coffee." --Larry, Why do expensive espresso machines need restoration so soon?
  • Quotable Quote:
    "Didn't some Chess Records musician burn down a motel making squirrel stew with an immersion heater? A cautionary tale my mother told me growing up in Eastern NC about the dangers of immersion heaters. She was fine with eating squirrel." --Felice, Immersion heater recommendation
  • HB: Please welcome dominico to Team HB!
  • Quotable Quote:
    "There are many people on this and other coffee forums who believe that 'data' is the plural of 'anecdote.'" -- Bill, The Myth of the Tamp and Tamper
  • Quotable Quote:
    "I would venture to say that coffee pucks are like bowel movements - not informative unless there is a sudden change in habits without any other obvious cause. Otherwise, don't go around posting pictures of it, worrying about it, or trying to analyze it." --Ken, Judge my puck please
  • HB: Please welcome new HB sponsors Decent Espresso and Versalab! We'll be hearing more about their products and plans soon in Marketplace.
  • Quotable Quote:
    "There is no reasonable justification for its price, but the upper reaches of the home espresso coffee market have reached the level at which some people will spend a lot of money on an artifact just because it costs a lot of money (then try and justify it)." --Bill Taylor, Cost justification of VST tampers
  • Quotable Quote:
    "That's why I think prosumer double boiler espresso machines aren't the greatest value. Hey, if you have money burning a hole in your pocket, then go for it. But if the budget is tight, I say up your grinder budget and get the HX over a double boiler." --Ryan, HX espresso machines... Is there any more love?
  • Quotable Quote:
    "As long as we were roasting bigger and better too (aka darker), 18 gram underextracted shots sort of worked. But now, with the fashion of lighter roasts, the underextracted shots really bite. You would think that we'd just start dosing at 14 grams again, but noooooo, that would be an unamerican and wussy." --Jim Schulman, Differences between baskets of same size, different brands
  • Quotable Quote:
    "Eight and a quarter years later of blood, sweat, long recession weathering 90-100 hour weeks ... now able to open our dream. It is sweet not having to settle for 2nd hand or 2nd best equipment or coffee house space itself any longer!" -- Mike McGinnis, First visit to Compass Coffee's new location
  • Quotable Quote:
    "The unfortunate downside to espresso at home is if it's cheap, it aint going to be easy or consistent. If it's easy and consistent, it aint going to be cheap." --Tom Chips, New buyer of espresso machine/grinder
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    Read about current and future offerings from the site sponsors.
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  • Buying Advice
    Recommendations for espresso equipment buyers and upgraders.
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  • Tips and Techniques
    Beginner or pro barista, all are invited to share.
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  • Espresso Machines
    Need help with equipment usage or want to share your latest discovery?
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    by jchung
  • Lever Espresso Machines
    A haven dedicated to manual espresso machine aficionados.
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    by andresfranco
  • Grinders
    Grinders are one of the keys to exceptional espresso. Discuss them here.
    3227 Topics
    56404 Posts
    Last post Today, 1:52 am View the latest post
    by jchung
  • Repairs, Restorations & Mods
    Equipment doesn't work? Troubleshooting? If you're handy, members can help.
    2809 Topics
    30433 Posts
    Last post Today, 3:32 am View the latest post
    by DeGaulle
  • Coffees
    Discuss flavors, brew temperatures, blending, and cupping notes.
    1928 Topics
    23226 Posts
    Last post Yesterday, 11:03 pm View the latest post
    by Mario LB
  • Coffee Brewing
    Coffee preparation techniques besides espresso like pourover.
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    12547 Posts
    Last post Jun 24, 2017, 10:15 pm View the latest post
    by dancanroast
  • Cafes and Get-togethers
    Talk about your favorite cafes, local barista events, or plan your own get-together.
    1215 Topics
    13480 Posts
    Last post Yesterday, 8:08 pm View the latest post
    by BrianDedalus
  • Home Roasting
    Discuss roast levels and profiles for espresso, equipment for roasting coffee.
    2763 Topics
    39631 Posts
    Last post Yesterday, 11:36 pm View the latest post
    by newguy1
  • Knockbox
    Want to talk espresso but not sure which forum? If so, this is the right one.
    2236 Topics
    30773 Posts
    Last post Yesterday, 11:00 pm View the latest post
    by ash4889
  • The Bench
    Behind the scenes of the site's upcoming equipment reviews.
    58 Topics
    4093 Posts
    Last post May 24, 2017, 7:52 am View the latest post
    by HB
  • Buy/Sell
    Used espresso or coffee stuff you hope to sell or buy.
    949 Topics
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    Last post Today, 3:34 am View the latest post
    by weebit_nutty

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