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  • HB: It's a twofer! Bodka Coffee is offering 20% off to HB members! And Espresso Outlet offers the Caffe Arts 30 lb Calibrated Tamper for HALF OFF! Available to HB update subscribers.
  • Quotable Quote:
    "I do a lot of things that aren't really worth it because I think my cost-benefit analytical skills are broken." --Walt Tani, Compak K10 WBC has landed!
  • Quotable Quote:
    "Just five years ago, we were happy with the slops served up by George Howell, Intelligentsia, Klatch, Counter Culture, and others of that ilk. Now we await with baited breath the next [Twitter and Instagram] revelation on how coffee should really taste." --Jim Schulman, Fines: Necessary evil, or just plain evil?
  • Quotable Quote:
    "I'm not the kind of person who turns making a drink into a professional Olympic training exercise with hours of practice. For others, that kind of approach is some form of OCD they want to engage in." --David (happycat), Cheapest "God" shot
  • HB: Check out the new feature Helpful Posts from HB's summer intern.
  • Quotable Quote:
    "The lever machine is a Haiku on the economy of means." -- Thomas McIntosh, Building a lever machine.... from scratch
  • Quotable Quote:
    "Moriondo's name only surfaced in 1993, when Ian Bersten exhumed his invention from Italian patent archives in his famous book. His discovery diminished the credit assigned to Luigi Bezzera and Desiderio Pavoni who had been, up to then, commonly cited as the fathers of the espresso." --Sebastien Delprat, In search of Moriondo's espresso machine
  • Quotable Quote:
    "We may sometimes reach premature and incorrect conclusions that lead us to chase "features" in our machines that sound very logical, but may not necessarily translate to better/more consistent coffee." -- Yaseen, Wouldn't an E61 with dedicated PID brew boiler and steam thermoblock be better than HX?
  • HB: Welcome Sam Law to Team HB!
  • Quotable Quote:
    "It could be worse, at least we're not all into boats." --Tom Chips, Has Espresso Become a Hobby for the Rich?
  • Quotable Quote:
    "For me, learning from my Cremina is like learning to be a parent... I now give no advice, I just try to take solid advice. This whole thing has humbled me in a really wonderful way, and I'm better for it, completely apart from the espresso." --Bill (Czar0001), LMWDP Rollcall
  • Quotable Quote:
    "Equipment can't increase your floor, but it can certainly increase your ceiling." --Mitch (CwD), BEST espresso grinder to date??
  • Quotable Quote:
    "In the last year there have been a lot of well funded inquiries looking for the 'best' this and the 'best' that. I'd like to posit that time and experience is a more valuable luxury than expensive equipment. The best fit for you now might be eclipsed later by a better fit for a later you." --Russell, BEST espresso grinder to date??
  • Quotable Quote:
    "What I've realized over time for myself, is that it's not so much that I want better espresso, but that I want new espresso toys." — Greg Gardner, My Olympia Cremina & ungrade-itis
  • HB: Please welcome ECM Manufacture to the roster of HB sponsors!
  • Quotable Quote:
    "Drinking coffee is for sissies. I mainline my brew." — Alan (Almico), No good coffee/espresso shops. Is it just me?
  • Quotable Quote:
    "Who needs good espresso when you have good espresso equipment? It turns out that bragging rights don't taste any better in the cup if you don't put them to good use." --Jake Groseclos, My long and rambling path to preinfusion/pressure profiling
  • HB: Please welcome Cimarron Coffee Roasters to the roster of HB sponsors!
  • Quotable Quote:
    "The E61 is analogous to the analogue turntable and as with the turntable, the pending death of the ubiquitous E61 is greatly exaggerated." --Steve (BaristaBoy E61), Do you guys think the E61 grouphead is outdated?
  • HB: Please welcome naked-portafilter.com to the roster of HB sponsors! Maker of cool tampers (especially the "pencil" design), bottomless portafilters, and pressure gauge kits for levers.
  • Quotable Quote:
    "They're nice espresso machines, but without a great coffee, industry standard grinder and good water chemistry, there isn't much difference between a shot you could pull on one and a Silvia IMHO." --DJ, Slayer in New York?
  • Quotable Quote:
    "A poorly extracted coffee has nowhere to hide in a shot, but can find guiltless immunity under the shelter of a Rosetta." --Evan (Italyhound), How to recognize good espresso?
  • Quotable Quote:
    "If you're a perfectionist, you probably shouldn't buy from a slob - one person's patina is another's damage. If you're buying used espresso equipment because you can't afford the same item new, you need some cash reserves to deal with failures." --David (bluesman), Used or new espresso machine?
  • Quotable Quote:
    "This choice is not about the coffee tasting, but the coffee making." --Jim Schulman, Baratza Sette 270 vs Kinu M47
  • Quotable Quote:
    "The true mark of sophistication is understanding one's own tastes!" --Felice, Baratza Sette vs. Monolith Flat: No difference in cup?
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