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  • Quotable Quote:
    "The idea that the puck should be firm and knock out neatly is not just wrong, it's actually bad. The finer the grind; the sloppier, gooier, and wetter the puck. But for good extractions, you want a fine grind. A major point of pressure profiling is long preinfusions with grinds so fine they would stall out an ordinary espresso machine." --Jim Schulman, Lelit Bianca User Experience
  • Quotable Quote:
    "Sigh... I should have remembered the first rule of bulletin boards: never give advice to anyone who already knows what they want to do." —Jim Schulman, Comments on Niche Zero Review
  • RapidCoffee: The Decent Espresso DE1+ Review has begun!
  • Quotable Quote:
    "The idea was to come up with a direct relationship between taste and refractive index, this might work for some roast levels and coffees but has proved to be less than reliable." --Rich Goodin, Why TDS/extraction yield measurements are not a good way to evaluate taste profile/quality?
  • Quotable Quote:
    "Hobbyists might have very different goals, but until one can get to the point where they ... get consistent results, they have no business trying for accidental coffee nirvana." --Alan (Almico), Finding balanced cup in pourover
  • HB: Jake_G joins Team HB!
  • Quotable Quote:
    "How many of you dare to do a blind tasting, while upgrading or just comparing machines, and not drinking a shot knowing which one is which, automatically think 'yeah it tastes better, because it's better technically, double boiler, profiling, more expensive machine, etc, so it must be better'?" --Martin, Blind tasting espresso machines in the cup
  • Quotable Quote:
    "I feel a bit deflated, as some part of me was glad that this meant there were no more step ups possible and I had the best of the best. Now it'll only be the entry level best." --Claude, Kafatek hints about new Conical Model
  • Quotable Quote:
    "Chasing extraction yield is a great and worthwhile effort - and will probably teach you a lot. Just be careful of the subjective assessments gleaned from objective measurements." --Assaf Litai, Lelit Bianca vs DE1+
  • Quotable Quote:
    "It isn't about right or wrong. We won't know what right is anyway. It is about repeatability and unambiguousness." -- Assaf Litai, Looking for a Simple Measure of Preinfusion
  • Quotable Quote:
    "If you want both high extractions and espresso porn shots, you have begun on an endless quest for magic baskets and grinders." --Jim Schulman, Looking for a Simple Measure of Preinfusion
  • HB: Welcome 1st in Coffee to the roster of HB sponsors! They cater to discerning coffee drinkers like us. :-)
  • HB: Welcome new HB sponsor iDrinkCoffee! They're introducing themselves with an autumn sweepstakes with over $5000 in prizes. Woohoo!
  • Quotable Quote:
    "Ultimately it really is - people like what they like. Sometimes I feel people like what sounds interesting vs tastes good but that's another thread." --Richard Gregory, Light Roasts - Are they losing their luster?
  • Quotable Quote:
    "Coffee roasters are like drivers; no one seems to think they are bad at it." -Alan (Almico), Roasting coffee with evenness
  • 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!
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    Recommendations for espresso equipment buyers and upgraders.
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    Beginner and pro baristas share tips and tricks.
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  • Lever Espresso Machines
    A haven dedicated to manual espresso machine aficionados.
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  • Grinders
    Grinders are one of the keys to exceptional espresso. Discuss them here.
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    by homehlmad
  • Repairs, Restorations & Mods
    Equipment doesn't work? Troubleshooting? If you're handy, members can help.
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    by nirdvorai
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    Discuss flavors, brew temperatures, blending, and cupping notes.
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    Coffee preparation techniques besides espresso like pourover.
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  • Cafes and Get-togethers
    Talk about your favorite cafes, local barista events, or plan your own get-together.
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  • Home Roasting
    Discuss roast levels and profiles for espresso, equipment for roasting coffee.
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  • Water
    Water analysis, treatment, and mineral recipes for optimum taste and equipment health.
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    by gr2020
  • Knockbox
    Want to talk espresso but not sure which forum? If so, this is the right one.
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    by cannonfodder
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    Behind the scenes of the site's upcoming equipment reviews.
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    Used espresso or coffee stuff you hope to sell or buy.
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