Hello all, I recently returned from a trip to Panama. While I was there, I went on a coffee tour of Cafe Ruiz (whose coffee won the first "Cup of Excellence" IIRC). While being truly amazed and humbled exploring one of the farms, I really got a kick out of the rejects being sold to Folgers and the l...

Wow, where was this when I was first getting into espresso? It would have saved me a lot of money

Everyone keeps saying this, but I've most certainly saved money. Since roasting with the Turbo Stir Crazy is almost "set it and forget it," I read a book and listen. I would have been reading the book anyway, so the time value argument goes out the window

I found myself quite pleased with this by itself. Long, slow roast and plenty of rest yielded a nice robusta shot. Not as good as the CxR, mind you, but quite nice. I look forward to robusta progression

I change between doubles and triples; lately I've been pulling 2 triples in the morning, 2 in the afternoon

The quality of the crema, or rather the thickness of the crema, reminds me of espressos with robusta in the blend. I don't taste the baker's chocolate, but visually I would be fooled

Well, it's certainly interesting. Nothing like the "extra bright" espressos you have poopoo'd Tom for making. However, it's a very complex cup, one that I haven't noted every flavor of yet. I will note now that the difference between a 19g double and a 25g triple dose isn't what I thought; sort of t...

I have found such a beast and it only takes one easy step: 1. Stay away from coffee forums/websites. This works for a host of things, from language programs to exercise systems. It has cured my upgraditis

Fantastic topic; I've been experimenting with a single origin Rwanda that I want to "tone down" and this has helped quite a bit

I noted this to Nicholas in person a week ago, but the single origin brazil safira smelled and tasted quite nutty as well, which is an FYI if that's your thing