The Announcements above the forum listing frequently contains "quotable quotes" nominated by Team HB and the membership. Entries in the announcements are limited to recent quotable quotes; below is the unabridged collection with links to their source in the forums. We hope these nuggets of wisdom and amusing quips will lead you to a deeper understanding of the art of espresso.

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 You don't understand, it's not that simple

"Leave it to home barista to take the most simple of espresso machines - the spring lever - and make it sound more complex than the large hadron collider." --Pete, Lance Hedrick Review

 Heading towards the light because...

"If people are willing to pay more for coffee roasted light, and those roasts in and of themselves are more profitable, then why wouldn't a business in that market roast lighter?" --Craig (baldheadracing), Thoughts on Light Roasted Coffee

 Great looking crema doesn't reveal much

"Crema tells very little, if at all. I can get a beautiful crema on a shot, and the espresso can taste like hell. And some blends will have not such a good looking crema and taste wonderful. It's just a window dressing." --Pete (bullet08), About crema

 Rethink your perspective

"Personally I choose the one [grinder] that tastes the best and learned to live with anything I don't like about the physical device. After all, its purpose is to grind coffee to taste its best, not star in product videos." --Chris (PIXIllate), Better and worse workflow

 Don't cover your check engine light

"Hiding the problem with a paper filter makes the [bottomless portafilter] useless. It's a bit like putting a smiley-face sticker over top a check-engine warning light on your dash - 'All better now'." --Jake Groseclos, Naked portafilter mess

 Success through persistence

" If one insists on their daily coffee and never exactly repeats their process, I assert they're doomed to find success." --Gary (GDM528), Help with Grinder/Espresso Machine

 You're having fun, right?

"Both espresso machines will make excellent coffee. But which will bring you joy in the process is what the hobby is all about." --Dustin, Decent vs La Marzocco Linea Micra (or Mini)

 Barista, know thyself

"The choice is based on looking at yourself, not at the espresso machines." --Jim Schulman, Comments on La Marzocco Linea Micra Espresso Machine Review

 The 80/20 rule is a rule for a reason

"It's been my observation in life that no matter what you do, someone will complain. My rule of thumb: If 80% of the people are pleased, you're doing great." --Dan Kehn, Bigger default fonts

 Common wisdom isn't always right

"There's been a lot of 'armchair science' around coffee and espresso, much of which has proven to be wrong." --Jeff Kletsky, Why are 25 gram baskets not popular?

 Nobody is loved by everybody

"The idea that popular products don't receive criticism is simply not true. Maybe it's the minority and maybe that's because a product is a very good one. But the Niche Zero has certainly not escaped criticism." --John (jpender), Niche Zero: One year in review

 Entry level by another name

"If you end up wanting to pursue espresso as a hobby, [entry level espresso equipment] will limit you at some point, depending on which ways you decide to explore. Those are sort of the Toyota Corollas of the espresso world." --Jeff Kletsky, Advice on espresso machine/grinder for a newbie

More quotable quotes...