Try to keep espresso in perspective

"It's worth mentioning that hanging out on a site like this, you'll find plenty of over-the-top concern about minor details." --Dan Kehn, Reason for cooling down boiler?

 Well, technically coffee is a fruit

"The 'I want coffee to taste like coffee' is a silly thing to say since coffee tastes the way it does because we process it a certain way." --John, Why is everyone looking for fruits in coffee?

 Lovers of channeling, rejoice!

"The spout somewhat minimizes the evidence of that channeling while a bottomless portafilter reveals it in all its glory." --Steve Meyer, Do I need a spout?

 Tell me the espresso machine you own, I'll tell you who you are.

"I've found it's become easy to tell which machine someone owns by the comments they make." -Dave S., How to tell which espresso machine someone owns...

 The true answer is there's no true answer

"Espresso is about enjoyment. Some take enjoyment in thinking about Rome when they walk into the kitchen. Others find joy in how well their machine performs in temperature tests. There is no true answer." --Roeland, What's really the difference between espresso machines?

 Completely understandable for this crowd

"It's funny, I think I've spent more time reading and thinking about this [espresso equipment purchase] decision than with my last car." --Stephen Thorne, Lelit MaraX vs good single boiler espresso machine

 Who knew?

"The Italians don't need it, they invented espresso. The French don't need it, they're better at everything food-related. The English don't need it, they drink tea. The Dutch don't need it, as we know it better. The Germans/Swedes need a manual because..." --Marcel, The surprising things you can learn from a user manual

 Don't judge a book by its cover

"If you want espresso porn, grind coarse and overstuff the basket. The shot will pour and look gorgeous; the taste ... not so much." --Jim Schulman, Am I sentenced to a life of single-dosing voodoo?

 Average isn't half bad

"Milk is your best friend for less impressive shots." --Randy, I accept espresso that's only "OK"

 I don't want to become a barista

"The jump from no-fuss to gimme-fuss [espresso preparation] takes on greater importance as one moves to more delicate roasts. Maybe I've got simple tastes, but I tend to prefer more traditional roasts that also happen to be easier to pull consistently without much fuss." --Tom, "But I don't want to become a barista"

 First we had truthy, now we have sciency (?)

"I think that readers really need to be careful to distinguish what is backed up and supported by rigorous experimental work and what is subjective opinion." --Luca Costanzo, Biggest Scientific Study on Espresso Extraction

 Important to experiment and keep an open mind

"I would not say it is a mistake for people to read as much as they can when they are getting into coffee, but it is important to experiment and learn and be prepared to waste a bit of time and coffee and have an open mind." -- Paul Pratt, Cafelat Robot User Experience

More quotable quotes...