EdipisReks1

I sent Sam a PM with a link and an explanation of why, but if anybody is interested, This is the pitcher I steam with. It works very well for one drink, but is just big enough for two (ymmv, as I make traditional lattes, which are in 8 ounce cups). This refers to the 20 ounce version, of course: 12 ounce pitchers are very small. The uncoated, brushed interior of the Subminimal Flowtip increases nucleation points, but I’m not convinced I steam any better with it than a fully coated pitcher. The increased friction probably makes pouring slightly more precise, but I don’t do latte art, let alone need that sort of “advantage!”

Yeah, it’s easier, and I bet you can figure out a use for left over steamed milk in the morning, Sam. Would be great on, say oatmeal. Having said that, I almost always steam precisely what I want for one cup at a time as closely as I can. It is definitely more difficult, but it just comes down to practice.

Gotcha. Honestly I’m likely to be disappointed in any non-manual set up, probably.

I continue to like oat milk. It is not identical to cow milk, but you can definitely get radically different steamed texture with it, the same way you can with whole milk, though the very fine touch that the Bellman allows helps, of course. The great thing about the Bellman is that it allows bimodal modulation: I can change temperature (and thus pressure) and flow rate at the same time. I can’t think of another milk steamer that allows one to do that. Does even the Decent allow that? I don’t know.

I have come to the conclusion that cashew milk cannot be successful steamed. At least not by me. Makes really good booze-y hot chocolate, though.

Oat milk cappuccino made me grin. Took a sip before I took a pic. I mean, hah. That’s like really good risotto: ain’t had better than at home. 20:45 in 48, 7 bar maximum with the espresso. Whatever amount of oat I steamed, which was just ice cream on the bottom and foam just hard enough to be cappuccino on top. Oh, wow it was good. I rarely grin on things I make, as I’m never happy with anything I do.

I am doing cashew milk at the moment. I hadn’t used it before. I’m uncertain still, but agreed.

How lucky am I? I may actually cup this in a couple days. How often do you have three Geshas, let alone from three different countries?

Also Ember mug interfaces with the Apple Health app. While standing and drinking coffee my resting heart rate was 71, but peaked at 118. That was probably when I chased after a cat, but it settled back down quickly, but my standing resting heart rate was then 73. Probably because of caffeine. Then I had an empty cup and Ember mug stopped, because it knew. It knew I was OUT OF COFFEE. How did I ever live before when my coffee mug didn’t monitor my heart rate?! Having said that, I always wanted Talky Toaster.

I’m not surprised, but only because I bought my partner similar machines, and I was also shocked at how good they were at mimicking pour over. Speaking of pour over: beyond how convenient it is to have my coffee stay warm, the ability to know exactly the temperature of the liquid, in real time, is the game changer here. In this case I brewed directly into the mug using the Brewista Tornado, from a PID kettle set at 210. Four pours, but the kettle was set to maintain that temperature. Brewing into a warm mug (set to the default of 135) the coffee was 177 degrees upon uncovering, and had gone down to 168 within 20 seconds. Keep in mind that this was a best-case pour over scenario, as the Tornado is dual wall. Recommended. Plus you can make the LED glow any color you want. 135-140 is pretty ideal, and this bean has tons of chocolate there.

Nice coffee maker, Rob! It looks like it should do a very credible job of producing a pour-over like cup. Is the carafe compatible with paper filters, in case you wanted to use it for manual? That’s garbage, Greg. “We got it to work when we repaired it, and it doesn’t work as designed” isn’t… ideal. I bet it gets sold as new. My only coffee news today is that the best part of Ember mug is probably the stickers (I like stickers).

Watches should be causal.

Cats know the warm place.

I’m aware that I’m showing off, but this is what I have in my life.

Could have done art. Cashew milk. 9 bar max, Niche at 14.5, 20 in, 45 out in 38 or so, not including pre infusion. This was real good.

Orphan makes the correct adapter. This is with the IMS basket. Will do the VST next.

Getting ready for espresso.

That was outrageously good.

Going old school here. CAFEC light filter. Like 1360 on the OG. Hoffman special beans.

I think that is a good video, Alex, and good commentary. I’m in a foul mood, so OG it is.

Coconut latte with Counter Culture Apollo. After doing oatmilk only the last few weeks, I had forgotten how coconut-y coconut milk is. 20 in, 40 out in 40 seconds (not including the inevitable pre-infusion with this). As nice a pull as you could want. I’m consistently getting a quick 7 bar peak and a slow, even drawn down at slightly finer than 15 on the Niche with this bean. I have the coffee bar workflow pretty well down, now: with dialed-in coffee (I took Covered_ears advice and am just doing one bean consistently right now), I can go from yawning to a latte in about 10 minutes. Most of that time is waiting for the Bellman to come to pressure. This isn’t anymore inconvenient then using the Breville, really, though that would allow me to pull two drinks simultaneously, so it’s not leaving the table.

Gonna have me a Gesha-off once the new one has degassed a little (was roasted Tuesday, and the Levercraft was frozen after two weeks).

If I had to have only that cortado, over and over for the rest of my life, and only that, I would be happy. Lingering. Milk drinks never linger. Now the question is whether I can do this tomorrow morning.

40 out in 45 seconds. Max 7 bar. Slow ramp down. VST basket. It’s… a nice cortado. First pic is shot, second is cortado with Bellman oat. No bitterness or sourness. Sweet lemon. Outrageously good. I honestly don’t think I could make a better cortado. Niche at almost (slightly finer than) 15 with the Counter Culture Apollo blend. Various normal puck preps thingies. I like this basket.

So much for zero retention. And this was with bellows, on the Niche. The OG is truly zero retention, but this is autistically good enough, so I’m going with it. Two beans, maybe?* *there ended up being about .1 grams stuck on the inside of the dosing cup. I’ll tell you one thing: the VST basket grabs the niche dosing cup. Aggressively. Be prepared for it.