Aura

normal Dragonfly prices are brutal and i wouldn't be a buyer... Similar to Bird Rock and Paradise. they recently did a big clearance and i grabbed the Elida Estate green tip at almost half off and it's much closer to worth it. not sure if those sales are normal or if i was lucky. Hatch is awesome and i would recommend. i had their advent calendar last year and it's the best run of coffee I've ever done. also their relationship with Finca El Paraiso seems incredibly unique and gives them access to stuff i haven't seen elsewhere. Paraiso is a ridiculously good farm, probably in my top two. (i should note i only do pour over. no espresso)

i took a week off caffeine recently for elimination-testing reasons and the bean stash wasn't entirely empty... of course i didn't stop buying and now my counter collection is absolute 🔥

bumpybump... nearly two years after doing my first A/B/C of Spotify, Qobuz, and Tidal (where i reported no differences of any kind)... i have revisited Tidal. continuing frustration over Spotify HiFi not being a thing, recent social dilemmas, and the current $2-for-3 month promo for the top tier all pulled me in along with plenty of @recstar24 encouragement. it's a huge jump this time. of 100 or so tracks so far, there's been less than 10 that i thought were not hugely improved specifically in staging and the '3d'ness of individual lines. maybe it's the rig... Tidal Connect into Naim Uniti HE to Utopia is some truly glorious digital. most likely i will stick with it unless Spotify pulls a 180.

Fuck. Steve was such a real guy, so damn friendly and easy to talk to. Will be missed.

re: Ode and SSP... i swear i read like 6 months ago on Home Barista or reddit that Fellow had confirmed they were exploring burr updates for an Ode revision. i assume just including an SSP by default. guessing that will make it more expensive. Nate - probably worth waiting on this supposed revision.

sort of partial to the weber eg-1 onyx myself. https://weberworkshops.com/products/eg-1?variant=31624830386229

i've got it bolted to a separate butcher block. it's pretty stable. still looks unwieldy and ridiculous.

the finest setting is about as fine you would want to go on an aeropress, so finer than any pour over method would ever tolerate. it can't do espresso. that was also part of my justification to add a comandante which can go into espresso range.

despite only doing pour over i manage to use 3 different manuals myself. OE Lido 3, OE Apex, and Comandante MK3. Comandante is the daily driver because it's the fastest and easiest clean up. Apex is for the super expensive bags or if i am feeling serious and trying to dial in. the grounds are absurdly clean out of this one. Lido is for adding a little more body to a brew if i've dialed in or i need excess capacity on a big brew. it produces less visual fines than Comandante and i go back and forth constantly on which produces a better cup. they are very comparable.

beans from the past month. Savage Gesha definitely the #1 but the Brandywine Costa Rican was amazingly consistent.

i don't understand the staging critique of Utopia. since when does any headphone ever do a proper sound stage?

going off the deep end.... for USB strictly I am quite torn right now between Yggy Analog 2 with Unison or Denafrips Pontus II. Leaning Yggy. Just feels like Schiit has tried to solve USB the most.

i had general impressions of Utopia ready within an hour of receiving them but took the week to work through various material (still a lot to go). significant upgrade from Elex and Clear. there's a bigger gap from Clear to Utopia than Elex to Clear and i think it's because Utopia does things that Clear simply cannot HD600 comparison is apt, actually i think Utopia is more in-line with presentation of HD600/580 than Clear or Elear. there's a subtlety and smoothness to Utopia that is not in Clear, in hindsight i actually may be finding Clear a little wild now in it's presentation god-tier detail, imaging, bass, PRaT not bright. not to me. had some female vocals at time that i thought were slightly-off tonally and then went back to HD580 to compare and it was effectively identical the most unexpected thing is how easy they are to listen to. you'd think with this insane level of detail that it would be devoid of emotion or push you out of zen state... well i have the complete opposite experience. shocking ability for intimacy. so... yeah. this headphone concludes my adventure. there's nowhere else i care to go. TLDR Nums put it right.

i'm back to support my homie @morphsci and his opinion that the dude's opinion is FUCKED also these arrived today from @justin and after five drams i can tell you these headphone are the absolute GOAT and please go right fuck off if you feel otherwise because obviously your ears are broke AF okay adios bros edit - also shout out to @naamanf because he's a manly man

it’s not clear if our good friend @grawk has actually started his roasting service but when i received this today it sure felt on-par with any current roaster i use (and i have used quite a few in 2020)... starting with the Brazil. this is a clean, clean cup on the v60, lesser acidity (above room temp) in favor of nutty and spicy and tea-like attributes. i find this stupidly drinkable.

I quite agree

Green Druid - At the Maw of Ruin

living on the wild side... i teaspooned some Laphroaig into a sampling of this year’s batch (now 11 days in). honestly? tastes great. just a trace of the smoke and it adds some more rich, earthy stuff in the taste that is totally unique. all bow down to the PEAT NOG

thanks, folks! much appreciated

i will be disgustingly intoxicated and indulgent the next time i find myself at Marshall Store with our crew.

my batch is ready. i went Turkey 101 for the bulk of bourbon this time (last year was Old Grand Dad BIB) and also splashed in some Maker’s for a little balancing sweetness. this year’s initial taste was less boozy than last year. still has 3/4 cup rum, 3/4 cup brandy, 1.5 cups turkey, and unmeasured pour of makers. ...oh i also sampled last year’s, which is officially over 1 year old.

^in my case i realized i hadn't touched the brandy or rum leftover from last year's batch. i need to make more of a dent. should really just do the 14-egg recipe exactly as Matt documented but it is an insane amount of NOG for two people.

I’m already a week behind but plan on making this year’s 8-egg batch this coming weekend.

Panopticon - Autumn Eternal

What the fuck did you just fucking say about me, you little bitch? I’ll have you know I graduated top of my class in the Navy Seals, and I’ve been involved in numerous secret raids on Al-Quaeda, and I have over 300 confirmed kills. I am trained in gorilla warfare and I’m the top sniper in the entire US armed forces. You are nothing to me but just another target. I will wipe you the fuck out with precision the likes of which has never been seen before on this Earth, mark my fucking words. You think you can get away with saying that shit to me over the Internet? Think again, fucker. As we speak I am contacting my secret network of spies across the USA and your IP is being traced right now so you better prepare for the storm, maggot. The storm that wipes out the pathetic little thing you call your life. You’re fucking dead, kid. I can be anywhere, anytime, and I can kill you in over seven hundred ways, and that’s just with my bare hands. Not only am I extensively trained in unarmed combat, but I have access to the entire arsenal of the United States Marine Corps and I will use it to its full extent to wipe your miserable ass off the face of the continent, you little shit. If only you could have known what unholy retribution your little “clever” comment was about to bring down upon you, maybe you would have held your fucking tongue. But you couldn’t, you didn’t, and now you’re paying the price, you goddamn idiot. I will shit fury all over you and you will drown in it. You’re fucking dead, kiddo.