I used to think that everyone needed their own tamper… I was wrong. Now I think everyone needs two. A stainless steel one for goofing around, pulling hundreds of shots in a cafe and getting knocked around. And secondly, my newest addition, a beautiful wood tamper by Cafe Kultur. While they can withstand the abuse [...]

Some people just won’t be into these cups… and I’d recommend that only a select few should buy them. They’re not for majority of the coffeeshops out there. Rather, Terra Keramik cups are for the crazies who can’t fall asleep at night because they’re obsessing about their demitasse thickness in relation to espresso temperature. Or [...]

The Abid’s are back for sale again, after the first batch sold out. Interested in picking up one? Buy one here. I’m glad to see there has been lots of experimentation and discussion about techniques with the Abid. Since originally getting it, I’ve been tweaking grind and dwell time, moving to a coarser grind and [...]

Since the last post on water control, we picked up a Zojirushi Water Dispenser  and a Fluke Lab Thermometer. I really like the Zojirushi for its water dispenser and digital readout. The downside? The digital readout is way off the actual temperature. In testing this, we warmed up the french press with 190F water until ready [...]

There’s been a lot of discussion about Chemex’s recently. Over on Coffeed, a discussion has started about extraction during the brew process. And James Hoffman has created a video on brewing a Chemex. While there’s passion and focus on Chemex extraction, very little has been said about the filters.
The Chemex filter is one of the thickest [...]

As we move from drip brewed coffee to more manual methods like siphons and french presses, I’ve been looking into ways to get a consistent, fast and simple routine for brewing. One of the biggest issues is getting water at the correct temperature. Currently, the setup is a multistep, convoluted routine that involves getting water [...]

About a month ago I picked up a Rancilio Epoca, single group with a pour tank. Because I’m at the BFCAT most of the time, I’m not using the machine very much. But I love espresso and want to see it used regularly. Ideally, I want it used in a unique setting, maybe at a gallery [...]

We love our Mazzer Grinders, except for one thing… the waste. Unfortunately, all Mazzer Grinders are stricken with an unrelenting left-handed throw. Anytime dosing, the Mazzer tends to put the majority of the grinds on the left hand side of the portafilter, if not fully missing the portafilter. We’ve tried various ways to fix this, [...]