I am currently using Stumptown Founder’s blend. It is a bit pricey and is Light-Medium at around 15-16 dollars at Target here in the US.

  • @neanderthalOP
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    21 year ago

    There are, haven’t tried them because I haven’t been super impressed by what I have gotten in local shops.

    Like 170 to 180 degrees. IMO, optimal water temp is around 200 to 205.

    This! There are only a handful of drip machines that brew at the right temperature and they are all expensive and not what you would find in a department store. Keurigs have the same issue.

    When I upgraded my grinder to a $500+ one

    I’m using a hand Kingrinder. They are sold on Amazon for ~80 or so USD. It only takes like 30! seconds to grind a shot. It has pretty good granularity with the settings and produces good enough consistency to make decent espresso.

    I do love a well made vanilla latte. It’s such a comfort drink. Take my purist card away.

    No shame! I get a few pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks every fall. I like them.

    Eventually, I got a prosumer espresso machine.

    I’m using a flair signature. It takes a bit of work, but I don’t mind.

    • @NatureLover
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      21 year ago

      That’s actually a great point that there are a lot of additional options these days. I wrote about my history of espresso making and when I got started there weren’t as many options.

      The best hand grinder at the time was a Zassenhaus. I hand ground for years using one for pour overs and aeropress. I think for my birthday I’ll get a modern hand grinder. Some of those look amazing. I’ll keep the electric grinder since I doubt my girlfriend is going to want to hand grind coffee in the morning.

      I also have a Flair Signature which I bought after the prosumer machine. I love that thing. I enjoyed developing the skill for pulling great shots with it. I guess back in the day, we had lever espresso machines but for some reason I never picked one of up. I forget exactly why. I think I could only buy them second hand on eBay and they were Italian machines with 240 voltage. I’m a bit fuzzy on that.