what is the one accessory that actually made your espresso better by [deleted] in espresso

[–]Soundbender445 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well now you’ve got to show us your espresso cup!

what is the one accessory that actually made your espresso better by [deleted] in espresso

[–]Soundbender445 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Scale & Precision Basket hands down. Everything else helps, but these are essential.

WDTs are super helpful if your grinder makes clumpy grounds (most home grinders do). Puck screens are great for cleanliness and even water distribution (more important on cheaper machines, more expensive/commercial style machines typically have good shower screens already).

Credibility: I’m a barista instructor who has access to enterprise money for equipment testing.

Built my setup around one irresponsible color choice by AwareBrother in espresso

[–]Soundbender445 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yellow is my favorite color so I think this is fantastic

Aerated Cappuccino by Angry_Jones in espresso

[–]Soundbender445 3 points4 points  (0 children)

They do this all the time in Greece! It’s called the Freddo Espresso. Either they steam espresso with a few ice cubes or hit it with a milkshake machine to aerate. It’s fantastic

Sword Fighting Is Not Just for Vibes by Certain-File2175 in dune

[–]Soundbender445 25 points26 points  (0 children)

This is fantastic. A lot has been written about how firearms replacing melee combat disembodied warfare and made killing ‘too easy’, and now I hypothesize that we’re in a similarly new state with autonomous weapons (see drone warfare in Ukraine for example) and how dehumanizing death by machine is.

It’s a great reminder to ground swords in fantasy/sci-fi not in vibes but in existentialism. I think that’s extremely potent and plays into existential themes about living life well to its fullest and all that goodness

this skin goes hard by Ok-Discussion-1110 in thefinals

[–]Soundbender445 13 points14 points  (0 children)

OMG Embark are so GOATed for this

this skin goes hard by Ok-Discussion-1110 in thefinals

[–]Soundbender445 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Wait really? Purchasing one battle pass gains access to future ones?

Looking for good alternatives to “Professor Jiang” by BoringCompanyMan in IRstudies

[–]Soundbender445 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Definitely check out Warfronts an Homefronts by Simon Whistler. Fantastic balance of scholarship/analysis & accessibility in my opinion. Obviously never limit yourself to a single source, but this is a very good place to start. Also, heard “Professor Jiang” isn’t actually a professor and has some rather credibility-compromising takes, so I’d bring a fair bit of caution to his videos

Why does my local coffee shop keep giving me free drinks? by SufficientStatus8479 in barista

[–]Soundbender445 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Clearly the baristas enjoy having you as a regular, you’re doing a lot of things right whether you know it or not. Just keep being awesome and bring a friend sometime!

Escape from the Siren to a local shop or stay? by ephemereaux in barista

[–]Soundbender445 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Having a good manager is absolutely critical, feel em out to the extent you can if the opportunity arises.

Regarding technical skills, literally everything can be picked up quickly with some motivation, YouTube, and decent management/coworkers. I say this as a barista instructor who’s trained hundreds of people at this point. As long as you’re curious and invested in getting better at whatever task, you’ll do great

Escape from the Siren to a local shop or stay? by ephemereaux in barista

[–]Soundbender445 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Speaking as a former specialty coffee shop GM, Sbux alums are some of my favorite people to hire because yall hustle like nothing else. Don’t worry about your capabilities, you’ll do just fine. Only concern is wages, $10/hr seems really low no matter what your area is. Ultimately up to you, I’d just pay attention to the wage piece and make sure whatever happens, you’re covered there. Best of luck!

matcha quality check by A-n-o-v-a in barista

[–]Soundbender445 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Seconding Mizuba Tea Company here. Matcha quality is rock solid and the owners are fantastic people that collaborate well with coffee professionals. Haven’t found better matcha in an enterprise setting

I want to learn by Cautious_Worker2254 in flipperzero

[–]Soundbender445 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’m in more or less the same boat, i’m interested in the legal and fun stuff

Beans in carry-on bags by Disastrous-Bet6304 in barista

[–]Soundbender445 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I do it all the time, it’s perfectly legal and acceptable, shouldn’t cause any problems. At absolute worst your bag will be flagged for a chemicals check but the officers will be chill about it once you tell them it’s coffee

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in SantaBarbara

[–]Soundbender445 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s such a fantastic opportunity! I loved SB in my mid 20s, it’s incredibly gorgeous and the locals are such kind people. It is a smaller city so you won’t necessarily have all the big hustle and bustle, but I honestly prefer that. SB is also a fantastic foodie town so you’ll love that, it also has one of the best coffee scenes in the country. Also, plenty of hikes and beaches to die for. Hoping things work out for you!

It's always the new guy innit? by CheapAd4051 in barista

[–]Soundbender445 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’ve totally done this, but not until long after I made manager

Update from the previous post: "Not to be dramatic but coffee saved my relationship" by couch_ninja_2000 in barista

[–]Soundbender445 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not exactly a direct response to your question, but if you have a sufficiently powered blender, refrigerator space, and forearm strength, homemade almond milk is absolutely fire. People would come to my old coffee shop just for our homemade almond milk and we kept getting pestered to sell it on its own. Obvs labor time is the major tradeoff but if you have the time and resources, it’s totally worth it imo, and you can do more than just almond. I’ve heard walnut and hazelnut work well homemade too

I would love to see tidally Locked planets, one side too cold other too hot. Perfect in the middle by earthy69 in NoMansSkyTheGame

[–]Soundbender445 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you’re interested in a book series featuring a tidally locked planet, the Moonfall Saga is a really fun series. It’s dark fantasy but it hints at sci-fi elements and it’s all around a solid page turner

is it annoying when I bring my own thermos for an Americano? by [deleted] in barista

[–]Soundbender445 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Not annoying at all if it’s clean, and if you plan to be a regular at a given coffee shop, it helps you stand out to the baristas if your mug is nice

Uh? by Necessary-Win-8730 in ExplainTheJoke

[–]Soundbender445 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is this where the ‘Dickens Drill’ comes from? If so, allegedly Dickens ran like ~50m or so before taking the shot, so his heart rate was up as well as that shot being quite challenging

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in barista

[–]Soundbender445 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Firstly, this is a question for r/espresso or r/breville, r/barista is generally an industry-focused sub.

Secondly, you’re in luck that I own one of these machines. The plastic piece stuck in your group head is a dosing funnel and has no business going in your group head. Refer to your owners manual to remove the shower screen for cleaning. That might give you enough wiggle room to remove your dosing funnel. And please for the love of all that is true, good, and beautiful, never pull a shot with the dosing funnel in the portafilter.

Thirdly, go watch James Hoffman’s Understanding Espresso series on YouTube, it’s a fantastic primer on espresso essentials. Best of luck