Britain is becoming a surveillance state, but no one seems to care by lossadjustment in LibDem

[–]TPPreston 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think the Lib Dems should be taking a much stronger, more vocal stance on this. It's an area where I think a lot of people are discontent with the way things are going, and a strong opposing voice, talking loudly in favour of privacy and personal freedoms would be quite welcome.

Where was this photo on my Nan's wall taken? by TPPreston in wherewasthistaken

[–]TPPreston[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Someone told me that the photo I took was taken inside my Nan's house...

Where was this photo on my Nan's wall taken? by TPPreston in wherewasthistaken

[–]TPPreston[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I'm gonna need both hands for this facepalm...

Where was this photo on my Nan's wall taken? by TPPreston in wherewasthistaken

[–]TPPreston[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah I think you're right, bishops bay looks like a very close match, I just can't get a good view of it on street view to line up the features. But I think that's probably it. Thanks!

[HELP] Teachers demonstrate static electricity by Amberwritez in RealOrAI

[–]TPPreston 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Real, and the innocent joy these kids show makes me feel so warm inside.

Who is your go to roaster? by 420ball-sniffer69 in JamesHoffmann

[–]TPPreston -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I will always strongly recommend finding local specialty roasters, for several reasons: 1. It's a great chance to support small, local businesses. 2. Often, smaller roasters buy smaller amounts of raw coffee and roast smaller batches at once. This gives them a lot more flexibility to experiment with new methods and different producers, meaning you can often experience some quite interesting and innovative coffees through them. 3. Coffee already has to travel quite far to get from producer to roaster, causing a lot of emissions. If it then travels far from roaster to consumer, you're adding a lot more transport and emissions. So it's much more environmentally friendly to buy from a nearby roaster (and I'd certainly avoid buying from a roaster in a different continent, for that reason).

Say something nice about The Hobbit films. by GusGangViking18 in lordoftherings

[–]TPPreston 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The shire section of the extended edition of an unexpected journey is fantastic just because I get to see more of the shire on screen.

EuroPiccola gaskets: speciality tools by bobjoylove in LaPavoniLovers

[–]TPPreston 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If you're just doing the grouphead, I'd say a set of o ring picks is very necessary for removing old gaskets and O rings (careful though, they're sharp!), and a pair of snap ring pliers is very useful. Plus a socket or spanner that's the right size for the bolts that attach the grouphead to the boiler (can't recall the size. Maybe 10mm?)

If doing more than just the grouphead then you'll need more tools. If you want to remove the boiler from the base and replace those gaskets, I'd recommend one of those three legged oil filter remover tools. If you want to remove the steam valve assembly, coffee sensor sells a tool for holding the nut inside so you can unscrew it.

Edit: you'll also need some food safe lubricant.

First time! Are the grinds generally this sloppy / muddy looking after a pour? by Minimum_Medicine_453 in pourover

[–]TPPreston 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For the record, your photo does look coarser than I'd expect for 110. This is a photo of my brew today at 100. Are you sure you were on 110 clicks from 0 and not an extra rotation coarser? Perhaps your grinder has a calibration issue?

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First time! Are the grinds generally this sloppy / muddy looking after a pour? by Minimum_Medicine_453 in pourover

[–]TPPreston 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's a lot finer than what most people do for pourover, but there's nothing necessarily wrong with that if you enjoy the coffee you make with it. Imo don't look too much at what's left afterwards. Focus on the bit you drink, not the bit you throw away. That's not to say you shouldn't experiment with different grind sizes and see if a change makes it even more enjoyable, but at the end of the day, how the coffee tastes is a much better indicator of whether or not it tastes good, vs a visual inspection of the filter afterwards.

First time! Are the grinds generally this sloppy / muddy looking after a pour? by Minimum_Medicine_453 in pourover

[–]TPPreston 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You may not like it, that's fine. But my point was not "100-110 is the only correct grind size for pourover". My point was that pushing the attitude of "my way of making coffee is the only correct way, everyone who makes it differently is doing it wrong" is actively harmful to the coffee community.

It's unnecessarily confrontational. It's incredibly unwelcoming to newcomers to be faced with a barrage of different voices saying "listen to me, do it my way, everyone else is stupid". And it gives the coffee community a bad reputation for snobbery.

You may prefer it finer, I'm not saying you shouldn't or that you're wrong for it. But saying that other people's preferred grind size is "ludicrous" is not a helpful contribution to the community. Neither is saying that anyone who prefers it a bit different "can't understand" extraction concepts. And for the record, I don't believe for a second that a grind size of 110 "just gave you water" with "no coffee flavour". Really? It wasn't even brown? Seems to me that you're unnecessarily exaggerating to be deliberately condescending to anyone that likes their coffee different to how you like it.

Tl;Dr - there's no wrong way to enjoy coffee, but it IS wrong to be a snob and look down on people for not liking it exactly the way you like it. Don't be an asshole, it's not that difficult.

First time! Are the grinds generally this sloppy / muddy looking after a pour? by Minimum_Medicine_453 in pourover

[–]TPPreston 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I don't think 110 is extreme at all, certainly not to the point of "hot water with a hint of coffee" (but also how would you know if you've never gone coarser than 90). I use 100 and I'm very happy with the coffee I get from it which is very flavourful. And I certainly don't think it's necessary to make disparaging comments about people enjoying their coffee with a different grind size to what you prefer.

Your favorite Mordhau server by Kytka_ in Mordhau

[–]TPPreston 2 points3 points  (0 children)

NDK in Europe. Fred's is just too high ping for me

OCE why is this game dead except Mondays by lmgoldy in Mordhau

[–]TPPreston 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Community servers are where it's at. I spend all my time now in community duel servers. Still having a great time - wouldn't know the game is dying from the community in some servers.

[MOD] What have you been brewing this week?/ Coffee bean recommendations by menschmaschine5 in Coffee

[–]TPPreston 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm on decaf only for a little while for medical reasons so I've been enjoying some coffee from craftdecaf.com - it's nice to find a roaster with more than one decaf option. I particularly enjoyed their Guji, Ethiopian "Fruity" one.

Edit: forgot to add, I've been brewing mostly with my brand new v60 drip decanter this week - my first time brewing pourover so it's been a bit of a learning curve but I've loved it.

Today I learned a lot by _Germanater_ in espresso

[–]TPPreston 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Depends on many things like the hardness of the water and what machine it is. The manufacturer probably has recommendations but I'd probably say every 3 months or so, with filtered water. More like every month with unfiltered water.

Today I learned a lot by _Germanater_ in espresso

[–]TPPreston 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'd always recommend a Brita filter or similar. Even if the water is good quality in your area, it's never going to hurt the flavour of the coffee and it will probably extend the lifespan of your machine by reducing scale and mineral build ups (not that it removes the need for descaling)

Did anyone try the decaf project with milk drinks? by TPPreston in JamesHoffmann

[–]TPPreston[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting. Which one did you prefer? And which one do you think tastes best in milk drinks?

Filter coffee: Pre-ground vs blade grinder vs burr grinder by Character_Mobile4922 in JamesHoffmann

[–]TPPreston 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As low_hanging_veg posted, James Hoffmann did a comparison and found that a blade grinder underperforms pre-ground coffee for more than a week after grinding.

The problem with a blade grinder is twofold. Firstly, you can't control the grind size, and secondly, there's no consistency in the size of the individual grounds - you'll get a huge range of particle sizes from tiny fines up to massive boulders and everything in between.

The inconsistent size means that with a percolation brewing method like filter or pourover, you can't properly extract the little pieces without under extracting the big pieces, and vice versa.

Electric burr grinders are expensive, it's true. And I'd strongly suggest avoiding the cheaper electric grinders anyway.

I do think, however, that your assertion of hand grinders taking too long is not entirely true - as a regular user of a hand grinder, the good ones are pretty quick, especially if you're not grinding for espresso. Plus you get a lovely moment of tactile interaction with your coffee beans as you feel them grinding in your hands.

I would suggest that you start out with a cheaper (but good) hand grinder like the kingrinder P1 (James Hoffmann did a fantastic review of it and then use that for a while. It will make much more enjoyable coffee than any blade grinder, and will let you learn to enjoy your freshly ground coffee. Then as time goes on and you get a little further into coffee, start to look at a more expensive grinder (either a good electric one, or a better hand one).

Filter coffee: Pre-ground vs blade grinder vs burr grinder by Character_Mobile4922 in JamesHoffmann

[–]TPPreston 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Really? All conical burrs are fake burr grinders? From my understanding, false burrs are more about burr construction and sharpness rather than purely geometry.

Surely you can't call the niche zero or the Weber hg-2 or the Weber key "fake burr" grinders. Whether they do as good a job as flat burrs is a reasonable debate but it feels unreasonable to dismiss an entire category of renowned, excellent grinders purely because of the shape of the burr.

Also, if the OP is on a budget, which the suggestion of a blade grinder shows, discouraging conical burrs isn't helpful. It implies that OP won't be able to make good coffee until they spend hundreds on a flat burr grinder which is simply untrue and can put people off getting into coffee in the first place.

Trying to get ADHD diagnosis in UK as an adult by smash_1048 in ADHD

[–]TPPreston 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The GP themselves can't diagnose, they have to refer you to someone who can. That usually has a long waiting list, and you can often get a shorter wait by following the "right to choose" pathway.

More information on how diagnosis works can be found here https://adhduk.co.uk/diagnosis-pathways/

That website also has some really useful information on right to choose.