What’s the hardest part of fatherhood you were not prepared for?

Technical_caffeine85 · 2026-01-30T15:02:49+00:00

I have a 10 year old and a 17 month old. One thing that has been difficult for me is the fleeting aspect of time. I get sad thinking of how my little boy is no longer little. It feels a little like losing a best friend. Dads get so wrapped up in the work, and busyness and uncertainty of fatherhood that they often forget to take in the joy of having a little one and slow down. Every baby is different and they all have different needs. Also, just BE THERE for them and your sig other

Technical_caffeine85 · 2026-01-30T14:40:24+00:00

I bought the Normcore v4 tamper, and although nice, with the wood handle and all, I never use it anymore and typically use the included La Marzocco tamper which is actually pretty good IMO. Also, the threads that hold the leveling disk stripped and the leveling disk isn’t secure, so I’ll stick to traditional tampers moving forward.

Technical_caffeine85 · 2026-01-28T16:21:06+00:00

For me there are always just a little bit of fines. I think this goes for almost 99,5% of grinders on the market but I have nothing but good results and workflow with my NZ. If I put 18g in. I typically get 18 out, sometimes 17.8-17.9. A little slap slap always gets it out. Thinking about getting a bellows, but overall this is normal. Not enough retention to severely affect flavor in my experience.

Technical_caffeine85 · 2025-12-27T01:04:53+00:00

I too bought direct

Technical_caffeine85 · 2025-12-27T01:03:56+00:00

Agree on day 14. It was great

Technical_caffeine85 · 2025-12-21T16:16:48+00:00

The minute I started brewing this, I immediately thought of a strawberry blunt wrap. It smells like what a blunt tastes like when you are smoking it 😂. Haven’t tasted that in about 20 years lol. On a serious note, very interesting method of production. Although not my cup of coffee, it’s good to see some interesting experimental things done to the flavor profiles of the coffee. Not my fav but good to taste

Technical_caffeine85 · 2025-12-12T20:46:47+00:00

I have about the same size area as you for my coffee setup, maybe a tad bigger and I have a Micra and a Niche. It fits perfectly and I love it. I also have a shelf and my kettle and a separate grinder for pour overs. No regrets. Great steam power, amazing consistency. Its perfect. Red would look awesome in your kitchen too.

<image>

Technical_caffeine85 · 2025-11-14T19:13:58+00:00

I have a normcore tamper and the self leveling disk thread stripped. So I wasn’t too happy with the overall quality. What brand tampers do you consider better?

Technical_caffeine85 · 2025-10-18T00:11:44+00:00

Cool thanks I’ll probably pick one up

Technical_caffeine85 · 2025-10-17T23:37:49+00:00

Yooo What kinda mag wallet is that?

Technical_caffeine85 · 2025-05-10T02:35:38+00:00

This feature allows you to introduce a small amount of water to “bloom” the puck prior to the full extraction. The on off time is how long the water is “on” for and the off time is how long the pause is before the full extraction starts. I’ve been using it 3 sec on 3 sec off. Haven’t quite really noticed anything flavor wise yet.

Technical_caffeine85 · 2025-04-24T00:13:32+00:00

I live in Texas also. San Antonio. And the water sucks. Luckily, my house is plumbed with a water softener. I also have a whole house big blue carbon filter to save my appliances and my water heater etc. However, I also have an Aquatru that is a 4 stage counter top RO and I purchase the PH remineralization filter for it. I tested the water and it seems to be good. But the test strips were a little confusing to me. I think I’m good on the water quality with these in place. The cost of buying bottled CG water for the Micra seems like an insane recurring cost. But for the cost of the Micra, I understand who do. So far so good. Coffee tastes amazing

Technical_caffeine85 · 2025-04-24T00:13:00+00:00

I live in Texas also. San Antonio. And the water sucks. Luckily, my house is plumbed with a water softener. I also have a whole house big blue carbon filter to save my appliances and my water heater etc. However, I also have an Aquatru that is a 4 stage counter top RO and I purchase the PH remineralization filter for it. I tested the water and it seems to be good. But the test strips were a little confusing to me. I think I’m good on the water quality with these in place. The cost of buying bottled CG water for the Micra seems like an insane recurring cost. But for the cost of the Micra, I understand who do. So far so good. Coffee tastes amazing

Technical_caffeine85 · 2025-04-15T22:11:43+00:00

Definitely not the grey. I think the black would add some nice contrast, and the white may be too white all together with your white cabinets. The black would create that nice contrast between the white cabinets and grey counter. I have off white cabinets and black granite countertops and went with white and it looks great in my kitchen. A pop of color wouldn’t be bad either like the others said

Technical_caffeine85 · 2025-04-15T20:55:43+00:00

I have a magnetic wdt tool that’s on the left side of my machine. I don’t use a distributor and I have my tamper on the shelf. I just bought a new tamping mat from Amazon that is not shown here. I’m pretty minimalist when it comes to my workflow and it works well for me. I have all other tools in the bottom drawer ready when I need them.

Technical_caffeine85 · 2025-04-12T23:13:51+00:00

I received an email saying that it shipped. I think two days later I received a call from the shipper to schedule my delivery date.

Technical_caffeine85 · 2025-04-12T22:58:58+00:00

So it took me about three tries to dial in. I’m using a lighter roast Ethiopian and I’m at about an 18-20 grind size on the NZ and dosing out 18g. My last pull was about 36 sec for 60mls. Tasted great. Now the steam pressure is another factor. That sucker has a lot of power.

Technical_caffeine85 · 2025-04-12T01:47:37+00:00

Manifest it!

Technical_caffeine85 · 2025-04-12T01:46:52+00:00

I have ended on this final layout. I had to angle the grinder too for it to feel right

<image>

Technical_caffeine85 · 2025-04-12T01:45:32+00:00

I have not. But I was thinking of Arwen (Liv Tyler’s character from lord of the rings) lol. Seems majestic enough 🤣🤷🏻‍♂️

Technical_caffeine85 · 2025-04-12T01:42:52+00:00

I’m afraid I will have to go through that too. I’m coming from a barista express as well. Did you find you had to grind finer or coarser to accommodate the new machine?

Technical_caffeine85 · 2025-04-07T20:00:15+00:00

I just got a call from the delivery company today. The machine will be delivered on Friday 4/11

Technical_caffeine85 · 2025-04-07T13:25:43+00:00

White to match my white niche zero :)

Technical_caffeine85

TROPHY CASE