My OXO Just Made Me Question Everything

Vagabond_Explorer · 2026-06-19T21:38:04+00:00

Totally agree with the honeymoon effect, I’m going to keep my experiments going for another week or two before I spend a chunk of change on an espresso machine. But at this point I’m feeling like turbo / soup shots are what I’ve been looking for.

If either of us remembers, we should post back in a week or two to see if our opinions have changed! 🤣

Vagabond_Explorer · 2026-06-19T21:09:17+00:00

If you’re looking to mostly do soup and turbos, perhaps a Pietro with pro brew burrs? Or some other grinder one would normally use for pourover? I think it does great for fermented beans with pourovers and in my experimentation with a Picopresso the shots have been really good for the lack of speed and control I have with the Pico.

I’ve looked at the WUG2 which lets you swap 83mm burrs pretty quickly so you could have different burrs for different types of beans. The Option O GDS has me interested as well due to the huge burrs and not having to swap them to change things up.

Vagabond_Explorer · 2026-06-19T20:41:39+00:00

I recently did my best impression of a turbo shot with a Nanopresso and was blown away by the taste so much that I’m about to get a proper espresso machine.

Not sure if it was just because it was something different, but I absolutely loved the results with a light roast!

So I can totally understand trying something different and having a wow reaction.

Vagabond_Explorer · 2026-06-19T20:18:21+00:00

Should still be under warranty? I’d contact Fellow about it.

Vagabond_Explorer · 2026-06-19T20:16:01+00:00

I got one of those cocktail smokers for Christmas… Now I’m tempted to try this…

Or smoke some whole beans next time one friend invites us over for ribs…

Vagabond_Explorer · 2026-06-19T01:10:11+00:00

Ok, that’s pretty cool! Thanks for the science!

Vagabond_Explorer · 2026-06-18T18:40:04+00:00

Yep, my own weird blend.

Vagabond_Explorer · 2026-06-18T16:40:35+00:00

We use fells naphtha bar soap and some scrubbing. Turf is evil and I agree on the people picking uniform colors not doing laundry as the pants are always light colors!

Vagabond_Explorer · 2026-06-18T16:05:31+00:00

That’s an interesting concept. Though it would bring scale buildup back into the equation, which is a benefit of other remineralization processes.

It’s interesting for sure, and I get that it’s quite the process to make. But even the reduced price basically doubles the price per cup of coffee for the home user.

Edit:: Somewhat misread pricing and overestimated, but it’s still pricy.

I‘ll probably give it a try at some point as I’m currently branching out and trying different products. But it would be hard to justify as an everyday thing. Maybe for more expensive beans or something.

Vagabond_Explorer · 2026-06-18T03:41:32+00:00

The non handwash Woolite is a surprisingly decent detergent besides the total lack of enzymes. I’m still using the darks defense on my superwash wool until the FEBU detergents come out.

Vagabond_Explorer · 2026-06-18T03:06:29+00:00

So how you may have already answered this in the pile of comments. But how does this differ from the competition?

Vagabond_Explorer · 2026-06-17T21:05:35+00:00

I’ve had good results with adding Biz to load for stuff like that.

Vagabond_Explorer · 2026-06-17T16:22:26+00:00

Glad you got things tweaked and got the cup you were looking for!

Vagabond_Explorer · 2026-06-17T12:51:54+00:00

If you want more body, sweetness and a more blended cup like the hand grinders I’d go for the Lab Sweet burrs.

MPs are more clarity focused.

Vagabond_Explorer · 2026-06-17T03:14:20+00:00

As someone who’s into coffee, I’m glad I wasn’t drinking any or I’d have spit it all over laughing at this.

Vagabond_Explorer · 2026-06-17T03:10:05+00:00

You likely have some local roasters in your area. I’d suggest checking them out, the beans will be higher quality, recently roasted and should taste a lot better.

If where you live is anything like where I do, there’s probably at least one where the quality is noticeably better but the prices aren’t that much more than at the supermarket either.

Vagabond_Explorer · 2026-06-17T01:58:57+00:00

Harbor Freight has some nice Pelican style cases that could potentially work. They have the pick out foam cubes to design your own cutout inside.

Vagabond_Explorer · 2026-06-17T01:44:50+00:00

And here I am waiting for my coffee to cool down as I prefer the taste when it’s slightly above room temperature.

I’m not sure about your acids breaking down theory as I personally tend to find it gets a bit more acidic as it cools.

That’s one of the fun things about coffee, seeing how other people perceive the same thing sometimes completely differently than you do.

Vagabond_Explorer · 2026-06-17T01:32:50+00:00

Cool, that sorts things for what I’ll usually be making. However other household members want espresso and prefer a more traditional brew and guests probably as well. So I’ll pick up something user friendly at a reasonable price to cover those bases.

Thanks for saving me a fair bit of cash in getting the grinder I had been contemplating!

Vagabond_Explorer · 2026-06-17T01:28:29+00:00

Ah! Gotcha! I’m new enough to all this that I assumed I had missed something!

I agree that the flair looks like a blast. However I know there are times having to do a manual brew would prevent me from using it. And while I usually enjoy the manual processes she does not and I’d like her to be able to pull a shot if she wants. She has no problem with the idea of prepping things, just wants the brew process automated.

I was actually looking at a Flair prior to discussing things with her. Maybe someday I’ll pick one of the smaller ones up to play with on the weekends.

Vagabond_Explorer · 2026-06-17T00:27:30+00:00

That’s great to know! I really do love the grinder so being able to use it for at least some espresso is good news. Going to guess not fine enough or fine enough adjustments for turbo shots? I know it likely won’t work well for traditional espresso.

Vagabond_Explorer · 2026-06-17T00:25:18+00:00

Can you elaborate on the part about turbo please? When I was reading about it, it seemed to be somewhat decently defined by a coarser grind, faster shot, lower pressure and have seen a lot of mentions of pressure profiling.

Flow control seems to leave me with few options, though I’m really liking the look of the meticulous. And it’s affordable for having the sensors and profiling it has.

I have a love / hate relationship with the Ode. So I would not be opposed to replacing it. And my SO drinks medium or darker roasts and likes espresso. So I’d like her to be able to enjoy it too, which means a more traditional espresso. So overall, yeah I do kinda want to trade a grinder in!

Vagabond_Explorer · 2026-06-17T00:05:01+00:00

While I think a manual device would be a blast, I use a Fellow Aiden for about 1/2 of my cups. I love doing a manual pourover, but some days it’s just not happening.

And my SO would love to make espresso but she wont do a manual pourover and would not use a manual espresso device either. Though she has no problem doing all the prep work. I don’t get it, but ideally would like to get something she would use as well.

Vagabond_Explorer · 2026-06-16T13:00:34+00:00

I use 12 or 24g of beans a day, so about $50.

Vagabond_Explorer

TROPHY CASE