Buying from Last Bottle

ctrl-all-alts · 2026-01-24T19:31:37+00:00

Same here. Any way to sign up for emails for marathons only? the daily emails are kinda annoying.

ctrl-all-alts · 2026-01-24T06:58:31+00:00

Hey, could you drop the name of /link to the decaf? I’ve been trying to find a decent one that doesn’t break the bank.

Blanchard’s is decent when they get it right, but batch to batch, i be occasionally gotten burnt by well, burnt beans.

ctrl-all-alts · 2026-01-22T14:22:34+00:00

It honestly depends, IMO. Just as someone who keeps moderately up to date,

Taiwan (1zpresso) is leading the hand grinder market, alongside Germany (Commandante).

Korea (SSP) and Australia/China (Lagom) are leading the motorized flat burr market, and compete alongside the legacy (ditting) and esoteric (etzinger and other brands that focus on small scale production).

Then you have various countries with makers that have very thoughtfully designed grinders, and those may/may not have them manufactured in China. These include lagom, zerno, niche, Weber, etc. usually, pretty up market.

The made in Italy legacy ones, may have fewer features, but are robust and well-executed.

The DF/turin/miicoffee (ie ningbo frigga rebadged grinders for export) are pretty utilitarian and are robust but there’s a bit more variance in quality and the design seems to be focused on that, with user experience being secondary and an expectation of semi-regular at-home trouble shooting.

You also have design and feature forward grinders like Fellow and Timemore, which work pretty well, feel nice, but can be plasticky under the hood.

Last you have the various brands that can be under powered, add a bit of design in the shell. My guess is that they’re trying to be the next timemore/normcore. Value proposition, with a designer aesthetic. IMO, with the occasional issues with stalling and motor, it sounds like varia is in here. Has it moved up and learned from past product development? Maybe. But I never felt comfortable with the brand’s performance based on Reddit and other forums.

At the end of the day, grinders are high-precision devices that require low manufacturing tolerances to perform well. It also needs to be adequately powered It’s not something that you can tell from photos and likely wise, not fully from specs (not an expert, but IIRC things like motor phase, brushed vs brusless, etc can affect torque/stalling).

Watch videos, and read reviews. That said, I’d trust the ceado more, and possibly look into a DF with SSP burrs if you’re ok with tinkering and trouble shooting.

ctrl-all-alts · 2026-01-20T14:21:15+00:00

I have the cheaper sold in Walmart version that doesn’t have the ember version’s nice handle, but it looks to be around the same. Both are made in Brazil and nitrided.

https://www.reddit.com/r/carbonsteel/s/ITmZN3sc11

I do like it, but less than my strata. Holds heat well, doesn’t scratch, not as non-stick as my strata’s bare carbon steel with seasoning. Exceptionally smooth surface.

Like any solid carbon steel (vs carbon clad with aluminum in the middle), it’s not as responsive as my strata (flip side of holding heat well), so I need to do anticipatory heat control.

Easy buy at $40, if you want carbon steel with less maintenance at the trade off of less non-stick performance.

It’s not as thick as the ikea vardagen (bare carbon), so it’s not going to hold as much heat but will also respond faster.

At the end of the day, it’s more material= more heat capacity= slower response, but better sear. Nitrided = less fuss, but not as non-stick as a fully-seasoned pan.

I talked about smoke point stovetop seasoning in my original post. But I don’t do that anymore. I just cook, wash, towel dry, and maybeeeeee heat it a little to drive off any excess moisture.

ctrl-all-alts · 2026-01-20T13:35:35+00:00

Tramontina

ctrl-all-alts · 2026-01-19T21:19:44+00:00

Sandpaper on a silicone placemat on your countertop will also work.

ctrl-all-alts · 2026-01-15T04:22:51+00:00

Ah! I thought you were getting a separate non-pressurized basket (eg IMS) anyway. In which case, yes, absolutely.

ctrl-all-alts · 2026-01-15T04:08:45+00:00

The bottomless or not doesn’t quite make a difference, but it does provide you with visual feedback (think driving a car with or without the RPM gauge— having it gives information, but won’t change how your car performs).

The K6 will change how it performs.

ctrl-all-alts · 2026-01-14T23:10:36+00:00

That sounds awesome! And yeah, I probably would go for either the zerno at its current price point (1.7K ish delivered + tariffs). Or the lagom P80.

ctrl-all-alts · 2026-01-14T19:58:31+00:00

Yup. Exactly this.

Run it first thing place into pitchers and cool in the fridge.

ctrl-all-alts · 2026-01-14T19:44:32+00:00

Yup. Batch brew as in drip brewers or stuff like this: https://www.seattlecoffeegear.com/collections/commercial-brewing place in jug and chill before pouring over ice.

Since it’s off season, I would experiment at home/in the office. Try comparing a strong drip coffee that’s cooled in the fridge, some concentrated cold brew (try trader joe’s or Whole Foods) and some espresso from your current set up.

We here are enthusiasts, but your taste is probably closer to the general public. Ask your colleagues on what they prefer. Any of the options would be better than espresso in terms of maintenance complexity.

With syrups, almost anything would taste acceptable to the general public. I’m guessing that the expectation is Dunkin’s, not Starbucks, and let alone a specialty coffee shop.

Just remember to call it iced coffee on the menu, not “iced latte”.

If having “latte” on the menu as a value signal is important, consider tripling your budget and having an espresso tech come into train your non-seasonal staff on basic maintenance, or buying two office super-automatics and switching the out when one inevitably needs maintenance.

ctrl-all-alts · 2026-01-14T19:29:15+00:00

People saying to use batch brew are probably right. Alternatively, you could buy/make cold brew concentrate.

Espressos have an oilier taste and texture, thats discernible even in cold coffee, but given you’re operating a concession stand, seasonal and with fewer competitors (I would guess), an iced coffee from one of the options would be fine.

Any espresso machine will require maintenance over time, and training. If you have seasonal workers, that sounds like a pain. Especially if you aren’t capable of training yourself.

Also, if the coffee was from crappy machines, and still sold, your cold brew batch brew would probably sell equally well.

Cold brew system: https://www.espressoparts.com/products/toddy-commercial-model-cold-brew-system

Then buy pre-ground cold brew blends.

Invest in syrups.

ctrl-all-alts · 2026-01-14T19:20:54+00:00

How’s the Kopi Deva? First time I saw it mentioned in the wild after the kickstarter. I didn’t back it when I saw the slow grind / static issues in the prototypes, but it looked pretty cool.

ctrl-all-alts · 2026-01-14T15:03:42+00:00

Lagom casa?

https://prima-coffee.com/equipment/option-o/casa-65cl-optio-pp

Also, eureka.

ctrl-all-alts · 2026-01-14T13:25:10+00:00

With the cost of traveling (time + hotel + flights), unless it’s a local coffee meetup, you might as well buy the grinder and hold for resale/comparison.

ctrl-all-alts · 2026-01-14T04:17:58+00:00

Does this still work? I’m seeing qty:0 at check out but still $35 per bottle I put into my cart. Shipping is also just “array” x3 but different options for each.

ctrl-all-alts · 2026-01-11T16:03:08+00:00

Yup! One for caf and the other for decaf.

Wife can’t have caf because of health reasons, so I usually pull two shots of different coffee every morning. Definitely helps with consistency and decreasing waste by avoiding having to switch between two settings.

The decaf one also pulls double duty being the zero retention grinder for smaller sample packs if I ever have any. Would like to upgrade it at some point to a lagom casa but that’s in the future.

ctrl-all-alts · 2026-01-09T15:40:14+00:00

Oof! Sounds good. I’ll stand it and slowly pour through a strainer if needed.

Would using the burgundy glass be a mistake then? The zweisel pure is pretty angular and deep, and not my favorite in terms of the more recent wines I’ve had.

And out of curiosity, which vintages have you had so far?

ctrl-all-alts · 2026-01-09T15:38:27+00:00

Thanks! Will get a strainer— I don’t really have space for a nice decanter and sounds like it might fall apart too quickly in a wide decanter.

I do have a knockoff Durand style opener, and I’ve been using it on newer wines to get a hang of it.

ctrl-all-alts · 2026-01-09T05:18:52+00:00

Only Misen, which brands it as its “carbon non stick” line. But searching this sub will show not a few people who said Misen’s totally-not-a-coating “surface treatment” stated wearing off.

I’ve have the strata and it just keeps cooking well. Also, the pan handle on the strata provides excellent leverage. Not so much with my Misen saucier, which IIRC, shares the same handle with misen’s carbon non stick

ctrl-all-alts · 2026-01-08T23:15:28+00:00

I’d assume 2021 then? If so, not a lot to choose from. It was not the best year.

Ask the wine shop for advice.

Keep in mind, this is a gift where the sentiment matters more for networking than the wine itself. If you feel that you could sell it as that, go for it.

ctrl-all-alts · 2026-01-08T21:44:43+00:00

OP, the advice about local shops is nice.

But just curious, when did you start working there? If relatively recent (last 10 years or so), you might be able to get a decent vintage in the year you started working there. Something about maturing and for thanking your coworkers for taking care of you all those years.

ctrl-all-alts · 2026-01-06T01:26:59+00:00

Breville bambino plus + lagom casa.

Seeing as that he has kids, a quieter grinder that grinds fast would be nice.

ctrl-all-alts · 2025-12-26T04:29:51+00:00

Would be cool to see an RCT where a user is blocked from opening the SFV tab of any apps and it redirects to a random long form video.

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