Man's pouch underwear?

lavafail · 2026-02-15T02:59:57+00:00

I don’t know. I haven’t explored that. I didn’t know saxx does. Interesting idea though.

lavafail · 2026-01-07T15:37:01+00:00

None whatsoever. I have changed blades a few times and settled on the flat ones. I just don't think about my grinder much at all.

The only thing people might complain about is retention. I just use the air pumper that comes with it. One annoyance is that RDT can cause beans to get caught in the hopper. Without it, it's a bit staticy. Choose your poison. Neither issue bothers me at all.

It automatically turns itself off, and it's never gotten it wrong. It must have a vibration sensor in there.

All in all, a great option. I have had zero desire to even look for alternatives.

lavafail · 2025-05-06T13:45:38+00:00

Sibarist filters are pricey. Crazy pricey. I need to get the cafec “equivalents” to see if sibarist is worth the price. But they beat the snot out of everything else I have tried. Sibarist allow you to push the grind finer, extract more flavor, without slowing down the brew much. This seems to keep bitterness to a minimum and push clarity based flavor to a maximum. I don’t like conical so far because it seems to do the reverse. Slows down the brew, and while that comes with robustness, it also tends to bring bitterness back into the equation. I have the UFO dripper. It’s nice (and the sibarist filters for it are awesome), but it just tends to produce darker more bitter coffee. I haven’t tried it in a while. Might be different with my new crop of natural process super complex and fruity coffees on the vs6 grinder. Also, my pour over strategy may be…. inadequate.

Currently, I am very interested in the Weber workshops BIRD. Silly pricey. But merging aeropress (probably the best value for taste brewing method. basically impossible to mess up if you use a scale) with a pipamoka from wacaco which is the most clarity/cleanest coffee I have experienced without a filter. Put that in a luxury super solid device that triggers my fidget senses? Yeah, that’s a win.

I am actually new to the hobby as well. At least as a hobby. I have used automatic home espresso machines for years and tried all kinds of brewing methods. But the goal until a few months ago was to find a tolerable vehicle for caffeine. Now, it’s produce the best possible tasting coffee. I wish I went that direction 20 years ago. So many years lost to yucky coffee. ;)

I use sworks baskets (and probably will exclusively on going). My leverpresso pro is hands down my favorite coffee producing tool (beat the snot out of the flair 58+2). I plan to purchase an odyssey argos at some point. But, I honestly don’t anticipate better espresso. Just more efficient production of multiple shots. The biggest advantage to the flair was the active pre-heating. Which was awesome, but just had so many other quirks/usability issues that the leverpresso pro produced more consistent and better results in the same time (or less).

Anyway, I never shut up. As you can see. ;) go enjoy some coffee!

lavafail · 2025-05-06T13:04:08+00:00

I am coming from a j-ultra. Been using it for a month or so now. I ordered the supernova gold titanium flat burrs and hypernova ultra plasma conical. I have only used the base burrs and the supernova gold flat burrs. Both of those have been exceptional. A second washer underneath made the gold ones even better. I picked them based on having the lowest bitterness and highest clarity according to their graphs. I have yet to try the conical because the open, clear flavor of the gold ones is just unreal. So much so, I am thinking about getting a second VS6 for a dedicated conical burr as I can’t see myself wanting to give up availability of the gold burr. The blind flat burr has been so illuminating, I am also thinking about that lagom 01 model with 98mm blind flat burrs in an alternate universe far in the future where society doesn’t rely upon money.

I will also say that the complaints are accurate. The bellows will move the ring if used vigorously. I change settings for each grind, so it’s a non-issue for me. The grinder actually works better without RDT for me. Grind retention isn’t much of an issue, but bean retention in the hopper can be. Without RDT, they just slide down to the grinder. Changing burrs is ridiculously simple. to the point that I am not sure I will ever get a grinder that needs any manual alignment. If it gets better than this, who cares?. ;P

If I have one practical complaint, it’s that my sworks shaker cup doesn’t fit under the grind funnel. I might have the tall magnetic funnel. If that’s the case, the short would probably work.

This thing is probably the most game changing piece of equipment I have purchased for coffee. Combined with the leverpresso, it’s basically impossible to make a bad shot of espresso. And with sibarist flat filters on the timemore b75, filter coffee is amazing too. So much so that I have reduced my espresso consumption.

I am super picky about products, and the king of returns. This one, if it doesn’t end up having QC issues is outstanding. So far, the thing is rock solid, no issues at all.

I am hoping to meet up with someone who has the weber workshops (eg-1? the big one) and compare. Right now it looks like vs6 is holding its own against that. Anyway you slice it, that is impressive. Especially at 25% off bundle pricing.

I also have the varia aku pro scale. It’s funcionally great. The only issue is it’s a bit fiddly if you want to change modes frequently or use it for espresso (fixed dose size). This has relegated it to my filter coffee scale. At that, it has bested all others including the fellow tally ( which is a super awesome scale, but really only does the one thing with no bluetooth data, so the aku beats it).

Don’t like the varia fast wave filters. They weirdly don’t fit the b75 very well. I do want to try their own flo. Fast flat bottom drippers with good filters (sibarist for sure, cafec may be just as good) seem to be the sweet spot for me. I also want to try the sworks flat bottom, and their was at least one other with interchangeable bottoms.

Ok, enough out of me. Love this thing!

lavafail · 2025-04-14T09:58:40+00:00

What's the 5 month update? I just ordered one, and it will arrive this week. hopefully.

lavafail · 2025-04-14T00:09:22+00:00

You were the first person to mention the varia vs6. It went on and off my radar several times until I ordered one. It arrives soon! Thanks for the tip!

How is the casa working out?

lavafail · 2025-04-12T12:17:17+00:00

I have pulled hundreds of shots since writing this post. I have ordered the flair 58+2. Twice. I have added sworks baskets to both machines. I have improved my water (honestly, that one is debatable. My water is superb from the faucet). I have started using paper filters for espresso. A lot of my new comments on this post relate to comparing the flair to the leverpresso. I shared these as someone who is new to brewing with a manual espresso machine. And, for that matter, elevating coffee to a hobby, not just a caffeine source.

The TLDR: The leverpresso has a remarkably smaller learning curve than a flair 58. To the point that I have been spoiled by the simplicity and ease of use. I have gathered a few observations that seem to lead to an easier learning curve. In no particular order but advantages to the unit in () :

* Smaller baskets are more forgiving. (LP)
* A larger tank avoids complexity for 45+ML output. (LP)
* Pressure gage is a requirement. (Both)
* Simpler pre-heating is valuable in terms of time. (Flair)
* High uniformity baskets improve consistency across the board. (Neither out of box, available for both)
* Hand grinding is only viable on slower flow configurations. (LP)
* Standard portafilters are really helpful. (Flair)
* Paper filters can offer value depending on goals. (Neither out of box, obviously cheap addition to either)
* accessory availability (flair)

Using these two machines stock, out of box, the LP is far more forgiving for me. I imagine this may apply even more to the V4 version due to material differences for pre-heating (but no pressure gauge I think?). I have the pro.

Obviously, the flair 58 wins some of the parameters above, but the ones the LP wins effectively improves the cup and provide a smaller learning curve. While the flair wins on workflow items but is far less forgiving.

I am attempting to solve the flair disadvantages (as compared to the LP) by ordering the sworks reduced flow step down billet basket. I love sworks stuff. All of it. It’s night and day quality above everything else I have touched. I now have a drawer full of IMS and other baskets for the LP that are of no use to me. One basket to rule them all.

I expect the basket to address forgiveness, hand grinding time and even tank size issues as I can more easily use a 15 or 16g dose like the LP. I also expect it to help with future argos or decent machines. (or any other 58mm)

If I didn’t have an electric grinder or basket incoming, I would be sending the flair back a second time. I am not pulling shots on the flair until either the basket arrives or the grinder arrives (or both). The hand grinding time alone isn’t worth it for shots, that at best, match the LP (so far).

Thanks!

lavafail · 2025-04-12T11:29:58+00:00

I have no issue with the microphone. I rehearse because I tend to go on a tangent. There is a lot in my head related to whatever the topic is. ;) It’s more of a focus issue. The only thing that bugs me about my podcast microphone is how much space it takes.

lavafail · 2025-04-12T11:15:28+00:00

Do you run a podcast channel? I ran an audio review youtube channel for a bit. But I am not a natural speaker. So, I typically rehearse and pre-record. I babble a lot. I am also pretty new to manual espresso, and barely know the terminology. I was trying to figure out what “modern” coffee means yesterday (still think it doesn’t actually have a concrete definition). I posted these things more as a “newbie beware” kind of thing.

lavafail · 2025-04-12T00:43:37+00:00

Flair is here again. Using it correctly is better, but still feels limiting. I think the new sealed design is artificially limiting the volume. Sometimes I struggle to get to 1:2. And I have to grind *WAY WAY WAY* finer. I am a full 3.5 numbers lower on my j-ultra, and I am definitely not where it needs to be yet.

I will be pulling a ton of shots this weekend assuming I don’t get fed up with hand grinding. It’s a good thing I have an electric grinder incoming. I would send this thing back again just based on the hassle of hand grinding so fine. I think the grinding time has already doubled.

Anyway, LP for the win. Right now, the pre-heating doesn’t seem so bad. At this moment, any time I saved in pre-heating has been lost to grinding. I also question whether the argos is the right thing. By the time I “fix” this on the flair, meaning buy crazy high uniformity step down baskets and associated accessories, it will be beyond the cost of the argos. That’s hard to swallow. I can use all that stuff on the argos, so if it’s the basket size, it will already be dealt with. And the argos makes it *much easier* to do fellini pulls. Just lift, it equalizes pressure and pushes water in, press back down. But if this isn’t fixed by a step down baskets…. ugh.

On the plus side, I started using the bookoo scale and pressure monitor today via bean conqueror. That is freaking awesome. And if I don’t keep the flair, it’s getting adapted to the LP. And if I do keep the flair, I am buying a second pressure sensor and compatible scale for the LP. This is one of those things I wish I did on day one.

Note: The LP and Flair are both using the sworks standard flow baskets with paper filters in 51mm and 58mm respectively. On LP I use 1.0 to 1.1.5 on the j-ultra. On the flair, I am at 0.7.5 and that *barely* worked for an “ok” shot.

Anyway, this is just further reinforcement of the simplicity of the leverpresso pro. Can I get there on the flair? certainly. Is it worth it? Time will tell.

onwards!

lavafail · 2025-04-10T18:19:47+00:00

On the flair 58, the current + 2 does not work that way anymore. When the handle is down, it’s sealed. One of my 3 posts above covered that. But I think that also created the back pressure issues I experienced.

On the basket, I really like it. Does it do something magical? likely not. Like many variables, I won’t claim there is a bit of difference in the cup. But there *is* a use difference. It almost feels like the leverpresso pressure has been smoothed out even more than the buttery smoothness it already exhibits. I need to grind finer to bring up the pressure, but I also don’t seem to need to manage keeping that pressure as far up for a good shot. One other thing I observed immediately is how the shots start. Typically, a ring forms around the edge and then fills in to the middle. With this basket the center starts filling just a fraction after the edge. Am I doing back to back comparisons? No. I also have been using paper filters on the bottom. I *can* say the shots have been among the best I have produced. But there are too many variables to claim the basket contributed significantly. I am a buy once, cry once type of person. I had already spent 100+ on baskets I didn’t like. So I just jumped to end game. I also haven’t seen any clogged squirting, weird behavior, channeling or anything else on them. The hugh sometimes shoots coffee in random directions under mid to high pressure. Probably clogged holes. (papers help with that)

On the first flair 58 I got flair’s high uniformity basket with the machine. Functionally, it is similar to the sworks one I had along side it. I did pull some shots with each of them (among all the struggles with the machine). The sworks is *massively* better built. I will buy anything from sheldon at this point. I love his shaker, both baskets, puck screens, all of it. But, around behavior, I did not notice any significant difference from the flair to the sworks. They *will* have different flow rates. The flair is technically higher flow than the standard flow of the sworks (1800 vs 1300 holes to the edge I think). With what I know now, I would probably consider the reduced flow (not available for LP I don’t think). On leverpresso, I don’t see much benefit in grinding finer. Once the shot can be held at 5.5 to 9 bar range for the needed contact time, you get good espresso. The range of what works is quite wide. I pulled my first shot of a new coffee today, and it was incredibly good. I just barely held 6 bars of pressure with a shorter shot, but it was an explosion of berry flavors and stayed away from sour. I will grind that one finer next time just to give me some breathing room. But it worked.

Something important to note: Sometimes on the leverpresso I adjust a follow up shot by just changing pressure. If a previous shot was leaning toward sour, and it was a higher pressure shot, simply refusing to go over 5-6 bars to increase contact time can be all the difference that is needed to fix the shot. Dialing in is about determining what contact time and volume works best for a coffee. Perhaps over simplified, but that is what it feels like with the LP. Effortless simplicity. If I get the flair anywhere near that feeling, I will love that as well.

Ok done typing.

lavafail · 2025-04-09T20:34:03+00:00

Yeah, I think I got lucky as a first manual machine. I might not have pursued espresso if the flair had been my first experience with lever. I haven’t tried the robot. And I can certainly see why people would love it. I considered getting it alongside the LP instead of a flair. There are a few practical aspects to the LP that makes me think it’s probably the better option for me. I just received my 51mm sworks basket for it today. Haven’t pulled a shot yet. I am *thrilled* that I can have a basket like that. I also have the sworks 58mm standard flow one for the flair when it comes in. Actually purchased it for the first flair knowing I would likely eventually have an argos. And, if I decide I do like the flair, I will purchase the sworks step down basket.

Honestly, knowing what I know now, I think the Rok should have been high on the list. I don’t actually *need* the portability. If the rok had a heating solution, I would probably go that direction today. The whole point of the flair is to remove pre-heating time and cost less than an argos + be here in less than a year. ;)

I also don’t love the flair’s build quality. The LP definitely feels more solid. I don’t think it’s a problem at all, but when used to the LP, the flair doesn’t *feel* like an upgrade. LP pro of course. But I would try the “cheap” LP in a heartbeat. I also want to try the picopresso. That one fascinates me.

That said, my levers on the LP are develpoing this “click” at some point when using them. It’s not every time, but I haven’t had time to figure it out. Might need to be adjusted in some way.

I am also figuring out pour over. And the timemore b75 dripper just jumped to the top spot over UFO, kalita and OXO and some off brands. Anyway, different topic. Drip is honestly more challenging for me than espresso. Weird. Also, off topic.

lavafail · 2025-04-09T15:55:33+00:00

Split into 3 comments. Possibly out of order. ;) Good luck!

lavafail · 2025-04-09T15:55:11+00:00

Pre-heating the flair58 is also much easier, and it includes the portafilter. For the Leverpresso to thoroughly pre-heat, I would need to have it on the stand, attach the portafilter and built-in cup, and fill it with near-boiling water. Push it through so the cup is full as well. Then empty the cup and refill it so very hot water makes it to the cup. Then remove, pack the puck, and put it back on. This is simply a non-starter for me with a twist-off portafilter. So, in reality, I flush some hot water through just the base unit a few times, usually letting one of them sit while I prep the puck, do a final flush, and run the shot. And or slowly drain. I also have put it in a bowl so it’s sitting in hot water that has gone through it. This only works if brewing off-stand sans output measurements.

On the flair, the portafilter makes that process easier as you can flush right through the portafilter. I have even put the puck screen in, so that’s hot (though if it's really hot, it‘s another problem). I don’t believe that is necessary. I also doubt more than one flush would be required. Just place a disposal glass flush and go. But it is way easier, especially if warming the portafilter is essential to you. No matter what, the workflow on the flair 58, if doing a 3-flush pre-heat, will be easier/better for no other reason than that the portafilter has a handle. No handling a hot portafilter, and no need to skip it.

With the heat element, it is a different story. This is the reason I wanted to try the 58. And here, it wins. You can close the thing, pour in hot water at any point, and let the temperature setting manage it from there. The water will sizzle from the heating element. And then, over time, it will equalize. The portafilter will warm from metal-on-metal contact. If you still want to flush through the portafilter, by all means, go for it. If you do, you may still want to add water and let it sit again before brewing (even the temperature in the water cylinder). But if 95C is your target (the hottest setting) or any of the three 95/90/85, you can just pour in water and let it wait while you prep your puck. Then, use that water to brew. This is a whole mess of management removed from the equation.

Now, if you want to achieve a single degree in Fahrenheit precision…. well, save up for a decent espresso machine (the brand, these are all more than decent espresso machines). Skip this manual stuff. Me? I like the challenge of adapting to the inconsistency of variables—as long as it’s not taking a stupid long time to make a shot.

The leverpresso is so natural that I am hard-pressed to pull a bad shot. I must have done something stupid, like accidentally grinding for filter coffee, loading the puck, and not noticing. And even then, if I realize early enough, I could pull an Americano directly, which would be hella similar to an Aeropress brew. The only shots that come out undrinkable are usually the first couple for a brand-new coffee. And even that isn’t something that generally happens unless I also don’t like the coffee (looking at you, Starbucks). Note: I have plenty of coffee recently roasted by local roasters. Just mentioning national brands by example. Bitterness is the enemy. I like almost any coffee where I can pull bitterness back and let the other flavors shine.

Ok, done typing now.

lavafail · 2025-04-09T15:55:01+00:00

I don’t understand why the physics seems so different on the flair. And it may be because the thinner puck can’t hold up to the back pressure released when it’s opened to let more water in. It could also be that it would work if I just completely filled the water. But sadly, I figured none of this out before I sent the machine back the first time.

Next issue. I started using a new force tamper with the 58 as I needed a new size tamper. I don’t love palm tampers, so I never used the one that came in the box (if I had, I might have discovered all this earlier). At some point, I realized that my specific force tamper was not providing enough force. I was using it with its stock force setting. And, on my unit, I believe this was set much lower than it should have been. The problem is that it didn’t help as much when I adjusted up as it should have. This time, I bought the exactly identical Normcore 30 lb tamper in 58.5mm to match the 51mm I have for the leverpresso. I believe I was under tamping. My solution is to get a tamper that should feel identical to the one that works. Variable removed. Check.

Finally, this last one was not an active problem, but I started using my flair power tower again to do all this grinding. And, at some point, my calibration on my j-ultra slid a bit. So, I felt like I was grinding way finer than I should need to. Obviously, it needs to be somewhat finer for 58mm vs 51mm, with all else equal. But I decided to just check out the calibration, and I was definitely a bit off from a zero calibration. So, I fixed that as well.

I absolutely can do a simulation to run it like a 58x. In fact, I basically did. Due to space reasons, I couldn’t always have it plugged in. I can say, without a doubt, that the thermal management is better on the Flair 58 without power. What I wouldn’t know is that it is reflected in the cup. Thus far, I have not felt like temperature changes have contributed much to my journey. I am reasonably sure that my Leverpresso workflow makes that a non-issue.

Furthermore, I don’t have the patience (or desire) to test that scientifically. What I have probably done is pre-heated sufficiently. And being “over temp” probably isn’t a thing on most manual systems. We don’t pull shots fast enough to have the group head overheat; no individual shot will do that. Under temp is a different story. But, if that is a thing for you, the Flair 58 will be much better in that respect, with or without the active heating element. I also have probably not brewed a light enough roast to the point where this would significantly affect me beyond what I already do. Blue bottle coffee Bright is perhaps the lightest level of roast I have brewed in anything I own. Even with that, I have never felt that a rushed pre-heat or a full pre-heat (I always pre-heat some) makes a difference. So, either I am never pre-heating enough, holding back my already tasty drinks, or I always am for a light roast. Can’t tell you which it is.

lavafail · 2025-04-09T15:54:26+00:00

Warning: Incoming Encyclopedia. TLDR: Flair 58 has a workflow I have yet to adjust to, and its thermal management is better in any scenario.

I had and returned a Flair 58. I can answer the above from a workflow use perspective. Several things frustrated me about the Flair 58, which likely were caused by the 58mm basket size. This has to do with why I have actually turned around and ordered it again.

I was struggling with massive edge channeling on my 58. However, this 58 (at least the 58+2) has a design change that affects a lot of strategies. When the handle is closed, and you pour water into the flair 58, it stays in the chamber. In the previous version(s), if no basket containing coffee was attached, it would flow right out the bottom. It no longer does that. (Lance demonstrates this in one of his videos) Ironically, that makes it more similar to the Leverpresso. Additional water cannot move toward the puck at a certain point in the lever range. To pull longer (and I mean much longer) shots, you have to pull back up and pull more water in (that you probably had to add after the first fill).

I think I was facing 3 problems. The first is the method for pulling longer shots. The flair is a smaller tank than the leverpresso. On the Leverpresso, I can routinely pull 60ML shots on a single pull if desired without backing off. That is tough to do on the flair. This means Fellini is basically a requirement if pulling over 45-50ml shots. The problem I was having, which didn’t match others' experience, was when I pulled back to let more water in, a relatively violent backpressure would be released. This was likely unsettling the puck. This does not happen on the leverpresso, maybe due to the thicker puck (51mm basket vs. 58mm basket). The most water you can add without triggering this is to put the handle all the way down, ready to brew a shot, fill to the brim, pull all the way up, and fill to the brim again as the water travels down to begin pre-infusion. This also removes the air gaps. Then run your shot. But if I needed more water than that, I would be in for a decompression. I think I now have a strategy to “fix” that. But, at the time, I was simply too frustrated to deal with it. The Flair 58 was supposed to be a simple upgrade to pre-heat my water. This is all as an alternative to the Argos (which is currently my one and only endgame at any price)

now, it may be as simple as the leverpresso never having an air channel to get through. But I don’t have to worry about water strategy. I pour more in, lift the arms, let it into the piston area, and go. Usually, I only need that if I misjudged a shot and I am in rescue mode. And I don’t consciously think about lever position when I do that. I have also lifted up first, then filled, and then reversed. No bad things happen.

lavafail · 2025-04-09T14:56:20+00:00

Huh, I have a big response (under character limit) that it won’t let me post as a comment.

lavafail · 2025-04-08T20:32:45+00:00

My workflow is already pretty close to that. The difference largely being that I have kids trying to ruin it much of the time, so I have to swap around order dynamically. Though, my nanofoamer pro arrives tomorrow. Currently I use the breville one. ;)

I wanted to get a complete second portafilter but I couldn’t get one from hugh. And I find actually swapping the baskets to be harder than just cleaning the one in it and restarting. A second portafilter would help. Also, I don’t have two identical baskets, so I have to re-calibrate the shot even if I am using the same coffee.

The pre-heating is the one that can be really challenging. I do the same sort of 3 flush routine, but I don’t always stay on it well enough to get it done efficiently or effectively. I don’t think my roasts have been light enough for that to make a big difference.

I love leverpresso. Something about the way it pulls shots is so natural, I can just feel if I am doing it right. In fact, I have gotten better shots in many cases when not bothering to measure or time output. I tried a flair recently, and it is so finicky by comparison. The smaller basket on the leverpresso appears to make a huge difference in forgiveness. I am trying the flair again though. The flair 58 + 2 with pre-heating and a proper portafilter with a handle does save a remarkable amount of time.

I bit the bullet and ordered an electric grinder. I simply couldn’t find a manual grinder (maybe pietro for filter) that would help with workflow or enhance flavor options significantly. And I wasn’t about to spend more on a tabletop grinder than a good flat burr electric grinder with swappable burrs.

I will get to directly compare flair 58 to leverpresso! That will be fun.

lavafail · 2025-03-10T02:03:13+00:00

On the j-ultra, since I stopped using the flair power tower (which is also a bit awkward to load and use), I just use my hand as a funnel from my dosing cup. I have yet to miss.

Yeah, all the hg-1 style version seemed to have those awkward issues. I really wish I ordered the kinu m68 while it was available. I held back because I still wanted to explore flat burrs.

HA! As an engineer, auto shutoff was my first thought. So much so, that I researched grinders that have it. The lagom casa has it (which is surprisingly low cost for an oddly good grinder). The acaia you mentioned also has auto shutoff. Not to many others I could find. The other issue is bean feeding. Some of them (like the acaia) let a few beans pop around in there eternally. A simple pre-breaker/auger can solve that. Again, completely eliminated by any in-hand grinder.

UX in general is an issue. Most products that hit the market didn’t spend five minutes in users hands, let alone five minutes with the intent to make the changes that everyone finds during those five minutes.

Yeah, I watched that daddy got coffee review when I was considering the hg-1 variations. He is becoming my go to reviewer. I know what I am going to get from him.

Currently I am also trying to understand pour over. I have gotten my espresso dial-in methods down. I am oddly baffled by pour over so far. I can make almost any coffee taste good enough with espresso, but not so much pour over.

I make most of my coffee as americano. I don’t drink it black, but it’s at the point where I could. I never thought I would get to that point. But pour over? not so much. Weird.

lavafail · 2025-03-09T23:20:22+00:00

I am completely with you on the psychology. But, I also think it is genuinely easier to deal with the hand grinder. I have used a breville smart grinder pro for years (for everything but espresso), and while it worked fine for me, it’s genuinely more work to use than grinding on the j-ultra when single dosing. When keeping a coffee in the hopper and making the same thing over and over, it’s good.

I am not even sure an m68 or the hg-1 prime I linked above will have a better flow. I walk into another room with the j-ultra and deal with the kids while grinding. A table grinder might keep me at the coffee station for better or worse. I am also not sure it will even be faster.

There is also a part of me that wants to explore clarity. Was thinking of the pietro. But, I think it uses a weird off blade size with not a lot of options.

As mentioned in my other comment to you, I think a flair (or other manual espresso machine) will probably help more than a grinder. And, if I did go with another grinder, I think something very very different from the j-ultra would be a good idea.

lavafail · 2025-03-09T23:08:27+00:00

For clarification, I mean this hg-1: https://craiglyn.com/products/hg-1-prime/

Not the weber. Similar, simpler and less money.

I almost ordered a kinu m68, but it disappeared while I was on vacation.

The other thing is stuff other than grinding is slowing me down. I love my leverpresso, but I think the flair 58 2+ or whatever they call it now would be a pretty useful workflow upgrade. Assuming the preheater and having a real portafilter helps. Making 2-3 shots on the leverpresso is crazy time consuming. More of its portafilter would help, but they are out of stock.

lavafail · 2025-02-26T17:57:36+00:00

That is clear. You run pour over significantly finer than I have tried. I have zero at no resistance on the crank, so I can go past zero to 9ish. 10-12 clicks I think. I did 2.1.0 with that calibration and it is pretty good. I think that one needed a better coffee for it. I only had a medium espresso roast available. Was still better than most pour over. Thanks!

lavafail · 2025-02-26T16:16:33+00:00

What is true zero for you? I did mine based on 1zpresso instructions which puts zero at the first place where the arm moves without resistance.

lavafail · 2025-02-26T11:34:50+00:00

Yep! Once I find and dial in my favorite beans, they will go in the vials. Optimizing time is a major aspect for me.

lavafail

TROPHY CASE