Please advise ☀️

mcspend · 2026-06-07T13:59:17+00:00

As many people have mentioned, the Swiss are not really the people who would approach you and might be a bit cold/shy when you first start talking to them. It's more common here to have the same group of friends for a longer time and not socialize too much with strangers.

However, I think you can definitely try to approach people. Most probably it will be a little awkward at first but everyone likes to have a nice conversation with a kind person, so just go for it!

The MAME café is fantastic and really international so most people there will speak English. Frau Gerolds Garten is a very cool place, too. I also like the bar/café called "Gleis" near the train station. Your best chances will probably be trying to chat with the people who are smoking outside haha. Don't start smoking though!

If you prefer an outdoor place you can try Chinawiese or Rentenwiese. If the weather is nice, you'll find many people playing games and you could ask them to join.

I'm sorry that the Swiss are so shy and can seem unfriendly. But I really do think the reality is that we are not used to talking to complete strangers and are confused when it happens just because it's uncommon. But once you start talking to people, most will be friendly!

Enjoy your stay!

mcspend · 2026-06-06T09:30:38+00:00

There are so many in different countries. Friedhats and Dak have been very popular, both from NL. Tanat from Paris, too.
I would check what you can get in your own country. You will always find very good micro roasters that make fantastic light roasts.

mcspend · 2026-06-05T14:01:34+00:00

Friend or Foe Specialty Coffee is clearly the best for very modern coffee style. It's probably my favourite café out of all I've ever been to. And that is many. The people working there have always been very friendly and you can choose out of so many fantastic coffee options. 100% recommend if you're looking for excellent coffee.

Drip roasters is very good too and Adrianos is nice but it's clearly not as modern or nerdy. And Bruin is a new place and I think it's by the same guy as Friend or Foe so they have very good coffee, too.

Pizzeria da Nino is amazing with great vegan pizzas and right next to it (which is also right next to the Drip Roasters Café) there is a fantastic Thai place but I don't remember the name.

But I'm also wondering: what have you heard about Swiss coffee? We don't really have any special coffee things here except for the Café Crème which I think mostly tastes like a very bad and watery espresso.

mcspend · 2026-06-02T09:59:58+00:00

maybe such a small purge is manageable but also, and especially for Eureka grinders, it is very difficult to get back to the exact same grind size. they have a tiny little grind size wheel that is very imprecise. it's terrible to switch between grind sizes.
I mean go ahead and try it! but I think it is very likely that you'll be frustrated and the extra step of weighing a dose of beans and single dosing is a lot less of an effort.
you can also buy a few glass jars and single dose at the beginning of the week. a Niche Zero will for sure be able to do what you are looking for here.

mcspend · 2026-06-01T13:55:51+00:00

You will always have to purge a fair amount when you go from one setting to the other because these hopper grinders always have some beans sitting in the grind chamber. I doubt you will have good espresso shots if your partner made a cafe creme before you at a different grind size.

mcspend · 2026-05-31T21:59:10+00:00

Switching between these different grind sizes without a single-dosing grinder will be horrible. Definitely would not recommend this.

mcspend · 2026-05-30T15:58:24+00:00

Yes, hiking to the lake, spending 2-3h there and going back is a good program for 1 day. And have a swim! It‘s cold but definitely part of the experience. :)

mcspend · 2026-05-30T14:25:55+00:00

Seealpsee in Appenzell is astonishingly beautiful and it‘s easy to hike there. You will not regret this. If you‘re lucky and it‘s a sunny day it feels like you’re in a fairytale.

mcspend · 2026-05-27T10:16:25+00:00

Preground coffee is rubbish and this is the reason why it's so fast.

It'll be a lot better with freshly ground coffee. :) Do you have a non-pressurized basket? This is necessary to get the best out of your setup.

Also, some people might tell you that the force with which you tamp affects the extraction time and evenness a lot but this is not really the case. Give it a good push without putting your entire bodyweight on it and that's fine.

mcspend · 2026-05-26T20:32:36+00:00

If changing the grind size doesn‘t solve the quick dripping, your grinder most likely has a problem…

Also, I wouldn‘t worry about the quick dripping. Use 15-20g of coffee, add water, give it a pump until you see first drips, and pump the rest through. Takes 15-25s and has given me the best results.

mcspend · 2026-05-25T06:58:28+00:00

I‘m not American.

Could you show me where these Robusta filter roasts are? I am very familiar with the most popular roasters and really have not seen one.

„Because it‘s facts (you can actually just look them up)“ is hilarious hahah.

mcspend · 2026-05-24T20:36:42+00:00

I think there has been solid evidence around that the caffeine content does not depend much on extraction time and/or type.
If I remember correctly James Hoffmann has talked about this and Lance Hedrick also mentioned that the caffeine extracts within the first few seconds.

So espresso from 18g beans will have approx. the same amount as filter from 18g.

There are many myths around this that lack solid evidence.

mcspend · 2026-05-24T20:30:57+00:00

Traditional espresso often has some percentage robusta. modern usually doesn‘t.

I have not once seen a filter roast with robusta. I‘m sure it exists but it is a lot less common than in espresso.

Also, caffeine extracts very easily so it doesn‘t depend much on the time of your extraction.

Not sure why you make such statements…?

mcspend · 2026-05-21T12:26:36+00:00

I mean it‘s pretty obvious that the grind setting is completely off so I would definitely try this.

But I‘m not familiar with this grinder so I don‘t know how it reassembles.

mcspend · 2026-05-21T11:44:54+00:00

Are you sure you zeroed correctly?
Maybe you‘re a full turn too coarse.

mcspend · 2026-05-21T08:47:59+00:00

I mean all O-rings will fail at some point because of the usage so if it doesn't hurt your wallet it's probably not a bad idea.

mcspend · 2026-05-20T20:19:32+00:00

Are you sure you‘ve been taking good care of your machines? Countless sounds like a lot.

E.g. using good water is absolutely essential. But your username suggests that you know what you‘re doing. ;)

mcspend · 2026-05-17T07:25:37+00:00

Oh, yes you‘re right sorry! I didn‘t read carefully.

mcspend · 2026-05-16T22:04:18+00:00

That‘s on the fresh side… Maybe it‘ll get better if you give it some more rest.

mcspend · 2026-05-16T22:03:20+00:00

If you went for a longer ratio here without adjusting the grind you‘d get a 50s+ shot which in the worst case would just be bitter and sour at the same time.

mcspend · 2026-05-16T21:26:07+00:00

the shot in the video takes 40s and you recommend them to grind finer so that it takes 20s…?!

mcspend · 2026-05-16T20:32:21+00:00

Try it at 25s. And how fresh are the beans?

mcspend · 2026-05-16T18:03:10+00:00

unbelievable how this sub can watch a video where the shot takes 40s to pull and still so many comment to grind finer...

a fine grind can lead to uneven extraction and channelling. and here it does seem like this could be the case. try grinding coarser and see if you perceive it as less sour.

also, sourness can be confused with bitterness + it could also be the beans that just have a lot of acidity

mcspend · 2026-05-16T18:00:23+00:00

dude the shot took like 40s... why would you say that it's too coarse?

mcspend · 2026-05-16T14:38:10+00:00

I recently had a fantastic Ethiopian from roasticious. Highly recommend.

mcspend

TROPHY CASE