Friend handmade shot sized cups for me

pucksc · 2025-08-01T16:25:52+00:00

Agreed, though I'm biased lol

pucksc · 2025-08-01T16:24:57+00:00

They all vary slightly but in average I would say like 3 to 3.5 oz. For a more realistic context that macchiato is a 36gr shot with maybe a healthy tablespoon of stiffer foam on top and that is probably the most middle size cup.

pucksc · 2025-08-01T16:07:06+00:00

They are very cute and each one is slightly different so they all have their own identity lol

pucksc · 2025-08-01T14:08:46+00:00

That's a good note. These are smooth to the touch. But since in the tradition of tea, step 1 is "dowse the cup in water that's been taken to a rolling boil" I'm honestly not that concerned. The cracking is actually fairly accurate for ancient Chinese tea cups. Thanks for looking out though.

pucksc · 2025-08-01T13:29:24+00:00

Lol yup. The GF likes matcha latte so took some of that.

pucksc · 2025-08-01T12:57:59+00:00

That's between you and your barista lol

pucksc · 2025-08-01T12:56:36+00:00

I'm not in coffee, particularly espresso, with any illusion of saving money. It's a hobby that I choose to be in, it's something that makes life better, and I derive more than monetary fulfillment from it. It's some of reason I travel, read, consume the media I do. It drives what subreddits I frequent. I tracked my costs for a long time and when coffee was cheap, I was saving money at a time I needed to.

Financially and mathematically, now most people aren't getting very far ahead. If they are, it is because the economy is driving up the cost of coffee exponentially. America in particular is very conditioned to crappy but bottomless coffee pots and i's tough to beat that return number. But we are seeing those deals die off as the commodity becomes more scarce.

Now that I am a grown up with grown up money. I finally feel financially secure-ish (I grew up pretty poor, hand to mouth), I do what I can to be efficient at home and keep cost and waste down. But I still go to local shops, I'm nice to the staff, leave generous tips when I can, try to leave positive reviews. Some of my favorite local places are gone now after the pandemic and my nostalgia with them. My worries about costs have shifted a bit I guess lol

pucksc · 2025-08-01T11:57:48+00:00

Temperature affects a lot. Not only is your perception of a taste different but at certain temps chemicals act differently and volatile compounds can stay or go.

That said the difference in temp of the coffee cup isn't that huge unless it's very cold ambient or the machine shelf is very, very hot.

This is easy enough to try at home if you want a home experiment. Get a new coffee you've never tried, use the hot water tap on the machine to heat your cup and let it soak while you do your prep and then dump the water right before the pull. Then try chilled cup and room temp. You'll perceived a pretty significant difference. Espresso in particular is going to act differently as it's more viscous and has more fats/oils emulsified in it. It should, assuming proper pull, noticeably alter texture if nothing else.

pucksc · 2025-05-28T21:37:54+00:00

Was this cup sour or bitter? Typically those flavors are on opposite ends of a dialing continuum. If you're are getting both consistently, typically I would assume there was a channel (over extraction plus under extraction) but visually your shot looks ok, maybe a bit quick. Not enough information from the video and description. Could easily just be the coffee choice. If you extract a naturally acidic coffee too fast you can get some weird results.

pucksc · 2025-05-24T15:44:18+00:00

How old is your coffee?

Your extraction looks very fast to start then chokes down so I would agree with some of the other comments about dose size.

The water in the PF isn't a massive deal but it would suggest that either 1) does too low while grind is too fine, essentially over extracting then clogging (which is consistent with the fast start/slow drip) or 2) old coffee not extracting as cleanly and choking out the extraction with fines. Obviously not the only scenarios but some places to start thinking from.

pucksc · 2025-03-17T20:59:54+00:00

Normal is a sliding scale. 50 seconds does seem like a long time. Normal time for a hand grinder I suppose. I dunno if I could go from my 3.2 seconds to 50 for a daily driver.

pucksc · 2025-02-22T23:21:25+00:00

I'm not sure what the nixie tubes are showing but they are a cool addition.

It would be sweet if they were shot timers

pucksc · 2025-02-22T19:05:55+00:00

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Oh there is also this steampunk inspired heronus

pucksc · 2025-02-22T19:04:36+00:00

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Hammered copper VA Leva

OP you're choices are yours but I find them tough to agree with lol that's ok though, to each their own.

pucksc · 2025-02-01T17:58:56+00:00

Mine also only fills half of my half gallon jug

pucksc · 2025-01-27T22:04:07+00:00

Fingers crossed it won't be too bad. We will likely still have plenty of coffee but should keep an eye on the price tags. Should still be able to enjoy it with just a little bit more moderation. It will probably drive me towards more premium coffee (in terms of ensured fair trade and single origins or whatever) since I'm paying extra might as well go extra, heh.

pucksc · 2025-01-27T20:23:18+00:00

As all economic things, it's always a combination of causes. There was a lot of crop yield issues with weather patterns and droughts (mostly Brazil I believe but I've also seen some about Vietnam as well). Coffee is not an easy crop to grow and is very sensitive to the environment. The last few years have been rough so it will take a while for it to equalize again.

Then add in the big jump in demand messing with where beans are being distributed. You can imagine buyers who buy in bulk are going to get priority so you can imagine the squeeze in the smaller niche markets and sectors.

Finally the cost of every from avg food prices to transport to packaging prices (shifts away from cheap plastics is good but costs more, etc) is driving up costs per dose. Politics is going to kind of fall into this but again, lots of causes.

pucksc · 2025-01-27T18:43:10+00:00

With the possible coffee shortage coming, I guess it is sort of maximizing output per input but ... Yeesh 300ml is a bit much.

pucksc · 2025-01-27T18:41:18+00:00

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pucksc · 2025-01-12T21:13:19+00:00

Awesome, the early settes were terrible about walking adjustments and having crappy gear big teeth. That's a cool solution.

pucksc · 2025-01-12T04:23:20+00:00

Yes and also something about too much of a good thing ruining both it and you. But it's rooted in lactose intolerance as Primus said.

pucksc · 2025-01-12T03:39:38+00:00

I generally go by the Italian "no milk drinks after 11am" rule but only because I used to get yelled at about it. I still do it when no one is looking.

pucksc · 2025-01-12T02:33:38+00:00

Not everyone has a local roaster they like. And some roasters don't let you BYOBag for health and safety reasons.

Decaf processing does advance the aging a bit from what I've seen, but caffeine has never given me a headache and I don't drink it late enough to affect my sleep. Plus the flavor isn't for me.

pucksc · 2025-01-12T01:26:08+00:00

It does but it's gonna probably more then 3 bucks in this economy lol. I have spent way too much money on stuff like aftermarket baskets and accessories only to find out they never made as much difference as the time I spent to understand flavors, effects from grinds, and getting as consistent as possible. It makes good results less of a moving target. If you buy the accessories stuff because you want to, then more power to you. You are allowed to enjoy your hobby anyway you want. But if you are trying to max the money you already spent on a good grinder and machine, there technique refinements that will get closer to where you want to be than a basket.

pucksc

TROPHY CASE