The Coffee (and tea!) thread - and you thought audiophiles were finicky :-)

Much prefer a cup of Tea myself :slightly_smiling_face:

I have to say this is the approach I’m taking at the moment, albeit with Clever Dripper rather than Hario/Kalita (that I had to google!). My scales are also a bit suspect so maybe an upgrade needed there. Kettle - I’ll stick to boiling my normal one and leaving it to cool slightly (I know, heathen). Could be tempted by a better grinder though - edit - I am tempted by that Eureka Mignon.

Oh dear, the bug is biting.

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What are you like?!!

Yes. In my teenage years I was so happy with the little lab power supply that I could afford, and at a science club I played with signal generator and oscilloscope, so now, every now and then I buy a vintage signal generator, power supply or big heavy short wave radio receiver if I think it has a nice design. These devices, especially the radios, were incredibly expensive in the 1950s and they are dead cheap nowadays. Amazing that those devices over half a century old are still in good condition whereas our smart phones are practically obsolete in 5 years.

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Ralph

Fair point about tea. So I changed the thread title - broad church and all that :slight_smile:

And interesting about the migraines. I’ve been warned once or twice about too much caffeine given my tea and coffee drinking. Largely the reason I drink quite a bit of decaf tea now (so I don’t have to cut back on the coffee).

Moderating eating and drinking was certainly a big part of sorting the migraine problem I had a few years back. My only thought with yours is whether going from lots to zero in one go was too much of a shock for the system? Anyway, tea and coffee is enough for this thread, maybe healthcare advice best left out of it!

It’s (in my view) the best bang for the buck grinder in that price category. My girl friend has one and she’s happy with it. The Niche grinder is an alternative but more hassle with single dosing.

I have the clever drip and of course Aeropress. Great gadges!
But you should definitely invest in a goose neck kettle when you upgrade to pour over, With the goose neck you control the water flow, thus making a better coffee. No easy way to perfection (like HiFi gear?) :wink:

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I’m beginning to regret starting this thread - purely on cost grounds that is

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On the migraine front, I think its just a case of not going mad e.g. loads of cups for me. When on course, a few years ago, I met a neurologist (maybe!?!, who knows, I can’t remember breakfast) and she said a strong cup of coffee and two paracetomol did as much good as alot of the mainstream medication. So, on that one sole conversation, I have based all my future coffee consumption!

As Tea is now included, I tend to have 3 cups of Tea (leaves, of course) out of a pot and one coffee. I will have a look through the coffee company recommendations, but any tea recommendations (where to get leaves) for the UK would also be really useful.

Let me clarify. I gave up the caffeine over the course of a week and suffered a few very nasty migraines in the process. Once I was caffeine free my migraines did improve for several months and slowly returned to their chronic state. Chronic migraines mean over 20 migraines per month, which at that time I treated with various triptans. And as I said once I realized that there seemed to be no difference between my caffeine free (aka miserable no coffee life) and a fully leaded coffee filled life, as far my migraines were concerned, I went back to drinking coffee.

Not to derail this great thread I will just add that over the past few years there have been several big advances in the treatment of chronic migraines with the most important being the introduction of an entirely new class of drugs: CGRPR and, I’m happy to say, they are total game changers. Just wish that they had been developed 30 years ago but late than never!

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The only coffee I have had in a Starbucks is a Flat White which is how I got into them. The on ly one that tastes like coffe and not coffee flavoured milk. Their pods and beans are good. Especially the pods(for Nespressso).

Costa drown everything in milk. I get a decent one in my ,ocal but only because I taught them how I liked it. And because I have way less milk, I get 2 for 1:-)

The ultimate test is an espresso and, in my experience, Starbucks espressos are foul: not a hint of sweetness. I bet that very few Starbucks employees have the slightest idea what an espresso should taste like.

I order a cortado. :slight_smile:

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what is that? Assuming our local ever opens up again…

Basically a flat white with less milk!

For your consideration: the espresso machine-powered Roon remote.

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One needs to experience espresso in Italy at one of those ubiquitous espresso bars. Walk up to the bar and say in one’s best Italian accent “Un espresso prego!” The barista will hand you a shot of espresso with no milk or sugar which you then down in one quick gulp and then you go on with your day with that extra bit of caffeine energy. As I like to say more like a drug than a drink.

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To Joel:

Oh right! As i can’t safely do it now, I taught my husband, verbally, how to make a coffee to my liking. He does it better than I did and it took a while to realise he is making a flat white without the fancy pattern!

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As I student, I visited the Fiat Avio aerospace factory near Turin (Torino :wink: :it:). It was during a 40ºC/104ºF heatwave and they’d just about deathed us by PowerPoint when an URN of espresso was wheeled into the room. The afternoon wasn’t a problem.

Oh, good! I can post more tea images. :wink:

While out wandering, I keep an isobutane Jetboil and fixings in the truck. Nothing after a chilly dawn hike warms better than a hot cup of tea.

If I’m on a day hike, I pack along a small twig stove that also works with an alcohol burner or isobutane. It takes a while, but is an enjoyable and relaxing way to take a break.

This is my 5" stove. I have a smaller pocket version as well. While at the opposite end of the spectrum as the fantastic systems y’all have, it still yields a satisfying cup and a warm belly. :slight_smile:

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I’m a walker too - aiming to do 1000 miles total this year again. Because I can and a target gets me off by backside. Have to say I’ve been thinking about taking a flask of coffee out with me. The alternative being to find a nice cafe at the end of the walk. Which given lockdown and walking from home isn’t too difficult these days - Chez Phil does a half decent brew :slight_smile:

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