Blog

  • Five accessories worth buying, and three that are desk jewelry.

    GEAR · BUY / SKIP Espresso accessories come in two kinds: tools, and things that photograph well next to tools. We’ll sort them so you don’t have to. Five things we’d actually buy, and three we’d leave in the cart. The skip list is opinion, with reasons. Plenty of smart people own all three and…

  • Descale the machine before you buy a new one.

    MAINTENANCE · BEFORE YOU SHOP Your machine isn’t dying. It’s wearing a little limestone overcoat. Take it off before you write the eulogy. When a machine gets slow, weak, or quiet in the wrong way, people start shopping. Before you do, check whether it just needs descaling. It’s cheaper than a new machine by roughly…

  • Retention: the gram of coffee your grinder keeps as a hostage.

    GRINDER TALK · HOSTAGE SITUATION Somewhere inside your grinder is coffee from Tuesday. It would like to be included in Thursday’s shot. That’s retention. Ground coffee that goes into the grinder and doesn’t come out with the rest. It sits in the burr chamber, the chute, the corners. Then one day it leaves, mixed into…

  • What ‘espresso-capable’ means when a brand is stretching it.

    MACHINES · READING THE BOX “Espresso-capable” is doing the same job as “beach-adjacent.” Technically true. Bring shoes. The phrase shows up on grinders and machines alike. Sometimes it’s honest and useful. Sometimes it means “we tried it once and nothing caught fire.” Here’s how to tell which one you’re looking at, using nothing but what…

  • Single dose, explained without the sermon.

    GRINDER TALK · WORKFLOW Single dosing means weighing your beans before you grind them. That’s it. That’s the whole religion, minus the robes and the subreddit. You’ll see people talk about single dosing like it’s a lifestyle. It isn’t. It’s a workflow. Some people love it. Some people try it for a week and go…

  • The $650 starter stack that does not embarrass you.

    MACHINES · STARTER STACK · $600–750 This is the stack for people who want real espresso and would also like to keep paying rent. Nothing in it needs an apology, a mod kit, or a forum account. Three things. A machine, a grinder that can actually do espresso, and a scale. That’s the whole list.…

  • Blade grinder vs burr grinder, told by someone who is tired of this argument.

    GRINDER TALK · AN OLD ARGUMENT Every few months someone asks if a blade grinder is fine for espresso. It is fine for cumin. It is fine for ending the conversation. Short answer: no. Long answer: still no, but with reasons. Here are the reasons, so you can send this link and go back to…

  • Your espresso machine is not the problem. Your grinder is.

    GRINDER TALK · THE RULE Your espresso machine has been blamed for crimes it did not commit. The grinder was at the scene the whole time, holding a bag of dust. Here is how it usually goes. The shot runs fast and sour. Or it chokes and tastes like a burnt tire. You open a…