The Reading Room

To plumb or not to plumb.
To plumb or not to plumb. One dream I have always had is of a plumbed in espresso machine.  Most espresso machines that the average user might have at home have a tank that must be filled manually.  If you...
Another Machine Problem : Nuova Simonelli Musica Pump
I have blogged about my aquisition of the new Nuova Simonelli Musica here: http://www.roaste.com/CoffeeBlogs/sontondaman/Nuova-Simonelli-my-new-toy . It had been great so far up to about one month ago. I had been a great steamer, producing luscious milk and very smooth espresso shots, definitely...
What I am drinking now – Paradise roaster’s Brazilian espresso blend.
What I am drinking now – Paradise roaster’s Brazilian espresso blend.  Interestingly enough I ordered this from Roaste and as I was looking to learn more about it I checked out the Paradise website.  While you can order it here...
Irish Captain
At our brewing laboratory, often referred to as my kitchen, my small team tries to find unique and exciting ways of making cold brew better. We laugh, we cry, and sometimes we succeed. This latest experiment is a simple change...
First look: LAMILL Coffee, Baltimore
The other day (11/14, to be exact), I cleared my morning and headed downtown to check out the grand opening of the new Four Seasons hotel, the main selling point of which for me is the shiny new LAMILL coffee...
Disrespecting the Brew
Hey guys, just got back from a trip to Chicago and I had something happen there that kinda annoyed me. I went to the Navy Pier and saw a coffee shop there with a sign exclaiming that they used Intelligentsia...
Chocolate
I've owned my espresso machine for a few months now but I didn't try making a mocha until last week. I had some random chocolates hanging out in the kitchen so I decided to try to make a good  mocha. I...
Espresso machine issues - false pressure
False pressure Sometimes when you turn on an espresso machine it heats up, but not to the temperature it is supposed to get to.  On a heat exchanger, for example, the steam boiler (the only boiler) may heat up to...
Timers on espresso machines
A big prosumer or commercial espresso machine takes between 30 minutes to 90 minutes to reach equilibrium where it is truly ready to go, much longer than just the time it takes to heat up the boiler because the huge...
The Ponte Vecchio Lusso's Woe
I have blogged in the past about my great experience with the Ponte Vecchio, a lever espresso machine that  I have for almost two years. Before owning the Ponte Vicchio, I was using the Pavoni Euripicolla as my main espresso...
Serrano Social Club - Modesto CA
http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lm1azgs7wy1qzx47co1_400.png" style="border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; width: 357px; height: 461px; float: left; margin: 5px 10px;" />One of the most exciting trends in coffee for me is the unexpected and one of those is little shops popping up in places you would...
Help Me Make the Holidays Happy for My Son-in-Law
http://www.coffeebreak2day.com/images/cara-jordan.jpg" width="299" vspace="5" hspace="5" height="168" border="0" align="left" title="daughter and son-in-law" alt="daughter and son-in-law" />I'm looking for help making mother-in-law of the year, and the ROASTe community is ideally positioned to help me out. Two years ago, my beautiful daughter married...
Whoops, My Bad
They say confession is good for the soul – I am not sure I agree but why not give it a try anyway. Have you ever done something fairly absent minded or embarrassing involving coffee? I have. Among the silly...
I Was First!
This is so exciting! I was the first on line for Black Friday! It was incredible too!  The clerk at Wilco Hess called the police since he got nervous.  He said I freaked him out because I had been standing...
What is the rub? Coffee, of course!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Also known as  What is the rub?  Coffee, of course! Today I am cooking dinner and finally got a moment for a break to rest.  Our dinner is inspired a little bit by one of the recipes...
What I am drinking now - Paradise Nuevo Espresso
What I am drinking now - Paradise Nuevo Espresso Paradise has always been one of my favorite roasters.  One of my favorites of their blends is the Classico and Nuevo is one of my wife’s favorites.  I recently ordered three...
I fell for "gourmet" coffee from Starbucks!
Ever since I started making and drink coffee at home, I rarely drink coffee anywhere else, esprecially places such as Starbucks. Once in a while, when I go to Inteligentsia or Metropolis to get some of their freshly roasted bean,...
For Thanksgiving Day – How About a Little Coffee in Your Beer?
Happy Thanksgiving to you all! In honor of the day, here’s a story of thanks that involves coffee. How many ways can you say thanks with coffee? If you’re a New Zealander rugby fan, you might just add it to...
Coffee Adventures
Who's ready for dinner?! Southern Pecan is ALL set to enjoy her Thanksgiving Feast!  Dressed in her everyday best and shining so bright, she's not worried about portion control for this holiday! Now... only a few hours left until the...
Josuma Coffee - where Rocket Science Meets Espresso
/wp/wp-content/uploads/files/uploads/dsc_0012_mgs_resized_and_cleaned_comp_110811.jpg" align="right" height="259" hspace="10" width="220" />Where does Rocket Science meet Espresso? In Josuma Coffee, recently added to ROASTe. The owner of Josuma coffee is Dr. Joseph John,  a former nuclear scientist before opening Josuma Coffee.  From talking with  him over...
Rats on Drugs: Coffee Helps Rats Remember Where They Put Their Cheese
Yes, it has finally been proven that two cups of coffee a day help rats to develop the spatial part of their brain. The study was written up originally in Nature Neuroscience and reported in Science News online. The application...