Espresso Enthusiasts

[Scepticalscribe]

Excellent choice to use the Pulp Fiction scene as an analogy to your own taste in coffee and what you choose to stock in your abode.

While - in general - I tend to prefer 'Jackie Brown' (my favourite Quentin Tarantino movie), 'Pulp Fiction' is excellent.

Above all, I love that scene where Tarantino, exasperated at his friends' idiocy in turning up unexpectedly at his home with the bloodied and grisly remains of an accidental murder soaking the back seat of the car, in response to their moronic compliments on the quality of the coffee he serves, proceeds to discuss the quality of his coffee with them in a tone of suppressed rage, all of them aware that the real issue is simply being skirted……

Since I usually get these (by now almost clichéd) compliments on the quality of my coffee, - I have been the coffee maker and aficionado in chateau nous since I was a small kid - I find that scene very funny indeed.

 

[S.B.G]

While - in general - I tend to prefer 'Jackie Brown' (my favourite Quentin Tarantino movie), 'Pulp Fiction' is excellent.

Above all, I love that scene where Tarantino, exasperated at his friends' idiocy in turning up unexpectedly at his home with the bloodied and grisly remains of an accidental murder soaking the back seat of the car, in response to their moronic compliments on the quality of the coffee he serves, proceeds to discuss the quality of his coffee with them in a tone of suppressed rage, all of them aware that the real issue is simply being skirted……

Since I usually get these (by now almost clichéd) compliments on the quality of my coffee, - I have been the coffee maker and aficionado in chateau nous since I was a small kid - I find that scene very funny indeed.

I don't think I've seen Jackie Brown before - I'll have to look that one up.

 

[Kurwenal]

You know, this (awesome) thread always returns to one or more of just a few themes:

1. Freshness is hugely important.

2. Your grinder is hugely important.

3. You can make really good espresso and other types of coffee without spending your life savings.

4. If you enjoy it, that is all that matters. I call this Shrink's Law, and he is right, and I try to resist the temptation to write the law a bit differently ("If you enjoy it, that is all that matters, even if it is disgusting crap that you should be ashamed to drink.").

5. It's the environment, stupid. We always seem to come back to this point. Coffee is social. I think every one of us has said, at some point, that we would rather drink over-roasted, over-extracted shots with friends, than drink a God Shot-1 alone (God Shots are different).

6. I would add this theme: for some, futzing is a fun and necessary part of the espresso experience. There is no separate need to justify why it is important to test whether 202.3 degree water produces a better shot than 202.4 degree water. I think this is a corollary to Shrink's Law.

There you have it. Happiness with Espresso, according to the MacRumors gang.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I don't think I've seen Jackie Brown before - I'll have to look that one up.

SBG: Seriously, it is a class movie. Well, I love it.

Pam Grier - who played the eponymous 'Jackie Brown' was someone whom Quentin Tarantino had always admired a star from the 'blaxploitation' films of the early 70s, but her career had declined; she had done a screen test for one of the (few) female roles in 'Pulp Fiction' and apparently, Tarantino had promised her a suitable role in the future and delivered with 'Jackie Brown'.

Anyway, what is there not to like? A movie with a female lead, a movie with a middle-aged female lead, a movie with a black middle-aged female lead……

And she is…..to use of the few American nouns that I love…..seriously badass.

The movie sports an excellent cast, (Robert de Niro, Bridget Fonda, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton among others), and the nicest middle aged relationship I have seen depicted on screen in a very long time; you get sick of seeing lovelorn horny teenagers finding themselves - well, I do, anyway.

Go watch it and tell me what you think…..

You know, this (awesome) thread always returns to one or more of just a few themes:

1. Freshness is hugely important.

2. Your grinder is hugely important.

3. You can make really good espresso and other types of coffee without spending your life savings.

4. If you enjoy it, that is all that matters. I call this Shrink's Law, and he is right, and I try to resist the temptation to write the law a bit differently ("If you enjoy it, that is all that matters, even if it is disgusting crap that you should be ashamed to drink.").

5. It's the environment, stupid. We always seem to come back to this point. Coffee is social. I think every one of us has said, at some point, that we would rather drink over-roasted, over-extracted shots with friends, than drink a God Shot-1 alone (God Shots are different).

6. I would add this theme: for some, futzing is a fun and necessary part of the espresso experience. There is no separate need to justify why it is important to test whether 202.3 degree water produces a better shot than 202.4 degree water. I think this is a corollary to Shrink's Law.

There you have it. Happiness with Espresso, according to the MacRumors gang.

Advice best inscribed on tablets of stone, for us to ponder and add to…….thank you, Kurwenal. Great advice, as always. Actually, I have been looking forward to arriving home and sampling some (seriously good) coffee…..and dropping by into this thread is always a warm and welcoming experience.

Thank you, one and all, for helping to make every visit to this thread such an unalloyed and absolute pleasure.

 

[S.B.G]

SBG: Seriously, it is a class movie. Well, I love it.

Go watch it and tell me what you think…..

I shall.

..you get sick of seeing lovelorn horny teenagers finding themselves - well, I do, anyway.

Yeah, I don't watch those types either; but Shrink might enjoy them, I don't know.

 

[Shrink]

You know, this (awesome) thread always returns to one or more of just a few themes:

1. Freshness is hugely important.

2. Your grinder is hugely important.

3. You can make really good espresso and other types of coffee without spending your life savings.

4. If you enjoy it, that is all that matters. I call this Shrink's Law, and he is right, and I try to resist the temptation to write the law a bit differently ("If you enjoy it, that is all that matters, even if it is disgusting crap that you should be ashamed to drink.").

5. It's the environment, stupid. We always seem to come back to this point. Coffee is social. I think every one of us has said, at some point, that we would rather drink over-roasted, over-extracted shots with friends, than drink a God Shot-1 alone (God Shots are different).

6. I would add this theme: for some, futzing is a fun and necessary part of the espresso experience. There is no separate need to justify why it is important to test whether 202.3 degree water produces a better shot than 202.4 degree water. I think this is a corollary to Shrink's Law.

There you have it. Happiness with Espresso, according to the MacRumors gang.

As always...well done, Mate! You've captured the themes and leitmotifs of this thread perfectly.

I'm flattered at the eponymous law...and enjoy it more than I should.

I shall.

Yeah, I don't watch those types either; but Shrink might enjoy them, I don't know.

And you, as always, have captured my taste in films. Give me a good, solid, Aston Kutcher film every time...and I'm a subimely happy man.

BTW: A very strong second vote for Jackie Brown. Terrific cast, wonderful acting, superior script...a definite winner!

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I shall.



Yeah, I don't watch those types either; but Shrink might enjoy them, I don't know.

Excellent. I look forward to reading your thoughts.

And, ah, on Shrink's possible admiration for teenage dross……….well, yes, I can see where you are coming from and what you are doing. And yes, I am laughing.

As always...well done, Mate! You've captured the themes and leitmotifs of this thread perfectly.

I'm flattered at the eponymous law...and enjoy it more than I should.



And you, as always, have captured my taste in films. Give me a good, solid, Aston Kutcher film every time...and I'm a subimely happy man.

BTW: A very strong second vote for Jackie Brown. Terrific cast, wonderful acting, superior script...a definite winner!

I'll pass over your entirely implausible affection for Anton Kutcher, and simply grin to myself at the thought that you share my strong liking for Jackie Brown. Great cast, script, acting, story. Great soundtrack, too (which I have on my iPod).

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Oh, yes. A coffee update.

After today's trauma, (and those who know me a bit better know that this is a word I do not use lightly: Indeed, I have never once used it in connection with some of the strange, weird and challenging places where I work, and have worked over the past twenty years…..it only gets used for serious stuff. Such as coffee deprivation….)

Anyway, after the chilling horror of finding my coffee cupboards almost bare, I have placed an order - a fresh order - with Intelligentsia……..

You do not want to know the shipping cost. No, you don't. And don't ask. Suffice to say, that any sacrifice to ensure a steady supply of 'gourmet' (back to Tarantino again, when his character pronounces it 'gour-mé' splitting the two syllables) coffee is ready, permanently, to hand……..is money I consider well spent….

 

[Shrink]

Oh, yes. A coffee update.

After today's trauma, (and those who know me a bit better know that this is a word I do not use lightly: Indeed, I have never once used it in connection with some of the strange, weird and challenging places where I work, and have worked over the past twenty years…..it only gets used for serious stuff. Such as coffee deprivation….)

Anyway, after the chilling horror of finding my coffee cupboards almost bare, I have placed an order - a fresh order - with Intelligentsia……..

You do not want to know the shipping cost. No, you don't. And don't ask. Suffice to say, that any sacrifice to ensure a steady supply of 'gourmet' (back to Tarantino again, when his character pronounces it 'gour-mé' splitting the two syllables) coffee is ready, permanently, to hand……..is money I consider well spent….

No need to ask the shipping costs to get it to you NOW...and anything spent is well spent.

There are things that can wait...and things that can't!

 

[BenTrovato]

Aaahh...a man after my own heart!

If you don't mind my asking, what kind of equipment do you use in your espresso set up?

Haha very funny! I have a Delonghi Gran Dama which took me a year to finally get the right bean/grind settings and now it's pretty good. I also have a Nespresso Delonghi which some people I know tend to like but it's my least favorite. And of course the classic Bialetti which if you have great beans, it's tough to beat the old fashioned way . You?

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Haha very funny! I have a Delonghi Gran Dama which took me a year to finally get the right bean/grind settings and now it's pretty good. I also have a Nespresso Delonghi which some people I know tend to like but it's my least favorite. And of course the classic Bialetti which if you have great beans, it's tough to beat the old fashioned way . You?

Another vote for the Bialetti; I now have two, and, on mornings when I am in a thoughtful, contemplative, unhurried, philosophical mood, there is nothing better on earth than preparing a pot of espresso and, sitting, waiting, while listening out for that wonderful strangled gurgling sound which tells you that the stove has done its job and that the espresso is now ready to drink....

One is the standard somewhat battered, much used, and dearly loved traditional model; my godmother (who had been my mother's best friend from boarding school decades earlier) brought it back from Italy some time ago, and made a gift of it to me (knowing that I love coffee) around two decades ago.

The second was a gift from an effervescent and wonderfully warm Italian police general to me earlier this year, after I gave a series of briefings and talks to both him and his office staff; again, the topic of coffee had come up, and my tendency to find my way to, and be located in, that establishment's espresso bars had become legendary in my short stay there. However, that - a smaller (three cup) espresso pot, is still in my place of work and hasn't been used yet.

 

[Shrink]

Haha very funny! I have a Delonghi Gran Dama which took me a year to finally get the right bean/grind settings and now it's pretty good. I also have a Nespresso Delonghi which some people I know tend to like but it's my least favorite. And of course the classic Bialetti which if you have great beans, it's tough to beat the old fashioned way . You?

Our dear friend, Scepticalscribe, has a mad love for her Bialettis. You have just made a wonderful friend by just mentioning it!

I have an HG-one grinder and a Londinium I lever machine. I am in love with both, to a point of embarrassment! I only drink espresso, so I have no other production equipment. I also have a Gene Cafe coffee roaster as I roast my own beans.


(No comments from the peanut gallery...he ASKED!)

 

[Kurwenal]

I only drink espresso

Oh, really?

 

[Shrink]

Oh, really?

In the non-alcoholic, thread appropriate, coffee related category...

 

[S.B.G]

The Stumptown coffee is due to arrive Tuesday via FedEx. I wish it were here now though. My Tim Horton's is at the bottom of the container and it's noticeably stale to drink now.

 

[Shrink]

The Stumptown coffee is due to arrive Tuesday via FedEx. I wish it were here now though. My Tim Horton's is at the bottom of the container and it's noticeably stale to drink now. Image

Here's an idea...haul your tushy out the door and buy some more Horton's coffee so you're not drinking crud for the next 4 days!

Please, don't thank me for the advice...I live to serve!

 

[S.B.G]

Here's an idea...haul your tushy out the door and buy some more Horton's coffee so you're not drinking crud for the next 4 days!

Please, don't thank me for the advice...I live to serve!

Being that I only drink one or two cups per day. Having two fresh bags of coffee on hand will ensure that more of it will end up going stale. I don't like that idea and I don't like wasting food or coffee.

I'll just have to suffer....

 

[Shrink]

Being that I only drink one or two cups per day. Having two fresh bags of coffee on hand will ensure that more of it will end up going stale. I don't like that idea and I don't like wasting food or coffee.

I'll just have to suffer....

OK...I'll buy that reasoning.

You're a brave man...4 days of...ah...not so great coffee.

 

[S.B.G]

OK...I'll buy that reasoning.

You're a brave man...4 days of...ah...not so great coffee.

I also have Liquid Amber on hand. I tried it in the french press and the roast was too dark for my liking in this particular brewing process.

I guess I might just have to drink espresso!

 

[Kurwenal]

I also have Liquid Amber on hand.

It would be mui bueno in the Bialetti.

And I think I just butchered at least three languages.

 

[Shrink]

I also have Liquid Amber on hand. I tried it in the french press and the roast was too dark for my liking in this particular brewing process.

I guess I might just have to drink espresso!

Oh...now there's a sacrifice!

Some people, no names, of course, are getting self punitively lazy in their old age!

It would be mui bueno in the Bialetti.

And I think I just butchered at least three languages.

Is that a language I don't know...or is that "muy"?

 

[S.B.G]

It would be mui bueno in the Bialetti.

And I think I just butchered at least three languages.

Oh...now there's a sacrifice!

Some people, no names, of course, are getting self punitively lazy in their old age!

I know, I know, the things I will put myself through for coffee!

 

[Kurwenal]

I know, I know, the things I will put myself through for coffee!

Here, I made you a x2. But then I drank it. Oops.

 

[Shrink]

Here, I made you a x2. But then I drank it. Oops.

Image

... he giveth with one hand, and taketh away with the other...

 

[S.B.G]

Here, I made you a x2. But then I drank it. Oops.

Image

I really appreciate the gesture! But I can hardly fault you for drinking it yourself. That is an issue of restraint above which any mortal is practically incapable of resisting!