Post by rocl on Jun 29, 2018 20:35:41 GMT 12
with hi-fi i am prepared/able to spend significant amounts of money for what others term incremental improvements. if it's "better" it's worth it. and, in my case, the same applies to coffee.
a long time ago nescafe instant with 43 beans was as good as it got. then along came cappaccino. who said religion does no good? those monks were definitely doing god's work. but that was only attainable at coffee lounges. do they still have coffee lounges?
so at home i took another step on the ladder and bought moccona instant. the jars it came in were pretty good too. then i discovered the plunger. oh the sophistication. and flavour too! it just didn't come better than this. so gooood!
unless you went somewhere there was a real machine. but you had to go out for that. it was unattainable at home. those little stovetops weren't bad either. "real" italian and even turkish coffee. woohoo!
drip coffee through a filter - even the cafes used them.
and then there was a breakthrough. prosumer machines headed by the illustrious Rocket. amazing - real coffee in your own home. e61 - magical sounding and almost as good as... or even better than some cafes. it certainly didn't get any better than this.
in the internet age the past was being rediscovered and people on specialist hi-fi and coffee specific web-sites were spouting forth about all sorts of long forgotten wonders. and on home-barista i discovered a 1950's era gem. the leak 20 of the coffee world the Arrarex Caravel. a little hand lever machine made in milan in the 50's and capable of .......miracles.
so onto ebay italia and hey presto - in the wink of an eye and a paypal transaction of many euro i was the proud owner of this little wonder. that plunger is out of here! and it was good. oh yeah, for 2yrs i sipped 15-30ml of god's nectar each morning and evening.
but you know how it is. you have a tt or amp that does the right stuff, day in day out, but.... what is that they are all talking about? what am i missing out on? do i want a latte every now and again maybe? are those e61's all they are cracked up to be? hmmm.
so, courtesy of trademe, a Rocket arrives on my doorstep, and this frothy milk is not so bad. and the espresso is ok too. so into the bottom cupboard goes the caravel. and there it stays.
until a wet summer's day when i decide to look at that thread on homebarista again. they are still raving about it, and it's still raining so, why not? i went to the bottom cupboard and pulled it out and...
what had i been thinking? SS and valves is how i might put it. boy had i missed those subtle flavours. nuances too! and i'm back in, but hey. some are saying the original Vam model is the best. and isn't that what i want? the best? so ebay italia here i am again. more euro's via paypal. the caravel on trademe and i even make on it! yay!
and "they" were right. the vam is so much more solid and the coffee is better than ever. well, i think it is.
and not only that,if you are going to apply the pressure by hand, why not grind the beans by hand too? what's this Pharos they are all talking about? the ultimate grinder at a budget price? crowd sourced design. wow! gotta have it. No. 171 on its bum. early adopter! woohoo!
the ideal combo. i can make an espresso on the day of the earthquakes without electricity. now you can't do that with a rocket and a mazzer, can you? no sirreeee! it wasn't great, but not much else was that day.
a long time ago nescafe instant with 43 beans was as good as it got. then along came cappaccino. who said religion does no good? those monks were definitely doing god's work. but that was only attainable at coffee lounges. do they still have coffee lounges?
so at home i took another step on the ladder and bought moccona instant. the jars it came in were pretty good too. then i discovered the plunger. oh the sophistication. and flavour too! it just didn't come better than this. so gooood!
unless you went somewhere there was a real machine. but you had to go out for that. it was unattainable at home. those little stovetops weren't bad either. "real" italian and even turkish coffee. woohoo!
drip coffee through a filter - even the cafes used them.
and then there was a breakthrough. prosumer machines headed by the illustrious Rocket. amazing - real coffee in your own home. e61 - magical sounding and almost as good as... or even better than some cafes. it certainly didn't get any better than this.
in the internet age the past was being rediscovered and people on specialist hi-fi and coffee specific web-sites were spouting forth about all sorts of long forgotten wonders. and on home-barista i discovered a 1950's era gem. the leak 20 of the coffee world the Arrarex Caravel. a little hand lever machine made in milan in the 50's and capable of .......miracles.
so onto ebay italia and hey presto - in the wink of an eye and a paypal transaction of many euro i was the proud owner of this little wonder. that plunger is out of here! and it was good. oh yeah, for 2yrs i sipped 15-30ml of god's nectar each morning and evening.
but you know how it is. you have a tt or amp that does the right stuff, day in day out, but.... what is that they are all talking about? what am i missing out on? do i want a latte every now and again maybe? are those e61's all they are cracked up to be? hmmm.
so, courtesy of trademe, a Rocket arrives on my doorstep, and this frothy milk is not so bad. and the espresso is ok too. so into the bottom cupboard goes the caravel. and there it stays.
until a wet summer's day when i decide to look at that thread on homebarista again. they are still raving about it, and it's still raining so, why not? i went to the bottom cupboard and pulled it out and...
what had i been thinking? SS and valves is how i might put it. boy had i missed those subtle flavours. nuances too! and i'm back in, but hey. some are saying the original Vam model is the best. and isn't that what i want? the best? so ebay italia here i am again. more euro's via paypal. the caravel on trademe and i even make on it! yay!
and "they" were right. the vam is so much more solid and the coffee is better than ever. well, i think it is.
and not only that,if you are going to apply the pressure by hand, why not grind the beans by hand too? what's this Pharos they are all talking about? the ultimate grinder at a budget price? crowd sourced design. wow! gotta have it. No. 171 on its bum. early adopter! woohoo!
the ideal combo. i can make an espresso on the day of the earthquakes without electricity. now you can't do that with a rocket and a mazzer, can you? no sirreeee! it wasn't great, but not much else was that day.