This is a collection of collections of stories. I have stories on espresso, work, school, myself, my family, LEGO’s, and Photography. I hope this page helps navigating my list of stories.
A Collection of Espresso Articles
This is a collection of collections of my articles on different topics, each with their own splash page.
A Summary of the Staccato Lifestyle
Measuring Coffee Grind Distribution
Espresso Baskets and Related Topics
Transparent Portafilter Experiments
The sudo-staccato technique is a great substitute for an actual staccato espresso shot, but I have had difficulty increasing the extraction yield. I’ve been cutting the spent puck and measuring the left over coffee, which has shown that the coarse and mid-layers are extracting less than the finer layer. As a result, I’ve been looking at how to design this shot to be better, and the result is the Double-Double Sudo-Staccato. It would be a Double-Double Staccato if I used a sifter to make the two different layers.
First, I started to modify the grind size for the mid and…
There is a theory in espresso that very fine particles (fines) migrate during a shot which can then potentially clog the filter or go into the cup. However, I don’t think fines migrate, and I think I have also found out why.
In my previous experiment to explore this concept using chalk, I didn’t find any evidence that fines migrated. However, I didn’t have a great explanation for why they didn’t migrate, but I did not observe the phenomena.
Even before this chalk experiment, I had evidence that fine migration didn’t impact taste or the filter based on the existence…
When I bought a Niche, I didn’t think I would end up this deep down the rabbit hole, but here we are. I’ve been designing some layered shots made easier by an electric grinder, and I wanted to have a better understanding of how grind setting affects particle distribution.
Typically, these types of curves will compare grinders at one setting. However, I wanted to characterize grinder performance beyond one setting. I’ll start with 5 settings that are pretty close to each other for espresso, and then I’ll look at much coarser settings.
I got a Acaia Pyxis scale a few months ago, and I started logging shots. I wanted one for two reasons: more accurately measure the output weight and examine flow rate. My Kim Express doesn’t have much room for a scale, so I needed something small.
After pulling over 200 shots with this scale (232 to be exact), I’ve compiled some data to help understand espresso. However, I didn’t find any metric from the flow or continuous weight data that was a great predictor of performance. …
A few months ago, James Hoffman started a discussion about re-grinding coffee beans. The aim was to grind coffee coarse and then regrind the coarse grounds finer. I initially did this, but I didn’t see a difference. However, part of the original challenge was having a manual grinder, which makes this type of experiment challenging.
While looking at particle distributions, I wanted to have another look to understand if regrinding changed the particle distribution and how.
I started with a Niche grinder, and I looked at Setting 50 for the coarse setting. This already had a very bimodal distribution. I…
In the coffee community, there has been a discussion for years about coffee grinders, in particular, flat burr vs conical burr. There hasn’t been a decisive answer, but many moons ago (2007), on the Home Barista forum, a review was done for multiple grinders.
However, the review is split over multiple posts in their forum, and the end results aren’t obvious. I am particularly interested in the data in terms of grinders compared to one another. Even their analysis comparing grinders is split over multiple pages of a single thread in text representation only (no charts).
Two things happened recently: I bought a Niche Zero, and I developed an image based method for particle distribution measurement. As I was cleaning out my Rok grinder for a well-deserved retirement or relocation, I thought I could easily do a comparison amongst grinders across a few grind settings to see how they perform.
I have four grinders, listed in order of purchase:
I bought a Hario grinder at first because I was being cheap, and I didn’t realize it wasn’t a good grinder for espresso. Then I got a Rok, and it’s been my mainstay…
I used to remember the old days with nostalgia a mix of nostalgia, regret, and a longing for the best things of days past.
Now, I’m sad that I can’t remember so well anymore.
My adolescence was 20 years ago, and when I try to remember, I feel like I’m grasping for straws.
I can see the people, but their faces are blurred.
I can see the memories, but they aren’t videos anymore, just still images.
I can see the pictures, but I can’t feel the emotions.
I feel melancholy, not for wanting to re-live or re-feel that past, but…
I’m in love with my Wife, my Kids, Espresso, Data Science, tomatoes, cooking, engineering, talking, family, Paris, and Italy, not necessarily in that order.