Articles from this Category
April 28, 2016
Back when I was a dirt dweller, I used to buy coffee beans from this little warehouse in Oakland. The company, Sweet Maria’s, was owned and operated by a guy who personally flew around the world, visiting plantations, sampling coffee beans at the source, and then buying small batches from the best of them. I have […]
September 20, 2013
Coffee is very important to us here on Convivia and we’ve expended quite a bit of time and energy, ensuring that we always have good coffee to drink. When we left the US we were aware that AMPs were king and decided to play it safe with a hand grinder. For the most part that […]
December 9, 2012
A double espresso is 15 grams of uniformly ground bean, 9 bars of pressure at the group head, and a 30 second pull at 92ºC (±2º). If you have ever stood by my side as I pulled a shot, you have heard this stated as fact. I suspect on some Platonic level it is fact. […]
November 20, 2011
For the last year or so Victoria and I have been harboring a secret desire. We hoped to combine our love of coffee and our new nomadic lifestyle and create from the union a more perfect coffee. Over the last week that dream has slowly become a reality, but it has been a long and […]
July 2, 2011
I love my Aeropress. If I could work two at once I would buy a second one. It makes great coffee, and it cleans up easily (read: less water). Consequentially, I had already elected to bring it along on our trip as our primary brewing device. I had resigned myself to it’s one shortcoming, the consumable […]
December 21, 2010
They say that “Perfection is the Enemy of Done.” I guess I am my own worst enemy. When it comes to espresso, margaritas, and love I will not accept failure, half measure or even a half stop below perfection. I have spent years on my espresso; working and saving to buy better equipment; laboring over […]
April 24, 2010
Back in our wild youth we had this neighbor (Douglas Robbins) who was getting into producing documentaries. Before he moved on he made this video staring (amongst others) us. In case you don’t know by watching, its farcical… though Vick can make 16 different muffins without processed flour. [vimeo]http://vimeo.com/11192361[/vimeo]
September 27, 2009
I replace my dispersion screen every couple of months and I’m always disgusted by what I find on the other side of it. The screens and gaskets don’t cost much, but I always drag my heels because getting the darn things back in is just a tremendous pain in the butt.