Re: Alt.coffee is dead; long live alt.coffee (somewhere else)

In <rw1Pj.41678$r76.24239@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, on Mon, 21 Apr 2008
10:31:01 -0400, John Heubel, jsheubel@xxxxxxxxx wrote:

Excellent thoughts.

Thanks.

I mainly lurk, and recently started just scanning some of the titles before
deleting when the *stats* posts started showing up stating how the forum was
dying.

Quantity doesn't necessarily imply quality; often
the opposite.

I started roasting several years back and getting into
better/fresher coffee and found this site, and while there was much good
info, I personally found some of the posts too elitest. What I mean by
that was some of the attitude behind the posts that came across...if you
don't have a Rocky / Silvia combo don't bother...and don't post here since
you obviously aren't sophisticated enough.... I know that's overly
simplistic but at the time there was no way I could afford to spend that
kind of change... on coffee. I know...heresy. ;o).

The process of making espresso is simple and can
be done with just about anything, BUT in order to do it
well, and do it consistently takes an investment. Both
practice and equipment are needed, and generally the
more of one you invest, the less of the other is needed.

Most important is the bean. No matter how much you
spend on equipment or time, a lousy bean and/or a lousy
roast can never get you a good shot.
As important, the grinder. Chunks and dust will
make it impossible to get a decent shot, or even a
passable brew for that matter.
With that basis, as long as your espresso machine
can get you in the neighborhood of 9 bar and 200F, all
the rest is boys and their toys and the quest for the
ultimate shot. Not every coffee lover is driven to
that.

I could get that combo
now, but I still use the Gran Gaggia I rebuilt (Goodwill $6, but with
cracked boiler) and an old Zass grinder.

Yet I bet you still get a better shot at your house
than at Starbucks.

And I realize that groups where newbs show up with the same questions over
and over can get monotonus. rec.crafts.brewing gets newbies all the time.
After reading "...Did I ruin my beer?....What mill should I buy?...."

Should I grow hops? ;-)
After I came back from Germany, it was impossible to
drink what passed for beer in OK (a 3.2 state). I HAD
to brew my own... and all that entails.

for
the past 12 years I don't post as often as I used to there, but it's still
an enjoyable place to go.

Yup. I don't post here nearly as much as I used to,
but I still read every post (except the ones that are
filtered, i.e, a single individual, and many IP blocks
from China, India, Malaysia, etc. posting via google
where all that "replica" garbage comes from).

On another much more active group I read, I just
filter everything from google groups. All the regulars
access via newsreaders, so if a post is from google,
98+% is spam.

usenet is still a great place to hang out.

Absolutely.

.

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