After viewing the James Hoffmann Niche grinder review posted by LauriG I picked up on this video also by Hoffmann.
Not sure I'm on board 100% with everything he says, however he has a point, the visual almost romantic interest and excitement of attaining a good pour has to a degree given way to technicalities, this from the video "The way the espresso sort of fell from the spout, it looked so good" we seldom see or hear this sort of enthusiasm any more, cant recall the last time I heard the terms tiger striping, or a pour that flowed like honey.
Its almost as if the quest for the perfect espresso has been overtaken by a quest for technically perfect coffee made with the aid of increasingly complex and more expensive machinery, much of the (passion) has gone, now it seems to be increasingly about bragging rights, i.e. zero retention, variable flow, double boilers, PID's all very arguable I know.
I found the video interesting, will be interesting to hear the views of others.
Not sure I'm on board 100% with everything he says, however he has a point, the visual almost romantic interest and excitement of attaining a good pour has to a degree given way to technicalities, this from the video "The way the espresso sort of fell from the spout, it looked so good" we seldom see or hear this sort of enthusiasm any more, cant recall the last time I heard the terms tiger striping, or a pour that flowed like honey.
Its almost as if the quest for the perfect espresso has been overtaken by a quest for technically perfect coffee made with the aid of increasingly complex and more expensive machinery, much of the (passion) has gone, now it seems to be increasingly about bragging rights, i.e. zero retention, variable flow, double boilers, PID's all very arguable I know.
I found the video interesting, will be interesting to hear the views of others.


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