OT: Share your hobbies beyond being an audiophile

[PeterSt]

11 hours ago, rando said:

$80 was missing a zero at minimum for the grinders I was talking about.

 

Good that you added that ! You were already not taken serious (by me). Not it's OK. 

 

11 hours ago, rando said:

Peter, are you aware that a decaffeinated coffee from Starbucks has more caffeine than multiple cups of the government mandated nutritional info on every package states for a single cup of caffeinated?

 

Rando, I am not sure what you are saying here (my English). One thing is for sure : Starbucks is the worst (for me). And because it is of well fame, I think you imply the other way around ? Btw, I can imagine that they don't make it the same everywhere in the world. My experience with Starbucks is probably only from Schiphol Airport (Amsterdam).

 

Btw, I am probably the only one in the world who a. can't stand espresso because of it being too strong while b. a too weak coffee is the worst (worse as too cold).

 

The other day I had the opportunity to having made the coffee to my taste by means of a large Barista assembly, but after the third I gave up and switched over to beer. 

My coffee needs to be strong, mild and so hot it actually is too hot.

 

But let's stop the coffees. It's not even a hobby for me. It is part of my work. Haha.

[firedog]

18 hours ago, Forehaven said:

Another coffee roaster/pourover coffee hound   Hottop roaster and Green Coffee Buying Club keeps me real happy.

there's an Oxo pourover that also is good and lets you control the flow.

[firedog]

15 hours ago, mansr said:

Guess there aren't any hipsters here.

The REAL hip people don't buy that stuff. Hipsters do.

[mordante]

On ‎23‎-‎1‎-‎2018 at 12:31 AM, Bob Stern said:

 

Since it's out of warranty, I'll add the caveat that these cars are sufficiently complex that you should find a mechanic who works on nothing but BMWs so that he'll know their failure modes and idiosyncrasies.  Bentley publishes a respected service manual (the official one is proprietary).  fwiw, I have a 1994 540 and a 2001 740 sport.

 

 I looked at the BMWCCA. But as a European I'm not going to pay to join a American forum. Thank you for the tip anyway.

[Superdad]

On 1/23/2018 at 1:22 AM, firedog said:

Other times I use mostly an Aeropress which I like a lot.

 

I LOVE my Aeropress!  Did Frechpress for years but got tired of the sediment.

 

And still, when I visit my brother I marvel over the great taste of the coffee from his vintage percolator.  (I think he just buys better beans than me.)

 

20 hours ago, Ralf11 said:

you guys have been on a coffee jag for nearly an entire page now, but no one has mentioned civet "cats" ???

 

That stuff is crazy expensive!!  Plus I have an aversion to cooking with anything that passed through an animal's anus.  

[wgscott]

We drink British-style coffee:

 

 

You just cook it in a spoon.

[mansr]

1 minute ago, wgscott said:

You just cook it in a spoon.

And take it intravenously?

[Superdad]

7 minutes ago, wgscott said:

We drink British-style coffee:

You just cook it in a spoon.

 

5 minutes ago, mansr said:

And take it intravenously?

 

No, that would be Folger's Crystals:

 

[firedog]

50 minutes ago, Superdad said:

 

I LOVE my Aeropress!  Did Frechpress for years but got tired of the sediment.

 

And still, when I visit my brother I marvel over the great taste of the coffee from his vintage percolator.  (I think he just buys better beans than me.)

 

 

That stuff is crazy expensive!!  Plus I have an aversion to cooking with anything that passed through an animal's anus.  

 

Yep, that "clean" cup is one of the great things about the Aeropress. 

There are percolators that make very good coffee. But most make very weak coffee without much taste (not enough coffee solids extracted).

 

Those beans are nothing special. I've never bought them, but I have tasted a cup made from them. It's just another marketing gimmick designed to appeal to people who think more expensive=better and like to show off how much money they spend.  I'm very happy for them to waste their money and leave the quality coffee to the rest of us. 

[firedog]

36 minutes ago, wgscott said:

We drink British-style coffee:

 

 

You just cook it in a spoon.

Instant coffee. They should be legally required to call it "coffee drink" or "coffee flavored beverage".

...But if you add a double espresso to a cup it is almost good. 

[rando]

Glad you found my ideas amusing, Peter.  I wish you luck finding sub hundred dollar equipment that properly regulates temperature and meets all of your other finicky needs.  

 

The only excuse for instant coffee is being halfway up a mountain you had to carry your supplies up on your back.  Then it is the best hot drink you've ever had in your life.

 

Sad truth is no matter how much you pander to rarity and exclusive equipment the quality of coffee is many many times worse than it was even in the 50's.  What we drink now is worse than the most budget conscious replacement for the place instant coffee fills today was back then.

[Norton]

2 hours ago, wgscott said:

We drink British-style coffee:

 

 

You just cook it in a spoon.

 

No, this is British style coffee:

 

or or at least it was when I was growing up...

[mordante]

Not super fancy but I'm happy with my Siemens IQ something with numbers coffee machine.

 

 

[mansr]

I use a De Longhi. It gets the job done.

[Ralf11]

I use millennials.  They get the job done.

[AudioDoctor]

I use residents to make my coffee.  I make them do challenges and perform feats of daring and athleticism if they screw it up.

[Ralf11]

if you were an old-timey chief of surgery you could empty your pipe out in their hand 

[elcorso]

I am a great coffee drinker. It was the business of the family from 1892 until about 20 years ago, when the "civilization" swallowed our farms and now there is cement and asphalt instead of excellent land suitable for the cultivation of high altitude coffee (the best, among the 1,000 and 1,400 meters of altitude).

 

Now I buy my coffee beans on a specialized vendor and make my own mixes and grind it to my liking.

I have two machines that are my favorite (semi-automatic). Still the water that I use is filtered for that purpose.

 

 

 

Some years ago I had to limit my coffee consumption a bit because I ended up in the hospital after 20 espressos in one morning ...!

 

Roch

 

[rickca]

Where's GUTB?  I'm sure those machines aren't nearly expensive enough for his highly cultivated taste.

 

There are tons of great roasters in the USA.  I drink Starbucks when I'm at the airport or in the hospital ... otherwise I avoid it.  Try Temple or Equator or Counter Culture.

[monteverdi]

I like to drink my press pot coffee (original Melior) but that is not a hobby! And I have an apprioate grinder! 

I also have a Pavoni expresso machine- still not a hobby!

 

 

[Bob Stern]

5 hours ago, rickca said:

Try Temple or Equator or Counter Culture.

 

Temple and Counter Culture are among my favorite roasters, too!  I also recommend Lusso's Brazilian espresso blend:

https://caffelusso.com/coffee/espresso/

[gstew]

I'd never call my pulling 8-10 shots of espresso via my 'vintage' Italian AMA Milano espresso makers using boutique beans from my favorite roaster on the other side of the US a hobby... addiction maybe?

 

OTOH, I've been building and flying model airplanes, helicopters, rockets, and occasionally kites and paper airplanes since I was 4 1/2 (a VERY LONG TIME AGO). I occasionally compete, sometimes internationally, and am one of those increasingly rare individuals who also still flies non-radio controlled free flight (even rubber band powered!) and line-control models.

 

Surprised no one else posted this as a hobby!!!

 

Greg in Mississippi

[wgscott]

My youngest kid is really into it, so it is sort of a vicarious hobby.  The mac mini that I use to play music gets rebooted into Windows so we can run RealFlight (the idea being maybe virtual crashes will be less expensive).

[rando]

Even with the entire racing arm of VAG curtailing activities and many others jumping ship to Formula E.  Oh, and the subsequent reconfiguring of the entire endurance racing season and class regulations this year(s).  I'm still hoping our (mostly) American boys in their Cadillac have another good showing at the 24 Hours of Daytona and abroad. 

 

There goes my Saturday and half of Sunday.  

[coot]

Once had a friend whose mantra was a hobby should be something that does not cost anything. Sorry, but I could never get excited about collecting dirt, rocks or even wildflowers. It had to be shiny, expensive things like cameras (Nikon, Hassies, Leica, Linhof, Sinar, etc.), cars, (32 in all including 2 Porsches) and of course hi-fi equip. Holy cow how much $ did I spend?! --And yes, waste. I'm one of those who had to have the ill-fated Apple Lisa computer ($10k) and printer. Lost count of how many computers (mostly Macs) since. Obviously I should have bought Apple stock instead. Now when I'm not listening to music most of my time is spent playing catch up reading about investment opportunities.

We grow too soon old and too late smart!