It's Already 2AM: 36th Edition... THE REUNION THREAD !

I wish I liked coffee. I love the smell but can't handle the taste. My wife is a big drinker. She uses a local roaster who delivers his beans once a week no more than a day after roasting. I absolutely love the smell when she grinds'em up. Heavenly.

tonyniev wrote in post #19388616
Gaggia is good what model did you get, the Breville with built in grinder, PID and pre infusion plus 3 seconds warm up were the reason I opted for it, an older automatic machine is Italian made

Watch you tube to properly tune your shots- grind size, amount , tamping (I use a leveling tool prior tp tamping) and the number of seconds to infuse.

I got the gaggia classic pro. i really like how it looks, of course it comes with some cons. The breville express is awesome, I almost was going to get the express pro version for the better steam. I would recommend the breville for the ease of use and an all in one.

oh ive been watching plenty youtube. which has gotten me to getting one this soon lol. i got a bunch of stuff, tamper, leveling, wdt, 2 milk pitchers (gaggia doesnt come with one), precision basket, bottomless portafilter, rubber mat. for the actual machine, i'm only switching out the shower head to the ims nano coating. and for mods, I'm only going to change the spring in the machine to get 9 bar pressure. i'll share pics when I have them set up

gjl711 wrote in post #19388627
I wish I liked coffee. I love the smell but can't handle the taste. My wife is a big drinker. She uses a local roaster who delivers his beans once a week no more than a day after roasting. I absolutely love the smell when she grinds'em up. Heavenly.

no coffee at all? even the sweet ones?? lol how does your wife drink coffee? what does she drink and her method. my brother has a hand grinder and does pour over. ive been drinking keurig or nesspresso for home and work. once in a while I'll get a latte somewhere and seomtimes starbucks and peets for the sugary drinks.

you can get scented coffee candles or candle wax if you don't want to babysit a candle hehe

DTBaan wrote in post #19388575
hehhe busy man. you gotta be like Omar, gotta buy gears to ready to shoot them sports :P

I end up coaching... go figure.

besides, the only way to shout at the kids for instructions, since parents are not allowed to on the sidelines these days

Man I miss getting freshly roasted coffee beans. When I lived in Houston, I got Costa Rican beans from a local roaster. Best coffee ever. If you find the right coffee, it tastes delicious! For instance, this Costa Rican blend I was getting had a sweet/nut flavor. Man I drank the #$!@ outta that.

Now, I'm stuck with Starbucks or Trader Joe's as that's the only reliably fresh source of beans where I'm at.

The grind plays a role, as well. I find that the grind from pre-ground coffees is way too fine. It makes it bitter. A medium grind (grind it yourself), freshly roasted beans, will give you the best flavor without any bitterness.

And don't sully it up with sugar or cream!

gjl711 wrote in post #19386062
The siggy 150-600 is a wonderful lens. I prefer it over my 100-400v1 lens. There is no cheaper way to get to 600mm and the quality is a bit better than the old 100-400. Only real drawback is it's weight. It's not light.

Harm wrote in post #19386490
I just looked at samples from the 150-600. Never had a sign before, but wow, seriously impressed by it...

I can see also that it looks like it is a tank, complete with weight!

I had the Sig 150-600mm C and was positively AMAZED at it's optical quality and AF performance. SIGMA has always had it in them to make great long lenses, but sometimes the amount of zoom has really impacted the IQ (the old Bigma 50-500mm)

The only reason I parted with it, was I simply own too many lenses and I tend to reach for the EF 100-400mm more often. Owning both and shooting one most of the time made no sense. However, if I did not also own a big prime like the 500mm f/4, Id still have the 150-600mm

Harm wrote in post #19388845
I end up coaching... go figure.

besides, the only way to shout at the kids for instructions, since parents are not allowed to on the sidelines these days

what a busy man lol how long are you going to keep this up?

coach 007 !!

Strontium wrote in post #19388936
Man I miss getting freshly roasted coffee beans. When I lived in Houston, I got Costa Rican beans from a local roaster. Best coffee ever. If you find the right coffee, it tastes delicious! For instance, this Costa Rican blend I was getting had a sweet/nut flavor. Man I drank the #$!@ outta that.

Now, I'm stuck with Starbucks or Trader Joe's as that's the only reliably fresh source of beans where I'm at.

The grind plays a role, as well. I find that the grind from pre-ground coffees is way too fine. It makes it bitter. A medium grind (grind it yourself), freshly roasted beans, will give you the best flavor without any bitterness.

And don't sully it up with sugar or cream!

i'm new to getting fresh coffee beans. the closest I had in the past was just store bought and grinding it at the store (costco/sams club) did that for say 1-2 times till i got tired and lazy making coffee and then jumped into the keurig later hehe. my knowledge of coffee beans are only the different roast, medium and dark/french. I only hope I dont make sour coffee. it wasn't until nespresso where I found out about different flavors of coffee. I came to only like the strong, non sour notes. but this whole bean stuff is all new to me, gotta find the one(s) I will like. I think I tried costa rican beans before from trader joes, the brew that they made there was good but when I tried it at home it wasnt as good. from what I've been seeing on the great o youtube, grinding matters alot and how it is prep. for those picky drinkers, everything matters lol

Tony, do you have any coffee beans that you like?

I'm looking for medium or medium-light. I like strong and non fruity/sour.

I like Lavazza, the SF Bay Coffee bean factory,Starbucks, and the subscription through Trade coffee. SF Bay prices went up by 40% over the last four months recently stopped the subscription delivery via Amazon...using some old beans today. I need to do some shopping.

tonyniev wrote in post #19389407
I like Lavazza, the SF Bay Coffee bean factory,Starbucks, and the subscription through Trade coffee. SF Bay prices went up by 40% over the last four months recently stopped the subscription delivery via Amazon...using some old beans today. I need to do some shopping.

Thanks Tony. I'm going to have to try Lavazza when I get through with what I have. I got some fresher beans the other day from peet's coffee not knowing how much they used to cost. in general.. youre right.. the beans have gone up so much.

Abstract updates- a few more larger pieces on display

Convoluted 30x80"

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This week I finished two 30X40 pieces

Hodgepodge

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lovely art works Tony. I've said it before, your house is like an art gallery hehe. Did you turn one of your rooms into a studio or do you have a setup that takes less space somewhere?

I thought Lavazza looked familiar...