Ok, I’m going to revive this topic.
For me the pleasure is also about the process, the preparation, not just the drink. If I just want the drink I’ll go to a cafe. And I know this because when I’m on holiday I rarely drink any coffee.
As I evolve I do find what are the things that work for me. And repeatability, after dialling in, is very important because in the morning I’m on autopilot, no time to fiddle with grind size, grams, WDT consistency etc.
I searched and found this topic because I just realised that I just found an optimisation to my workflow. Let me explain. I pre measure in spice jars 18g every weekend for the next week. This is a rare occasion that I have 4 types of coffee, but normally it’s just one (max 2) because of what I wrote before (dial in once and forget about it for a month).
Morning routine is:
- start the machine and grinder when I wake up with my smart plug,
- preheat the machine and portafilter (I slide it in ever so slightly in the evening),
- warm up my cups with hot water
- Grind
- WDT with my Umikot 3d printed contraption 20 half turns
- Tamp
- Empty cup full of hot water
- Brew while measuring the output
- Repeat once more and on the second brew steam the milk.
- Pour milk
What I just realised is that with the Niche Zero dosing cup I can grind my second dose while the first coffee is still brewing. I used to grind in my portafilter. Now I also don’t need the dosing ring because the Umikot covers the coffee bed while WDT-ing, preventing any spills.