I don’t think anyone can tell the difference between soda stream and standard seltzer (which is basically the exact same thing, it’s basically never naturally carbonated). Maybe there is someone with golden senses that can detect the difference in the carbonation levels or something? But I doubt it.
FWIW, I drink a LOT of club soda at home and a decent amount of perrier/san p (depending on which one is on sale at costco) and it’s SUPER easy to tell the difference between these and seltzer (which is just charged tap water). Club soda has additives and perrier and san pelligrino have their own distincitive mineral flavors. I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect anything other than soda stream water with a $4 shot.
In recent history, this phenomenon has been observed twice. The first recorded limnic eruption occurred in Cameroon at Lake Monoun in 1984, causing asphyxiation and death of 37 people living nearby. A second, deadlier eruption happened at neighboring Lake Nyos in 1986, releasing over 80 million m3 of CO2, killing around 1,700 people and 3,000 livestock, again by asphyxiation.
The strange thing about naturally carbonated water is that in most if not all cases, the water and CO2 are separated at the source then recombined later, sometimes (often?) after the water is processed for purification or whatever. If not done this way I don’t think the CO2 can survive any kind of volume bottling operation, but that means in the end you’re getting a Ship of Theseus “natural” water of sorts. Tough to say whether this matters since you’ll basically never be able to A / B compare processed version to the source.
I finally pulled the trigger and got the new single-dose hopper for my baratza vario+
it locks in SOLID. the old one has definitely become looser over time and was more frequently wiggling itself free enough to disengage the safety switch (I say frequently, but this is probably happening once a week or so). Also the bottom part is made of hard (abs?) plastic and the top part is a softer, slightly flexible rubbery plastic, and it’s started fraying a bit around the edges. So anyway, got the new one, shipping was pretty quick (ordered it friday, it arrived monday).
Pros:
really solid feel when you click it in
the lid doesn’t have an orientation (the old lid only really fits in one position and for no benefit, the new one is completely symmetrical and you don’t have to line it up
slightly looser fit means it’s easier to use the lid as a knocker/bellows (I find that when using the WDT occasionally a bean will “stick” to the plastic bottom piece)
smaller, cuter I guess
cons:
it’s too small. I can barely get 15g in the lid (I use the lid when weighing my beans) and I’m scared I’m going to spill some beans as I pour them into the hopper
Do they still sell the old style? I have the old style now, new style con would be a deal breaker for me. I also use the lid for weighing and it’s just big enough to do a full 1 L carafe. Even if I’m pouring a legit single dose straight to a mug I’m doing at least 18 g.
they only have the new “slim” style on the website now. There are some people on etsy that make single-dose hoppers are more like the old-style size, though (I think these are mostly 3D printed)
I think I just need to get one of those dosing trays to feel fancy and aesthetic
slow-dosing really requires a better antipopcorning device than what the baratza hoppers have. a taller hopper and/or narrower opening for sure, but yeah, you either will have to just feed the beans in manually at whatever rate or you’ll have to design some sort of contraption that only releases a few beans at a time (I’m picturing something like a waterwheel that has some sort of braking mechanism)
A replacement power cord? That should be easy enough. I’m not exactly sure what I’m looking at though. Europiccola from the 80s/90s? This guy’s site has always been one of the best resources (for information, not necessarily parts):
The most likely parts needed for vintage levers are the gasket kits. They can be difficult to source and/or expensive based on the rarity of the machine, but that isn’t a problem you’re going to have.
OK coffee nerds, I will tell you my routine and you will tell me if there are any cheap ways I could improve it. Keep in mind that I’m not sure I could tell the difference between A- coffee and A+ coffee. However I’m willing to do some cheap experiments, especially if I don’t have to buy any expensive shit.
Beans: I get locally roasted beans. I am in a liberal decent-sized pretty wealthy city, so the options are plentiful. I assume the beans are pretty good, based on the price. (And the fact that I like them!). We mix it up between dark roast and light roast and in-between.
Grinder: I do own a hand burr grinder that I bought back when I worked in an office (the coffee in office was total shit so I brought my own beans. People really thought I was a snob. Until they tried a cup of mine). Not sure of brand of the hand burr grinder. However this is somewhat tedious so I just use the Cuisinart (I think) blade grinder at home. I don’t time the grind, it’s maybe 30 seconds or so?
Water: reverse osmosis water boiled in electric kettle. I don’t measure temp, I just pour it over coffee when it goes off.
I use a Clever Dripper with the brown grocery store filters. I don’t time how long it sits in there. Usually around 3-4 minutes? I usually pour more water in the CD after I get my first half cup (so then it sits in there for a good 10-15 minutes while I drink my first cup). So I sort of partially re-use the grounds right there on the spot (my first cup does not empty the Clever Dripper though.) The second brew is sometimes saved until lunch, or even the following day.
(1) If you have X dollars to spend, consider putting basically all of them into a real grinder. That’s going to be your largest absolute increase in quality gained. All of the other things I’m going to recommend will be subtle compared to the impact of a high quality grinder.
(2) RO doesn’t have the right water chemistry. I’ve written a ton of posts on what that chemistry should be and how to get it in this thread. There are two approaches: (1) the “simple” method I devised and (2) all of the more complicated methods that involve adding minerals to water in precise amounts and understanding what you’re doing. Choose your own adventure.
Water directly off boil with no temp reading isn’t ideal but not a deal breaker. Your best value spend would be getting a cheap digital thermometer. The lower ROI spend is a temp-controlled kettle which gives you convenience and the ability to do precise pouring and temp control tricks.
(3) Clever Dripper is fine. There are tons of other brewers you could try that I’d mostly consider to be sidegrades. The most famous and ubiquitous by far is the Hario V60 which costs about $8. Consider trying different filters for your CD if you haven’t already. The bleached (white) Technivorm Moccamaster #4 would be a good starting point.
100% cosign on the “dump all the money into a grinder” strategy
beans are personal preference type of thing, but dark roast coffee is … not what you want. Dark roasts are great if you have a shitty bean and you want to basically cover up the shittiness (and then cover up the darkness by adding a ton of sugar and milk). Are there some high-end dark roasts out there? probably, but eesshhh. don’t do it. stop it, get some help.
I basically think the brewer you use doesn’t really matter ultimately (this is a gross oversimplification) as long as you have a pretty consistent, repeatable technique. The real name of the game is controlling the variables and only adjusting one at a time.
This is not necessarily true. I also live in a liberal decent sized wealthy city with numerous shops selling locally roasted single origin beans at $20+ for 340 g bags. They’re fine, but I can get better online for $12-14. I buy almost exclusively from Happy Mug because they’re close so shipping times are quick, the quality is consistently good, and they have both regular offerings that I know will be good and enough limited run selections to fulfill my need for variety. I’m sure there are other shops that will do the same, I just haven’t felt the need to branch out.
Bottom line though, if you’re paying >$20 for a bag of local beans it’s more because having a nice store front and employees to maintain it is expensive overhead, which you can support if you feel the need to, but don’t expect that the extra money you’re spending is getting you higher quality beans or a better roasting operation.
