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Fixing the Skywalker Roaster’s Heat Shutdown: A Thermal Break Solution

Fixing the Skywalker Roaster’s Heat Shutdown: A Thermal Break Solution

If you're battling overheating issues with your Skywalker roaster, you’re not alone. A growing number of users report thermostats shutting down during long, high-intensity roasts—especially on the V1 model. The problem? Heat distortion causing false shutdowns. But there’s a fix that’s simple, effective, and worth trying. The solution hinges on a clever workaround: inserting a mica sheet between the thermostat and the roaster’s interior wall. This creates a thermal break, severing the direct heat transfer path. Mica, a naturally occurring mineral, acts as a heat-resistant barrier while allowing the thermostat to “see” only the air temperature inside the drum. Without…
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Slow Feeding the Philos: A Surprising Espresso Revelation

Slow Feeding the Philos: A Surprising Espresso Revelation

This is worth savoring: What if the way you feed your espresso beans could reshape your shot? A simple tweak to your routine—slowing the pour into your Philos grinder—unlocked a dramatic shift in extraction, proving that even small adjustments can rewrite the rules. The experiment began with a hunch: slow feeding espresso beans to the grinder might alter how they interact with heat and pressure. The results? A 45g shot in 8 seconds versus the usual 41g in 32. The numbers don’t lie. The method was deliberate. Every variable stayed locked: dose, grind, equipment, even the water spray. Only the…
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The r/espresso Coffee Bean Database: A Shared Brews Library for Baristas and Curious Coffeeheads

The r/espresso Coffee Bean Database: A Shared Brews Library for Baristas and Curious Coffeeheads

Listen up: Coffee geeks and casual sippers alike have been begging for a place to swap beans, recipes, and brew wisdom—and now there’s one. The r/espresso community has launched a database where users can submit their favorite espresso blends, brewing methods, and equipment specs. Think of it as a living, breathing encyclopedia of coffee knowledge, built by enthusiasts for enthusiasts. This isn’t just a list of beans; it’s a toolkit for experimentation. Submit your brews with details like roast date, dose, yield, and shot time. Pair that with your gear (pump, grouphead, grinder) and voilà—your recipe becomes a reference point…
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Grinders for Spices? Here’s Why You Should Think Twice

Grinders for Spices? Here’s Why You Should Think Twice

Grinders for spices? It’s a tempting shortcut—but the risks might outweigh the rewards. The Reddit thread buzzes with debate: is it safe to repurpose your coffee grinder for spices, or is it a recipe for disaster? The consensus leans toward caution, but the question lingers: what if you’re already grinding your own beans and want to experiment? The science is clear: coffee grinders aren’t designed for spices. Metal components and retention chambers—key features in burr grinders—trap oils and residues from spices like cinnamon or clove. These oils can seep into your coffee grounds, altering flavor profiles and potentially leaving a…
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Mold Inside a Specialty Bean: How Concerned Should You Be?

Mold Inside a Specialty Bean: How Concerned Should You Be?

There’s something brewing in the world of specialty coffee that’s both alarming and oddly fascinating: the discovery of internal mold in a bean that should have been pristine. You’ve probably seen the photos—tiny worms tunneling through the bean, leaving behind a fuzzy, greenish residue. The bean itself looks fine on the outside, but the damage is done. For coffee lovers, this raises a pressing question: is this a rare flaw, a sign of poor quality, or a red flag for safety? The truth is, internal mold in specialty beans is extremely rare—but not impossible. Specialty roasters typically source beans from…
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Why the Paper Filter in Your Moka Pot is Sabotaging Your Coffee

Why the Paper Filter in Your Moka Pot is Sabotaging Your Coffee

Pour yourself a cup for this one: If you’re chasing a cleaner cup from your Moka pot, adding a paper filter might be the wrong move. A Reddit user’s experiment—brewing eight cups in one morning with varying grind sizes—reveals a stark truth: paper filters strip flavor, amplify acidity, and leave you with a cup that feels like a compromise. The setup? A Bialetti 2-cup Porlex mini II grinder, set to 750μm for coarse grinds, paired with dark roasts that dominate their palate. The goal? To test whether a paper filter could elevate the Moka pot’s output. The result? A bitter,…
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Reviving Fair Trade: A Coffee Entrepreneur’s Quest to Redefine the Supply Chain

Reviving Fair Trade: A Coffee Entrepreneur’s Quest to Redefine the Supply Chain

This is worth savoring: A month in Africa’s coffee heartlands revealed a stark truth—small farmers are getting less than 10% of the retail price. The same inequity echoes in South and Central America, where language, culture, and geography make operations more feasible but ethics remain unaddressed. My mission? To build a processing plant and export brand that pays farmers a living wage. I’m not the first to dream this, but I’m determined to turn the tide. The coffee world is built on a broken pyramid. Farmers, who bear the labor and risk, often earn less than a day’s wage for…
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The Day I Tasted Coffee Like a Symphony

The Day I Tasted Coffee Like a Symphony

Real talk: The moment I realized coffee wasn’t just a morning habit. For years, I treated it like a grocery-store commodity—any bag that didn’t burn my tongue was fine. Then a friend handed me a cup that tasted like berries, chocolate, and sunshine. It wasn’t flavored; it was just fresh. That cup rewired my brain. Coffee, I learned, could be a conversation. A story. A sensory experience. What made that cup different? Freshness. The beans hadn’t been sitting in a warehouse for months. They’d been roasted in small batches, each one a delicate balance of heat and time. The aroma…
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How to Cut To-Go Waste Without Breaking the Bank (Real Examples Inside)

How to Cut To-Go Waste Without Breaking the Bank (Real Examples Inside)

Here’s what you need to know: Small coffee shops are stuck between a rock and a hard place—compostable cups are better than plastic, but they still pile up. What if there was a way to slash waste without draining your budget or complicating your operations? The answer lies in customer participation, not just corporate greenwashing. Across the country, cafes are testing deposit systems for reusable jars, glass bottles, and mugs—proving that reducing to-go waste is possible without turning your counter into a logistics nightmare. The key isn’t forcing customers to change habits but creating frictionless incentives. Take the “payback” model:…
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Why Artificially Flavored Coffee Is a Culinary Cop-Out

Why Artificially Flavored Coffee Is a Culinary Cop-Out

Get ready to sip on this: the next time you reach for that caramel-flavored bag, ask yourself—what’s the real flavor here? Artificially flavored coffee isn’t a shortcut; it’s a compromise that masks poor quality and perpetuates a broken system. The rise of lab-made flavors in the 1960s was born out of necessity—when coffee bean prices skyrocketed, companies resorted to spraying low-grade beans with synthetic oils to mimic premium notes. But this wasn’t about taste—it was about economics. The result? A legacy of cheap, chemically enhanced coffee that’s now stuck in a cycle of mediocrity. Flavored coffee is almost always low-grade.…
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