Newest family member

So, so,

This blog seems, so far, to be centered around coffee machines rather than coffee itself, a trend that I promise to curb once we get retail operations underway here at the warehouse. However we have a new addition to the family, pulled from a Dallas Starbucks, that comes to us via ebay, my first espresso mill - the mazzer major.

Now some of you (or all two of you, the size of my readership doesn't really allow for factions) may object to ebay purchases of equipment formerly owned by large, heartless coffee mega-chains. But let me remind you that there is a certain marketplace vibe and esprit-de-corps that survives on sites like ebay, despite the alienating medium of the internet and the fact that you will never meet the person with whom you are doing business.

For example, not only did auktionia send the promised grinder, but he sent it with approximately 70g of Starbucks coffee still in it. I am not sure if the coffee was intended for grind adjustment or to season my espresso machine or just as a sample of a roast he found particularly savory, but I find this kind of heartfelt consideration wholly absent in my dealings with major retailers.

I also appreciate items that feel like they've been used. This grinder not only shows the wear of a high-volume coffee shop - it also comes with a custom sign that reads "regular: 2 pulls" that I'm sure would up its value on antiques roadshow. Coincidentally, this is the same number of pulls I take in the morning to fortify myself before going to work. I'm sure if I worked at a Starbucks that number would be significantly higher, but would end in some very sloppy vente caramel macchiatos, hence the need for regulation. In any case, it's good to know that Starbucks knows how to be lenient within reason.

But, well-worn or no, this is a great grinder. Or as Steve would say, "all grinders suck, but this one sucks less." It has a bigger burr set than other flat burr grinders and rotates at lower speeds, meaning the coffee grounds are heated less, are charged with less static electricity and are of a more uniform size - all information which I'm sure excites you as much as it does me. In the end it means a slightly better shot of espresso - a theory I'm excited to test when we roll up the roll-up and start serving in April.