This, absolutely. The 'Rona shutdown inspired me to buy an old commercial espresso machine (1964 FAEMA E.61) and build out a little home coffee shop in the garage, where I learned to pull shots.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CCgeL3dsTzW/?igshid=u06d4u494zyq

Did you set out to buy that particular machine or did you just happen across it? If you don’t mind my asking, how much did it cost? I have so many questions!

Do you have a blog? I’d love to read how all of this came about. What an awesome project. It looks great!

I would say espresso making at home is an expensive hobby unless you are willing to tolerate variability in the output. A decent stable machine is going to be close to 1k and the really nice home machines starting at 3k. A good grinder is also expensive. I got all the gear (buying stuff used where I could) and I have spent maybe $1500 on components. I love it, but I wouldn’t recommend it to someone who isn’t willing to put in time to learn and money for decent tools.

Breville Barista Express isn't cafe quality but it has a good grinder and pulls decent shots pretty consistently for $600-700

I’ll second this. I’ve had two of them and they’ve been a joy to use every day. Excellent value.

The mahlkonig EK43 is pretty good too.

I have loved the old FAEMAs for a while and found this one for sale in the Netherlands. It had been restored. Price was around $5500. It turned out to need a bit of work but I finally got it running well and use it every day now. I don't have a blog but I do post coffee pics on Instagram.

https://instagram.com/desertdefender

This, I never am a coffee fan but to be able to buy one to experiment and to learn seems useful...

And forever be overqualified for working at Starbucks, lol.

A simple 20$ Moka machine does brilliantly the job.

Thanks! I'll get one to play with! :)

For sure, I bought a Breville Express espresso machine and don't know how I ever lived without it.

I stopped having 4 K-cups a day. Instead I grind and brew my favorite coffee every morning. And then I sit on the patio in the early morning sun and enjoy it. Life’s good!

Right on my coffee game is so strong since the lockdown I think I might need to attend a Coffee Anonymous program right now.

Same: My manual expresso machine at home has always been better than the fully automatic in the office, and I usually have an extra cup because I enjoy it more.

Stocked up on extra beans as well the other day in anticipation of it all going to hell soon in Australia.

Likewise. Drinking less tea though, that was the better alternative to bad office coffee.

I'm sitting next to one of those to-go carafe boxes of coffee right now I ordered yesterday. 8-ish cups. It's empty now. RIP.

I drink about 36-cups/day, so this sounds as if I would be really irate if I had that little...

Are you being ironic or do you actually drink that much?

Ummm. Pretty close. 3 pots of coffee - poured over ice - from about 4am ~ 10pm or so? I tend to pretty obsessively sip during coding sessions. Although as I have aged, I have noticed that it might be disrupting my aging sleep patterns, so I may need to start cutting it back. But, in Japan, in my youth, when I was working in semiconductor - people considered it excessive, but not extraordinarily, you know, extraordinary. (I didn't drink or smoke at the time - now I do - so I think the combo is ganging up on my biology's ability to support this scenario)

EDIT: I was thinking about this a bit more... The first pot is 4am~6am, the next is 6am~10am(or so), and the 3rd pot is nursed over the next 12-or-so hours). I guess I am bootstrapping the system pretty hard at the beginning of the day... I haven't done a cost-benefit analysis, or even thought about it much, but looking at this conversation, it might turn out to be more cost-effective to take up meth (just kidding, that stuff sucks. Coffee is smooth).

How much coffee beans do you use? Perhaps it's not strong and basically flavoured water?

I cannot imagine you're drinking 30+ espresso equivalent per day ... Do let us know as I am curious.

p.s. regardless of potency of the coffee it is excessive intake.

I don't know. Just about a pound/day ground, I guess?

There was a time when my daily intake was 4x 20oz bottles of Jolt Cola and 120+oz of coffee.

Then I was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea and started CPAP therapy.

Now I drink about half a pot of half-caf a day, more because I like it than because I need it.

I'm moving into your territory, I think. I find that I absolutely love the smell and flavor, but the caffeine is starting to be an irritant as I age. I don't (and never have) like sugary soda drinks, and water is "OK", but boring. I just like sipping on ice-coffee as I work.

I drink a single cup of coffee a day (used to drink two), but love the flavor and taste that I considered drinking decaf the rest of the day. Never got around to doing it, but possible one resolution to this issue. Although decaf still has some caffeine, so I can’t really drink it too late in the day.

Probably lots of tech folk who are getting older fall into this category. I loooove drinking coffee while working, but as I get older it’s giving me pretty bad heartburn. I’ve tried just about every other type of drink as a replacement, but nothing is as good as coffee :(

Cold brew has a lot less acid, and a wonderful flavor.

If it’s tobacco you smoke, that may explain why you prefer more caffeine - nicotine has been proven to reduce the half life of caffeine significantly.

Tangentially, have you considered making cold brew? Cold brew over ice tastes a LOT better than hot coffee poured over ice due to the lower acid content. It’s very easy to make if you have a French press.

Definitely more cost effective to find an amphetamine you like, that sounds like a massive amount of caffeine.