1:3 — Don't lose your tamper, and one's trash is another's... expensive trash.
Editon No. 31
1 Fun Thing
Staying true to the brand’s tendency to kick up a storm through out-there statement products, Balenciaga released a $1,790 trash pouch last month, inspired by the garbage bag.
3 Coffee Facts
You may have heard the term ‘Maillard reaction’ in coffee, but what is it exactly? It is a series of chemical reactions between amino acids and sugars that cause the browning of food and the creation of distinctive tastes. Steaks, biscuits, breads, toasted marshmallows also go through this reaction, not just coffee. At higher temperatures, you see caramelisation and eventually burning, with bitter flavours coming to the forefront.
Tamping is an extremely important step in espresso puck preparation. Delivering a level tamp is far more critical than the force applied. Experiments show that the impact of force on extraction becomes negligible above 98 Newtons.
Sample roasting is the process of roasting a small quantity (~50 - 300g) of green coffee. This is typically done to evaluate green coffee quality before buying, and smaller batches allow you to quickly experiment with different roast profiles, minimising wastage. The tech in modern sample roasters like Ikawa and Roest make it much easier to control variables and capture useful data, which helps with consistency and repeatability.