Brian Fantana

So after two months of use I can honestly say that my MadebyKnock Feldwood grinder is brilliant. The grind quality is excellent! With this grinder French Press tastes so good, that I don't even bother with an Aeropress anymore. It takes me about 30-40 seconds to grind enough coffee for a 1 Litre french press. I have used it for espresso as well and it is on par with my Eureka Mignon. My porlex mini and Aeropress will probably only be used for international travel in the future. It is actually quite ironic that a "low cost" brew method like french press actually requires a very good grinder. Most people diss the french press as bitter or complain about the sediment, when the actual problem is that they use pre-ground coffee, stale coffee or an inadequate grinder!

I have a raw Intense 5.5 2006 model. Corrosion is not a problem, it still looks as good as the day I bought it. The aluminium forms an oxidation layer which means it is not shiny. Just watch out for galvanic corrosion where bolts or washers are in contact with the raw aluminium.

He tries to put it out by biting the flame and after realising it's hot, he just barks at it. When the fire is out of reach he will just sit and look at it.

Brodie is obsessed with fire. Sometimes I need to put him in the garage when we braai:

Longmore Forest this morning:

A Zulu strap for my skx007.

I purchased this PeDe oak grinder at a flea market the other day for R150. The burrs are still sharp, only some of the metal parts are corroded. So some sanding, cleaning and polishing will make it as good as new again.

Edit: double post

After using my Madebyknock grinder for a few days, I can honestly only recommend a steel burr hand grinder. It takes about 25 seconds to grind 14g for a double espresso and the grind quality is very high. With a ceramic burr grinder you will take close to two minutes to grind 14g for espresso. It was about R2200 landed, which is expensive for a hand grinder but the ease of use and quality more than make up for it. This good old saying is applicable:"The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten." A vintage hand grinder like PeDe, Zassenhaus etc is also a good option, some of those can be found for under R500 and most of them have steel burrs of about 35mm diameter.

It does the job, but if I knew what I know now a few years ago, I would never have bought a ceramic burr hand grinder. When using a good steel burr hand grinder you save time, and the grind is more consistent. Paying a bit more now for a grinder that will last, and which you will keep on using for a long time is actually the cost effective solution. Trust me, I have been through this exercise.

Truth coffee's online shop has a 58mm convex tamper for R500 with free delivery in SA.

Whatever you do, make sure that you use FedEx, DHL or UPS. You don't want your parcel ending up in the hands of EMS. I ordered a Laco watch from Germany for my wife on Wednesday morning, and it was delivered this morning at 07:30am. Shipping was 40€.

That's a beauty! Definitely the best looking pilot's watch I have seen.

On its way from Germany for Mrs Fantana's birthday:

It is a very good innovation but I would personally rather go for a solid grinder and something like a Clever Coffee Dripper. It is quick, easy to clean and if you use a hand grinder you can pack everything away, so it won't take any counter space.

After a run:

My first ride on a Specialized, an old 26" hardtail with v-brakes which I rented from ghanabike.com. I had a great ride in the Aburi Forest. Loads of climbing, descending, forest cattle tracks and loads of friendly locals:

I saw this at a Lego shop in Accra:

This meneer is waiting for me at home. Walnut Feldwood grinder from MadeByKnock.

I see Pacman is also going to give Enduro[emoji769][emoji768][emoji767] a jab:

It is a Porlex mini grinder, it takes about 90 seconds to grind enough beans for a strong cup of Aeropress. In my opinion Mastertons have great coffee, but I only buy at the roastery as I live less than 10 minutes from there. Buying at the roastery means that the beans were roasted 3 days ago or less. Most beans you see at supermarkets are already stale before you buy it. To me the freshness is more important than the origin of the coffee or whether it was "artisan roasted" by some skinny jean wearing hipster. That is what I like about Mastertons, no frills, good quality, freshness and 90 years of experience in coffee roasting.

Cool, no worries.

I understand what you mean, but I am not the "type" you refer to. I work with much higher risk equipment on a daily basis, and I am more safety minded than most.

4G wireless router.

I am quite pedantic about my tools and clean them after every trip. But yes, I know a few electricians that fits your description.