Brian Fantana

I always pack it in one of my suitcases. I have been burned too many times by hotels that don't have kettles in the room, that I never travel without it.

Yes, it is an immersion water heater. It is quite popular in 3rd world countries.

This is how I make coffee when I travel and when facilities are limited:

So after a hard day's work I took my daily beater off to wash my hands, and it looked so good that I had to take a photo:

I prefer to work with an interactive crowd:

Some Slayer goodness on a Friday:

I like the one on the right.

If you are into Latte Art, follow Dritan Alsela, I am not good with Latte Art but love seeing this guy's creations: http://instagram.com/barista_dritan_alsela And this guy do many machine customisations in copper: http://instagram.com/artisansmith

Yip, it's like the exact opposite of Fight Club.

I am not surprised that you enjoyed it. Most of the women I know are fond of Wimpy cappuccinos.

*takes multiple screenshots, which will be used in case any future argument over espresso equipment with my wife takes place.

OK, when I was still into road cycling I looked around for hubs for a wheelset, and I remember that my preferred wheelbuilder said that the R45 from CK can be built with radial or cross lacing, while the other CK road hubs can only be built with cross lacing.

Linea Mini will be in the region of R55k judging by international prices. The Rocket Giotto looks like an E61 workhorse. I follow Rocket on Instagram and judging by photos they post, they are a big company. They also support cycling, they have sponsored a machine for team Sky, and there was a limited edition run of 200 Rapha models. I guess if the machine has any major flaws, you will quickly find more information on it on Coffeegeek or HomeBarista forums.

Is that an R45 hub?

The Rockshox SID was 28mm stanchion until 2006/7, I think. Those models were also quite flexy. Since mid 2007/beginning 2008 they came out in 32mm stanchions.

Yes, I will take a few photos as soon as I am back home.

Bliksem, that's proper climbing.

Well if it is too big for her, I can always "take it of her hands" and use it for myself [emoji48] But I don't think it will be too big, a Ø42mm looks small on my skinny wrists, so I think a 40 might just be right.

In our house we don't need a clock to remind us that it is time to go for a trail run:

In our house we don't need a clock to remind us that it is time to go for a trail run:

I am thinking about getting this one for my wife as a gift. At ø40mm diameter it is one of the smaller pilot watches, and I reckon it could look good on a lady. Laco lists it under mens and ladies watches.

I took a 50mm >> 40mm Schedule 40 stainless steel conical reducer and cut it at a point where the basket fits snugly. I then used one of the scrap pieces and cut ears out of it at a section with the same ID as the OD of the portafilter body. I tapped two M3 holes in the sides of the body and bolted the ears to the portafilter body with M3 countersunk bolts. I am really glad it works, because the new baskets allow me grind a lot finer and still get the same flow as with the standard basket. I cannot wait to have two of these machined out of solid brass. I prefer brass as I would rather have the ears of the portafilter wear out than the bayonet fitting on the machine.

Yes, I purchased two La Peppina baskets when I was in Italy last month, but the standard caravel portafilter is too small to accommodate the extra 1,5mm diameter of the baskets so I decided to make one that will work and test it. I am quite happy with the performance, I am going to drop drawings off at local machine shop tomorrow, so they can make two of those for me out of brass.

Bottomless portafilter action on my Caravel. Please excuse the bad looking handle, I am going to make a neat one tomorrow. I made the stainless steel part today, and put a make-shift handle on to test it.

At 30k I think something like the Wega Mininova could be an option. Craig Charity calls Wega the hilux of the coffee industry. I saw one in Melbourne for 2400AUD last year. Not sure what the local price will be.