I am obsessed. Stopped at Blue Bottle Cafe in the Ferry Building this morning. One $2 shot of espresso. Less than one fluid ounce. That’s $256 a gallon of espresso. And we complain about $4 a gallon gas. or $20 a gallon bottled water from your 7/11. Read Full Story

I ordered a whole mess of boat building books back around the year 2000 after deciding that I wanted to build a boat to suit my tastes. I picked up a book on building aluminum boats, several on the subject of the stitch and glue method of building and a few other general tomes on the subject. Hands down the one book that captivated my interest was Renn Tolman’s, A Skiff For All Seasons. After reading and re-reading the book over a period of a few weeks, I ordered Renn’s Wide Body ... Read Full Story

After buying a Breville BCG450XL Conical Burr Grinder to grind coffee for my family’s Miss Silvia Espresso Machine, and finding out that it did not grind as advertised, I returned it to the store. I replaced this crummy grinder with a Le’Lit pl53 Espresso Burr Grinder. I chose the Le’Lit pl53 Espresso Burr Grinder because of the good reviews and the price point. Mind you, at $230 + I don’t think this grinder is a cheap grinder, but compared to $300-$400-$600 Grinders ... Read Full Story

I bought this grinder for my wife for Christmas along with a Rancilio Miss Silvia Espresso Machine. The grinder was advertised as being an espresso grinder and even a Turkish Coffee Grinder. It is neither. It will not grind fine enough for a decent espresso machine. I took it back to the store and got a refund. At a $100 you’d think that such a grinder would at the very least grind fine enough to pull an epresso shot. Silly me for thinking so. If you need a burr grinder for normal drip ... Read Full Story

My wife and I used to happily use our rather inexpensive and not terribly sophisticated Krups Espresso machine to make ourselves our morning Lattes. But after years of this indulgence we put the Krups on the shelf. This Christmas I decided to buy my wife a new espresso machine and so I got to work reading reviews. After a lot of hand wringing and head scratching I decided on a Rancilio Miss Silvia. Reason being that there were a huge number of reviews and folks mostly seemed to like the mach... Read Full Story

I’m hard on shoes. I tend to wear them day in and day out without swapping out to another pair. I walk, jump, crawl under the house, ride a motorcycle, stand in them while fishing all day on the ocean in a small boat, wade out to retrieve my boat and generally beat the hell out of them. I also have rather tender feet. I don’t like going barefoot, and I usually have to add supports to my shoes to take care of the plantar faciaitus. I prefer shoes/boots that are mid height and cove... Read Full Story

Steve- super hoppy, but bitterness is balanced by intense rich flavor. Enormous fruity aroma from the mountains of Hops. ***** Dario - Good. ***** Erika - Good, I like it. Wasn’t too bitter. **** Read Full Story

Steve: flowery aroma. More bitter than the Rich Copper Ale WYBIA Yes Dario:Can’t smell. Tastes good. WYBIA Yes. Dave: Tasty. Very drinkable. Light. WYBIA Yes.Refreshing, enjoyable, Lighter , Fresh.Good. Yes. Grassy flavor. Read Full Story

Dave - good color. little more aroma that Fat Tire. Flat. Caramel. Too foamy. ** Reluctantly.WYBIA Nope Dario - too flat. Strawberry aftertaste. Very little taste. Rich color, expecting more taste. ** WYBIA Nope Steve - Hint of pine at back of tongue. Flat in bubbles and flavor. Little Hoppy at the back. **. WYBIA Nope Read Full Story

Steve: flowery aroma. *** 1/2 good balance of bitter & smoothness.WYBIA Yes Dario: Rich, and very good **** WYBIA Yes Ben: Rich, delicious. Not a great head. **** WYBIA Yes Read Full Story