Morning Cup Of Coffee And Weather

For home roasting, I've had one of these for about eight years. I previously had a cheaper, entry-level roaster but it couldn't handle the relentless stream of beans that we fed through it. The Gene Cafe is pretty pricy but it is a well-made machine that is up to the task and should last many years. I think of it as the CampInn of roasters.

 

If you use it, and like it --- I've spent more on other things...I don't mind paying if I use it. What grinds my gears is when I buy something and it sits....

The annual purchase of exercise equipment for example.

 

That's why I believe everyone should have a $4K bicycle. Your wife will tell to go ride it since you bought it. Just can't excerise indoors and living in SC, I can get out even in the winter. (You also have to be crazy to ride in the winter here).

 

LOL!!!! If I bought a $4000 bike, I BETTER use it, or she'd be using her $2000 E-bike to run my butt over

(We both bought ebikes...worth every penny - Only problem is now I think I need a truck...my little RAV4 is too small for all the junk I want to take with me!)

 

This one?

Gene Cafe CBR-101 | Home Home Roasters | Free Shipping – Gene Cafe USA

 

Yes, It's a real workhorse.

 

i just tell her I ride for her so I’ll stay healthy & it’s cheaper than the ER. She doesn’t buy it, but I do say it. You want a fun conversation, tell her you want to upgrade your wheels to some $1500 ones. Trust me, it’s a lively conversation. LOL

 

First manual burr grinder i used was a Handground device. It’s selling point is a small gear that transfers the unstable “helicopter” motion of the hand crank into a much more stable and therefore less tiring motion. I used that for 5 plus cups of coffee every day for 10 months of a deployment in Iraq …. probably way more than it is designed to be used. By the time I got home, the transfer gear in the lid was conking out on me. Thanks to COVID supply issues, the company was sold out on replacement parts at the time. Speaking to your intended use, the Handground is probably too bulky for what you want.

I turned my attention to a battery operated burr grinder. That wasn’t an easy thing to come by. I eventually got a Hario device that came with a small hand mill plus a motor attachment. Best part is, the motor attachment recharges by USB … and guess what the 560 has plenty of? When I bought mine, it wasn’t available to any US markets. I searched high and low and finally found a Canadian boutique coffee shop that would ship it to me in the US. I paid …. way, way too much for it. You can now find that device with the grinder AND the battery motor on Amazon for about 90 bucks. Search for “Hario Smart G Electric Grinder.” It will be one of the first handful of items that pops up.

 

@dirty6 - in my cart

I see they have a hand-cranked model by the same manufacturer. When I am ready to buy, I am look at that. What is this "Plenty" of which thou speaketh? Not in mine by the time I get all my crap plugged the battery is half depleted I really could youse 2 more in the center console...

Computers, phones, watches - so many wires.

then there is the chaos of wire types....micro USB, USB C, lightning, watch "pucks'...

Oy! I'm not a europhile, or a europhobe for that matter. I am not a fan (generally) of one size fits all solutions. That said, one things the German government has proposed (may be passed into law?) is say "Enough! You can't pick a standard...we will!" - Going forward USB C will be the standard. I hope it passes.

USB C is the first plug standard I like...it doesn't take 3 tries (regardless of how you start) to align properly, and supports faster charging speeds for those big devices....

We'll see ;D

 

If you are looking at the Hario product that includes the small grinder and the motor attachment, that IS a hand grinder and should also come with the hand crank so you can elect to use it as a hand grinder in the absence of the motor attachment.

This product should be charged by micro-USB, for the record.

We have a number of multi-cords in the camper and around the house, essentially a micro-USB cable that has 2 integrated tips on it so one cable can charge micro-USB, lightning, and USB-C. Since its not a dedicated USB-C cable, it doesn’t take advantage of the higher capacity/charging speeds of USB-C. But, its nice to only have a few cables in the camper.

 

I didnt' realize it was both --- that suddenly becomes intriguing!

I've got some mutli cables as well, they make life easier for the small devices. The laptops are still the challenge. I do have the AC outlets to run chargers, but its just more pieces and parts to carry. Plugging a 6 foot USB cable into the laptop and just charging off the 12 volt system reduces the number of pieces I need to cary --- especially with the horrible HP power supplies...big, bulky, and needing adapters to size the 'barrel' down to the size my specific laptop uses. Its a @$# poor design.

I use my 560 for 2 purposes....

1] R&R - theoretically --- I have been out only twice so far this year with a relaxation mission.
2] Life Boat -- 30 nights so far, only 4 have been "R&R"- what does that tell you.

The Life Boat is when helping aging family who lives a couple hours away --- they have a 1 bedroom house (used to be 3, but they took down some walls to give themselves a craft room years ago) and sleeping on an air mattress is a BAD option. SO, I moochdock.

When I'm doing this, I am forunate enough to be able to work remotely --- But this requires 2 PC's, and WIFI.

Having all those power connections gets pretty critical...just to keep the number of parts to a minimum....by the time I get all my power cords plugged in it looks like a spiders web...by no means bad design on CI's part --- I am totally over-utilizing what is there

 

The newer ones come that way --- my 2022 has 6 USB (I think) in the cabin area...2 behind the sofa, 2 in the radio bay, and 2 by the left side by the 120 volt outlet, in addition to the 12 volt accessory sockets.

There are small portals between all 6 of the storage bays in both up/down and left/right directions --- so I can get power to just about everywhere I want it. I just wish (LOL! just!) I had 2 that were higher capacity to run a laptop

Personally I need 3 more outlets...just never enough

 

It’s been raining all night and the forecast is for rain all day. At least I don’t have to water my flowers.

 

It's going to be sunny all weekend in Southern Wisconsin I think. Looking good for a Memorial Day weekend of camping!

 

Rainy off and on here in SC for a couple of days. Weekend should be nice for anyone camping in the state. Not us, we quit camping on Memeorial Day to avoid the crowds. With us b0th being educators we are out for the summer after next week, so we will be camping soon enough.

 

Should be sunny here on the central CA coast. Perfect weather for me to receive delivery of my new (to me) 560 Ultra!!! Can't wait!

 

iffy weather in my part of the world...unstable air mass. Friday looks light it might be moist...and improving. Lets hope. The fat kid needs a break.

 

WOOO HOOO!!!! When does it arrive? You are absolutely going to love it!!!!

 

Saturday!

 

Good for you, get out camp in it and post some pictures. Congrats