[ Shelf ]·2 parts

Things I'm into

Coffee I drink, the gear that got me here, and what is on while I work. Updated whenever there is something to add, which is the only honest promise a page like this can make.

[ 01 / 02 ]·Coffee

What I drink

Where my taste sits. Dark and medium-dark, chocolate and nut over fruit. I am not into citrusy, high-acid profiles, so a light roast rarely makes it past one bag. Read the dots against that rather than against a cupping score: three means not for me, not bad coffee.

Pick one to see what I have had. A dot underneath means it is in rotation right now.

Vienna Roast

Dark

Deep and smoky without going bitter. The weekday default.

French Roast

Dark

Heaviest of the lot. Holds up to milk better than anything else here.

Dhak Blend

Medium-dark

Rounder than the Vienna, less smoke. A good middle ground.

Basankhan Estate

Medium-dark · Chikmagalur

Cleaner and lighter than I usually go for. Interesting once.

Not sure what to buyPick a roast, see what to brew with itA slider from light to dark. Each one tells you how it tastes and which methods suit it, including the ones to avoid.

Gear, in the order I bought it

Each one solved the problem the last one left me with.

Wacaco Nanopresso
Something's Brewing
Hand pumpStarted here
Pump it by hand and it makes a genuinely decent shot. That is what started all of this.
Flair Pro 2
Benki Brewing Tools
Lever pressThe upgrade
Your own weight pushes the water through, so you feel the pressure build instead of trusting a pump.
1Zpresso JX-Pro
1Zpresso
Hand grinderThe real bottleneck
Once the press was good, the grinder was the weak link. A stepped dial that actually holds its setting.
Budan
Something's Brewing
Semi-automaticWeekdays now
The manual workflow is lovely. It is also fifteen minutes I do not have on a Tuesday.
Kalita Wave 185
Benki Brewing Tools
Pour overWeekends
Saturday mornings I do all of it by hand, because the slow version is the part I enjoy.

Longer version

How I got into coffee, and what I learnt

Roast levels, grind size, portafilters, why a lever press works, and why there is nothing wrong with instant.

[ 02 / 02 ]·Everyday

Desk, scent, sound

What I work on, what I wear, and what is playing while I do. No shopping links on any of it, on purpose.

Personal
MacBook Air, M4Everything on this site was built on it, the portrait engine included. Silent, and it never gets warm enough to notice.
Work
MacBook Pro, M4The office machine. Same keyboard, more fans.
Phone
OnePlus Nord CE4Does the job. I am not precious about phones.
Scent
Cool WaterDavidoffOlder than I am and still the one I reach for. Mint and citrus over something salty. It is not subtle and it is not trying to be.
Scent
AftershaveFraganoteA Delhi house making fragrance for Indian weather, which turns out to matter more than I expected. Lemon up front, cedarwood and sage underneath. Sits close to the skin rather than announcing itself down a corridor.
On repeat
What I have had on while working, cooking, or walking somewhere. Press a sleeve for fifteen seconds of one.
The whole playlist

Also on the shelfBooks I'm reading