Coffee: Espresso

Better coffee at home, without the café price or a counter full of gadgets. Five things at a time — the changes that actually show up in the cup.

15 lists

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Flat illustration: a shared office coffee machine taste goodCoffee5 things that help a shared office coffee machine taste goodNobody in the building owns the coffee machine, which is exactly why it tastes like nobody owns it: scale nobody descales, a reservoir that sits full over every bank holiday, a hopper that's only ever topped up and never emptied. None of the real fixes need facilities' permission or a budget line — most take under fifteen minutes and one person willing to be the person who does them.9 Sept 2026 · 8 min readFlat illustration: a travel espresso maker's weak shotsCoffee5 things that help a travel espresso maker's weak shots7 Sept 2026 · 7 min readFlat illustration: judge grinder-cleaning pucks' worthCoffee5 things that help judge grinder-cleaning pucks' worth4 Sept 2026 · 6 min readFlat illustration: a pod machine tasting off after descalingCoffee5 things that help a pod machine tasting off after descaling2 Sept 2026 · 7 min readFlat illustration: you decide if a puck screen's worth itCoffee5 things that help you decide if a puck screen's worth it26 Aug 2026 · 6 min readFlat illustration: match a portafilter basket to your doseCoffee5 things that help match a portafilter basket to your dose23 Aug 2026 · 7 min readFlat illustration: with espresso ratio 1:2, 1:2.5, ristrettoCoffee5 things that help with espresso ratio 1:2, 1:2.5, ristretto18 Aug 2026 · 7 min readFlat illustration: you make better espresso at homeCoffee5 things that help you make better espresso at home12 Jul 2026 · 6 min readFlat illustration: with backflush vs descale for espressoCoffee5 things that help with backflush vs descale for espresso6 Jul 2026 · 9 min readFlat illustration: decaf espresso that runs too fastCoffee5 things that help decaf espresso that runs too fast4 Jul 2026 · 9 min readFlat illustration: with stale grounds from grinder retentionCoffee5 things that help with stale grounds from grinder retention4 Jul 2026 · 9 min readFlat illustration: with shots varying daily from same beansCoffee5 things that help with shots varying daily from same beans29 Jun 2026 · 9 min readFlat illustration: with a bottomless portafilter that spraysCoffee5 things that help with a bottomless portafilter that sprays28 Jun 2026 · 7 min readFlat illustration: a sour espresso shot even at max grindCoffee5 things that help a sour espresso shot even at max grind27 Jun 2026 · 8 min readFlat illustration: you make great coffee without a machineCoffee5 things that help you make great coffee without a machine18 Jun 2026 · 3 min read

Five things that help, every Sunday.

One list a week, picked by hand.