Ryan Jacobs

Ever since I got the Rancilio Silvia espresso machine, I haven’t really been happy with what I once considered a good grinder, the Starbucks Barista burr grinder. But it just didn’t grind fine enough for the Silvia. Until now. I learned how to make a relatively simple adjustment that seems to work brilliantly. I will [...]

August 25, 2007 I finished the book today and am giving it the 4 star rating above. I really liked how each chapter explained a particular myth and explored the causes of it. In some chapters, there was more practical advice for dealing with the myth, while in others you are sort of left to [...]

Rebecca and I were browsing at the Apple store at Easton yesterday when I noticed a somewhat familiar face. Upon further investigation, I realized it was Dave Chappelle. Since he was wearing shades I wasn’t 100 percent confident until I heard him talk to the sales clerk a question. The distinctive voice confirmed it.

I began some experiments with cooking with coffee tonight. The first was a rub using chipotle peppers, coffee and a few other ingredients. We used it on a nice cut of salmon. The results were really good, though I think next time I’ll tone down the ratio of peppers to coffee. There was just a [...]

Rebecca and I were invited to an opening event for Crimson Cup’s retail store in Clintonville. This is the roaster’s first retail operation as they have to this point been suppliers to businesses and retail operations. I had a very good double espresso which is rare to find these days outside of my home. I [...]

After reading The Devil in the White City, I thought that I would read another book by Erik Larson that sounded like it had similar qualities. Thunderstruck is the two stories of Marconi and his quest to deliver wireless communication with a murder mystery that ultimately is foiled in part because of Marconi’s invention.
While the [...]