I was thinking about the “What Don’t You Get” thread, and this idea came to me - how about a positive/optimistic thread from the other end of the spectrum?
So here’s “Starter Kits”
Pick a topic that you know and love that perhaps others don’t “get”, understand, see the beauty in, or haven’t experienced.
Choose three images/links, then write some words as a starter kit for others to find a way in.
If the topic was Sun Ra; what three things - videos, interviews, compilations, or albums could illustrate how a new jack could get into him and his music? And what would you say to explain it all and why it’s worth even starting with it?
New threads are always hit and miss!
Might not work, and feel free to relax the “rules” in service of a good idea.
I’ll have a crack at it tomorrow, just back home from a night uptown at the theatre, so a bit knackered.
(Jez Butterworth’s new play, v v good, highly recommend)
Also saw Hills Of California this week. Very good. My top 3 from JB is Ferryman, Jerusalem then HoC. But all are amazing and a cut above most other productions. It’s high quality theatre all round. Top stuff.
Btw this isn’t a starter kit on going to the theatre. I’ll have a think about something I can actually contribute to this thread.
Might seem like a faff, but honestly is so simple.
First thing to get comfortable with - the aim isn’t to be a barista.
The coffee down the road at my local independent is 100% tastier. There is a whole science side to coffee that I don’t worry about. I don’t weigh anything, work out the pressure or temperature. It’s been trial and error (like my beat mixing )
It’s about the morning ritual, the smell, the taste you can change and play with, and the act of making something, waiting for it etc.
Bialetti is a good moka pot to start with - around £20-£25, you can get a coffee grinder for about the same price (Bodum make electric ones, hand grinders are also an option).
All supermarkets sell beans these days.
One faff bit is getting the coffee into the moka basket without getting it all over the counter. My hack is to use coffee filter paper, it’s easier to pour into that - then the moka - rather than direct from a grinder.
Added bonus, if you have pot plants apparently they love the old used coffee grounds.
Bosh.
For less than a record store day limited edition, double red vinyl gatefold KISS album you can start a whole new hobby.
Rather than wang on, I just found this 3 minute+ video. He does a good job of the basics.
I’m a moka man, I love it, but just wanted to second that the best way to get closer to the coffee shop taste is to invest in your own grinder rather than relying on pre-ground…
We just use a cafetière but always grind our own beans which does seem to make the difference, usually supermarket bought ones tbh - Union from Sainsbury’s are great. Wife after one of these when we do the kitchen
You can get it ground in some places when you are buying it. The coffee bean shop can open the bag, grind the beans to your specific requirements and then close up the bag. It will be fresher than buying pre ground. You can specify also how finely to grind. For the espresso portafilter it’s a fine grind, for the cafetiere it’s very coarse. The moka pot is also a fine grind.
i can’t cook. i suck at cooking. i don’t really like trying to cook. but i love to eat good food, and i love to watch other people do difficult things really well.
i also don’t like television that’s stressful in pretty much any capacity. so, i watch a lot of cooking shows, because i find it relaxing (and i hope to find cool lil’ facts along the way). i recommend this type of viewing to all kinds of people, young and old - we all have to eat, we should all see a bit about the art and science that goes into it, and we should all divert our attention from the shitty competitive world that is overly highlighted on every other television program - we should all just calm down and watch kind and gentle people make something we can all enjoy.
(edit: i don’t limit it to the three above - i’ll watch pretty much any cooking show. i’ve watched almost all of julia childs’ ‘french chef’, most of the bourdain stuff, weird PBS shows on 70’s-era chinese and indian cooking, the GBBO, iron chef, guy fieri - i’m not picky, i just like to watch folks do magical things that i can’t do - especially when it’s collaborative and not competitive)
For me Bourdain is the ultimate in relax television you couldn’t have put it better. No reservations is the best thing to watch and relax. You’re right tv is so competition based in a competitive world.
Bourdain was the coolest too. Kitchen confidential is probably my favourite book too.
I got a question that’s been perplexing me for years with my moka pot. Got a small bialetti stainless steel one (lovely lines on it )…I can use it two days in a row and get crazily different amounts of brewed coffee out of it. From my point of view I do everything the same ie amount of water, not pushing down the coffee too much etc etc. Any ideas ? It ain’t the end of the world but bugs me a little!
I would not recommend that. Ground coffee oxidizes in a matter of minutes, not days. By the time you get home those ground beans will produce a significantly worse cup of coffee. By the next day it’s better not to bother. Always grind just before you brew, if you can.
)
)…I can use it two days in a row and get crazily different amounts of brewed coffee out of it. From my point of view I do everything the same ie amount of water, not pushing down the coffee too much etc etc. Any ideas 
? It ain’t the end of the world but bugs me a little!