#blogp

As soon as research began, I found it increasingly more apparent that not a lot of pre-existing design caters to disability. Up until 2017, taxis in the UK did not have to accommodate wheelchair users by law (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/access-for-wheelchair-users-to-taxis-and-private-hire-vehicles). 

And always push your budget a little more than what you are comfortable with!! When buying!! Coffee equipment!! I don’t like to purchase anything for more than $5 and I’m a compulsive spender and spend $5 many times over periods of time so I fully understand the broke/financially irresponsible life. Watch for deals though, be open to refurbished and used equipment. I don’t have a lot of experience with used equipment but it would be my assumption that a used espresso machine will be safer than a used grinder because grinder maintenance is a little more particular than an espresso machine. As long as the espresso machine has a working boiler and is free of scale and well taken care of and especially clean it is a safe buy. That’s where refurbished becomes your best option. Anyways, do your research before you completely consume yourself in this hobby of coffee. I started on my coffee journey around age 14 or 15 with little research or knowledge. I watched videos on how to tamp and steam milk and I went out and bought myself a De’Longhi EC155, which was a fair first machine, however my appreciation for different elements of coffee and espresso quickly grew and flourished and I couldn’t stand the sight of my $100 De’Longhi. What I thought was important was cute shot glasses and badass tampers and the rest was just fun. Absolutely not! Most of the shot glasses aren’t dishwasher safe (hint: more work, more to clean) and don’t change the flavor of the drink, tamper doesn’t count for anything on a machine like this because while easily modifiable, the EC155 came with unpressurized portafilters which eliminate the need for quality tamping and exact grinding. Not to mention I was using my mom’s old blade grinder. I like to drink espresso and there’s no way that cuts it. And the panarello steam wand sucked because it was slow and required no skill. Earlier this year I upgraded to a De’Longhi ECP3630 out of desparateness and acceptance of trash espresso. Had I practiced patience, the money I spent on both of these machines along with my Bodum Bistro and Mr. Coffee grinders would have afforded me a decent espresso grinder and half of an espresso machine. Although, I needed a grinder for every other brew method I enjoy. And my mom likes the burr grinders for her toffee flavored coffee.

Lately I've been thinking about coffee origins and such and I would really like to see more regions of the world growing coffee in the future. There are a lot of places that could be farming coffee and aren't and I think it would be interesting to see what we could get out of it. Some European countries could certainly be doing so such as Spain, Italy + Sicily, I would think Greece and the Balkans could pull something, maybe Turkey. It also makes sense that countries such as Japan, the US, and Australia who have had a growing coffee culture should attempt producing coffee. The global coffee community has come a long way on the customer service end of the industry, I think looking more into the agricultural side would benefit the industry greatly with more diversity of coffee and culture and new exploration.