craftsmanship, consumerism, virtue, privilege, and quality

Yeah, I think you're right, Hurting 2. My story is also second-hand, and through the professor's filter, so I won't carry this too far, but I think her emphasis was that she noticed a trend among her students of genuine interest in exploring craft for craft's sake (not surprising, considering that the diy scene has been around for decades), and incorporating the process of doing something manual and not conceptual into their work, but not quite committing to that process. The result was not actually executing a craft so much as it was engaging the concept of craft and writing up an artist's statement about moving away from the conceptual to engage process.

Thought this was interesting:
http://www.aeonmagazine.com/being-human/julian-baggini-coffee-artisans/

Summary: It seems like one of the main arguments in favor of handmade/artisanal products is QUALITY, but if a machine-made product (like Nespresso coffee) can provide sensory pleasure at a consistently superior level, are there still valid reasons to prefer the more "human" effort?

NB: I've barely read this thread, so maybe this has all been discussed to death.

Nespresso doesn't make superior coffee to good baristas for many reasons. I consider myself a black belt expert in the matter.

But if it did, fuck yes I would choose the nespresso. Espresso itself is a way more machine-driven process than pour-over or french-press and I prefer espresso.

I mean, the damning taste test was basically nespresso vs. some bullshit not even fit to use as espresso vs. the hotel's espresso. Maybe the hotel didn't have especially great espresso?

i had a nespresso machine for awhile (it was a gift) and after awhile all the capsules started tasting the same. after the initial novelty it was not that great. i have a $25 aeropress now which delivers faaaaar superior taste, lets me use my own beans, produces no waste and doesn't require an entire machine to heat up.

baffled to learn that AeroPress is a coffee machine from the makers of

http://aerobie.com/images/Pro-Main-ForWeb250.jpg

yes! that is their other product!

In France, Nespresso supplies more than 100 Michelin restaurants, including the legendary L’Arpège in Paris.

this is not surprising insofar as france has famously bad coffee.

wow there is no way i'm finishing that article though

In distant last place came the ground coffee I had brought, a very good quality, single-estate bean, but not roasted for espresso and ground four days earlier

i mean COME ON

four days is an eternity in ground coffee time. plus they dont say how they kept it -- vacuum sealed? in a freezer? also not roasted for espresso and ground "too coarsely" for the machine

aeropress is great y'all

anyway maybe more importantly

Summary: It seems like one of the main arguments in favor of handmade/artisanal products is QUALITY, but if a machine-made product (like Nespresso coffee) can provide sensory pleasure at a consistently superior level, are there still valid reasons to prefer the more "human" effort?

the valid reason i think is basically that we have individual tastes! some people like their espressos w/ different notes, smells, tastes, etc.

some people like funny machines with nespresso logos

In distant last place came the ground coffee I had brought, a very good quality, single-estate bean, but not roasted for espresso and ground four days earlier
i mean COME ON

― max, Friday, January 11, 2013 7:20 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

four days is an eternity in ground coffee time. plus they dont say how they kept it -- vacuum sealed? in a freezer? also not roasted for espresso and ground "too coarsely" for the machine

― max, Friday, January 11, 2013 7:22 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this. I mean the "ground too coarsely" alone is a really, really big reason why the espresso probably tasted bad, maybe even moreso than the non-freshness. Like why don't you just stick the whole beans right in the portafilter dude, the whole point is to grind it ulrafine and pack it tight to create resistance so the pressure causes the water to extract more.

thinking a lot about privilege and the perceived "quality" of labor

i think there is something i want to say about it that relates to hourly wages vs. piecework but i'm not sure what it is

perception that the laborer is white and lives in north brooklyn

well yes

It's an interesting question, though, because the object and the it's context can create a perception of quality of labor that has no bearing on how it was actually produced. But the perception is important to the brand.

This idea that I own an object that was created by someone who cares as much or more about the object than I do. Same goes for services.

http://gawker.com/5980261/artisanal-manliness-for-fun-and-profit

good crossover with the blogs instruct you how to be a man thread

late capitalism is all about bourgeois folks paying a premium for "experiences" with an aura of authenticity

Yeah, that's pretty much ridiculous. However, if you strip away the narration and the price tag, looks like a fun camping trip.

funny article. French presses are great for camping, though.

artisanal manliness doesn't seem to involve individuality

I bring a french press AND fancy cheese

i swear the nyt food section editors must have decided to make a push on 'country ham' (vs 'city ham'), these are only two of the stories i've seen it in recently

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/20/dining/picking-a-flavorful-easter-ham.html?hpw
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/24/magazine/mark-bittman-and-sam-siftons-east-over-feast.html?hpw

If it all sounds unappetizing, be assured that the country’s best hams — from producers committed to real wood smoke, pure maple syrup and pasture-raised pigs — are worth seeking out.

pasture raised, feh, the best pigs are forest-finished

obv. wood is more artisanal than grass

the best ham comes from pigs who are actual pipe smokers, tbh

We went looking for spring, Mark and I, down in Charleston, S.C., a stunning city, rich with history both sad and ecstatic, in a region that offers a tremendous bounty of fresh ingredients and regional flavors.

Mmm yes hello I am Garrison Keillor.

Acorn-fed pork for real

i didn't know that france had notoriously bad coffee. huh. you learn something new every day. you'd think it would be fancy coffee.

craftsmanship-wise, my sister in law/bro in law have this hand grinder and it takes like an hour to grind coffee beans and it kinda drives me up a wall and then they have this science-lab coffee-maker that goes on their stove-top and it makes like a cup and a half of coffee and it takes an hour to make and by then i really want to jump out a window. other than that i like staying with them okay. though my sis in law is a demon in the morning and i try to avoid her entirely until she is awake. i always seem to be in the exact wrong spot in the morning and she has to get around me and i'm afraid she will slit my throat. but i'm just hanging around waiting for coffee! seriously thinking of bringing coffee and a mr. coffee-maker and just putting it in the room we sleep in and not leaving the room until noon next time we visit.

sorry, i'm late to the coffee talk. i like ham.

Shes like a demon because she has to get up at five if she wants coffee at eight, you should coffeesplain a few things to her

Sit her down, say arent u sick of the daily grind, i find a lil joke at the start of some real talk really opens ppl up to my wisdom /poppins

I support whatever gets people through the morning with the least amount of suffering. Also sometimes I just have tea because the time it takes to grind beans, boil water, and wait for the french press to steep is sometimes too much.

yeah i think the thing is they aren't coffee addicts. they make it for us mostly. and they try to tell me that the grinder is like the greatest hand grinder in the world and i think not if i kill one of you it isn't.

i love them though. they are the greatest. and they introduced me to the wonder that is my fave restaurant in nyc Prune (twice!) and for that i will be forever in their debt.

and i think not if i kill one of you it isn't.

This is like a thought I would have! <3

Craftmanship, quality and MURDER

prune is great.

hand-dried prunes

air-wrinkled dates

individually stoned dates, man those were the daze

i didn't know that france had notoriously bad coffee. huh. you learn something new every day. you'd think it would be fancy coffee.

craftsmanship-wise, my sister in law/bro in law have this hand grinder and it takes like an hour to grind coffee beans and it kinda drives me up a wall and then they have this science-lab coffee-maker that goes on their stove-top and it makes like a cup and a half of coffee and it takes an hour to make and by then i really want to jump out a window. other than that i like staying with them okay. though my sis in law is a demon in the morning and i try to avoid her entirely until she is awake. i always seem to be in the exact wrong spot in the morning and she has to get around me and i'm afraid she will slit my throat. but i'm just hanging around waiting for coffee! seriously thinking of bringing coffee and a mr. coffee-maker and just putting it in the room we sleep in and not leaving the room until noon next time we visit.

― scott seward, Saturday, March 23, 2013 2:20 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

People who expend the greatest amounts of effort to avoid using the smallest amounts of electricity (unless they are legit committed to some kind of off-the-grid lifestyle) = disgusting savages imo.

I think those things are usually about coffee snobbery rather than electricity savings.

I've been thinking about getting an Aeropress. $20 plus a washable filter, I only envision drinking a cup in the morning so nbd about the time/amount.

I don't get the "coffee snobbery" of using a hand mill versus an electric burr grinder though - I can think of no plausible reason why a hand mill would make things come out better, unless you're worried about generating heat, in which case, just pulse the burr grinder or don't run it for too long.

yeah there is literally no coffee snob who would prefer a hand mill to an electric burr grinder... even one of those zassenhaus ones