# Are we mental?



## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

Sat here staring out the window thinking about life, then my mind wanders once again to coffee, then i realize that i spend most of my day thinking about coffee, coffee beans, grinders, hoppers, roasting and anything else coffee related!

I sit at work thinking about what type of shot i am going to pull when i get home, then i think about pour over at the weekend, then i get home, do a shot and then proceed to check my roasted beans, opening each bag and venting any gases and having a good sniff, then i roast more beans.

I sit reading all the posts on here, i have pages of coffee related items in my Ebay knowing that i will never buy them, i even think i bore the people in my office waffling coffee and spending ten minutes making one in the morning, plus i must offend them when they offer me a coffee and i laugh and say ill do it!

So the question i put to you all, why the hell do we do it, isn't it just a drink?


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

froggystyle said:


> So the question i put to you all, why the hell do we do it, isn't it just a drink?


Hell no, it's the magic brown elixir...not "just a drink"! Unless of course it is...;-)


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

Yes we are, yes it is.....but as drinks go it's pretty dam good!

It's a bit like folk being into wine but you're also involved with making the stuff too.


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Bill Shankly was asked if football was a matter of life or death. His reply,

'Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.'

For football substitute 'coffee'.


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## Burnzy (Apr 17, 2014)

Theres something quite special about coffee,

i read that thing about jay rayner saying coffee had been ruined by light roasting to harbour the natural flavours of coffee... He said "if i wanted a coffee that had natural essence of bergamot id just have a earl grey"

but bergamot is added to tea, the coffee bean is so darn sophisticated that it can produce fruity flavours with no fruit being added. I once had a kenyan that tasted of blackcurrants... It was just amazing that because of the volcanic soil it was grown in it produces these amazing flavours.

Plus a double espresso is a really good hit. ;-)


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## Soll (Nov 10, 2013)

This is normal as far as I'm concerned, I often think about the coffee I made in the morning and wonder how I could have made it better, but there's no body to discuss it with! Gurj is a Tea drinker, everyone at work thinks that coffee is, well, just coffee! So if it wasn't for this forum I think I'd still be brewing coffee on my old Mocha stove top....


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

I get you right there Soll, if it wasn't for this great forum, i fear i would go mad...

Wifey drinks coffee and has really enjoyed me getting better gear, but she doesn't quite get it like i do, she moans at me in the morning because i make her wait till the classic is fully warmed up...


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

Espresso therapy!


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## Soll (Nov 10, 2013)

Froggy! On the odd occasion I do make my wife a latte she complains it's not hot enough and demands I heat it up in the microwave, and only then while it's scolding hot she claims it's not as good as Millicano !!







.....Well she is a tea drinker, what would you expect


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## Eyedee (Sep 13, 2010)

My first thought on waking is "go and switch the Brewtus on" (when I'm at home), I'm addicted, almost smoker like, to this forum and it's good people. The aeropress is a substitute but hey, it's a pretty poor substitute for the depth of flavour that a well pulled shot will give you.

Are we mental, no, we have just worked out that we appreciate having the best coffee we can produce and enjoying it.

Ian


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## DannyMontez (May 19, 2014)

My girlfriend thinks it's weird and even weirder that I am a member of this forum. I think it's a good hobby to have and it's certainly popular with my friends.


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## Tiny tamper (May 23, 2014)

I have to agree with urbanbumpkin I do liken our love of the bean to that of wine, it's really the nearest thing to compare it with.

They have regions, blends, single origins, different brewing methods and of course the ppl who just live wine as we do coffee and right fully so there's as much knowledge required and expertes required for one as there is in the other.

Also alot of us on here strive for perfection in our own ways and I love reading how everyone gets on, on a daily basis absolutely brilliant place this forum


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

I spent all day thinking about push fit bits and bobs. Was totally clock watching in work so i could run to screwfix. What a plum.


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## Mouse (Feb 28, 2014)

Mostly mentalists on here - It's why I like it so much


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## Hoffmonkey (Apr 28, 2014)

DannyMontez said:


> My girlfriend thinks it's weird and even weirder that I am a member of this forum. I think it's a good hobby to have and it's certainly popular with my friends.


Ditto. My coffee obsession started this April when I couldn't decide what I wanted for my 42nd birthday and then came up with the idea of a coffee machine. I've been doing moka stove top stuff at least 3-4 times a week since she bought me a bialleti venus for christmas a couple of years ago. Little did I anticipate the ridiculous obsession this has become. I think I'm partly more in love with the process and the shiny kit than the end product if I'm completely honest!

When my Mrs asked me what I was doing on my laptop a few weeks ago and I explained I was replying to a post on a coffee forum, she laughed so hard she wee'd herself a bit. She thought it completely hilarious and proceeded to make up a little conversation about what we might be discussing. I did have to agree somewhat, but I'm still here and I'm only really just getting started!


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Mr name is boots i post too much. I'm a mentalist


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## Obnic (Jan 14, 2014)

Yes, mental. But in our defence, it's life in a cup; zen; a martial art. Get it right and you are rewarded with short lived joy. Anything else... ruthless and immediate punishment. No stabilisers in this game. No playing marginally either.


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## Mouse (Feb 28, 2014)

Hoffmonkey said:


> When my Mrs asked me what I was doing on my laptop a few weeks ago and I explained I was replying to a post on a coffee forum, she laughed so hard she wee'd herself a bit. She thought it completely hilarious and proceeded to make up a little conversation about what we might be discussing. I did have to agree somewhat, but I'm still here and I'm only really just getting started!


She can thank me later Hoff







http://www.incontinentsupport.org/forum.php


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Mrboots2u said:


> Mr name is boots i post too much. I'm a mentalist


Can't argue with that


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

Well I feel like a bit of a mentalist to be honest, I mean, I've been drinking coffee for years without really paying *that* much attention to it. It was only when my rubbish blade grinder broke that I started googling what to replace it with that I found this forum. Now I'm spending 5x as much on a grinder (ha ha yeah and that's "entry level"), weighing coffee out in sub-gram increments like some crack dealer, and timing my morning shower around the time it takes for the Classic to get up to temp. That *is* a bit mental, surely? And it was only when I realised I had 20g left in my hopper yesterday that I realised how addicted I'd started to get, as in I *had* to get some more beans the next day or Friday would start all wrong, but I couldn't just nip round to Tezzies (other supermarkets are available) for a bag of L*vazza (Italian for "toilet") Oh, no! Only "proper" fresh beans will do! Thank goodness for Davec who sorted me out with a freshly roasted supply and a nice couple of drinks today! My Mrs thought I was mad enough with the motorbike forum, and has those imagined conversations she thinks I'm having. "Ooh, I've got a ZZF lalala Karaoke 350" is what she usually says. I think she really thinks I've lost the plot now I go online to talk about hot beverages. Heck, even I'm confused now: Is a CBR1200 a Honda or a Gene Cafe roaster?

Comparing it to wine is quite a good analogy. And though I like a nice glass of wine with a good meal, I've studiously avoided getting to know too much about it because then I'll end up spending too much on it and forever being disappointed with the drinks I can afford when dining out. I mean, £20 in a restaurant only gets you a bottle of plonk so imagine if you only drink the good stuff&#8230; Yet here I am, having spent more on a flipping second hand grinder that I'd spend on wine in a year LOL!

PS, I'm so jealous that I never thought of the nick "Tiny Tamper" for myself, but I'm still chuckling about his unfortunate misspelling of Urbanbumpkin's handle in post #12. Such a great mental image!


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

hotmetal said:


> PS, I'm so jealous that I never thought of the nick "Tiny Tamper" for myself, but I'm still chuckling about his unfortunate misspelling of Urbanbumpkin's handle in post #12. Such a great mental image!


LOL......I did notice it


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## Tiny tamper (May 23, 2014)

urbanbumpkin said:


> LOL......I did notice it


Ffs guys coulda told me lol


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

Hahaha, no way Mr Tinie Tampah! Or you could have edited it and then that would have been one little smile that could have been lost to us all forever!

So wish I'd have thought of your nick though, genius!

And while we're on the topic of are we mental, since I've been on this forum I've had so much less sleep. And the stupidest thing is, it's not the extra caffeine intake as a result of "the daily grind", it's reading all these threads! Who knew coffee could keep you awake half the night without even actually drinking it?!


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## Daren (Jan 16, 2012)

What's mental about spending hours and hours obsessing over a crushed up roasted (or unroasted) bean? (let's not mention the £s!)

I'm sure if I obsessed this much over something like the stock market then I'd be a rich man


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## Tiny tamper (May 23, 2014)

hotmetal said:


> So wish I'd have thought of your nick though, genius!


cheers m8 i thought so too although your rather disappointingly the first to comment on it lol


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

Daren, going by your avatar I suspect you may have the same thing about clothes too? Is that triple-ply English tonic mohair? Would those buttons be cloth covered? Just what is the width of those lapels and what kind of side vent length are we talking? I'm sure the tailor I used to use thought I was absolutely mental with some of the stuff I used to get him to make me, but I wasn't the only one so maybe he was used to our ways. Probably the maddest one was after a rally in Yarmouth where I noticed all the 'smart mods' would stand around looking cool and all the 'brown continental style' ones would be having all the fun dancing. Deciding that I wanted the best of both worlds I pretty much re-invented the waistcoat by getting something made that could either be described as a sleeveless un-padded super-short jacket, or more accurately a navy pinstripe waistcoat with an 8-button double-breast, super-small lapels and envelope pockets, with a matching pair of hipster trousers with little tab-and-button thingies on the trouser legs and a tunnel for a belt instead of loops. I don't think I could find anyone to make such a thing these days (I'm not sure I'd wear it now either!) but after that an awful lot of people started wearing (normal) waistcoats to the clubs. Nowadays I make do with a triple-ply mohair from Adam Shener and have done with it.


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

Daren said:


> I'm sure if I obsessed this much over something like the stock market then I'd be a rich man


Maybe.....but you'd be a very dull dreary one


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## Daren (Jan 16, 2012)

hotmetal said:


> Daren, going by your avatar I suspect you may have the same thing about clothes too? Is that triple-ply English tonic mohair? Would those buttons be cloth covered? Just what is the width of those lapels and what kind of side vent length are we talking? I'm sure the tailor I used to use thought I was absolutely mental with some of the stuff I used to get him to make me, but I wasn't the only one so maybe he was used to our ways. Probably the maddest one was after a rally in Yarmouth where I noticed all the 'smart mods' would stand around looking cool and all the 'brown continental style' ones would be having all the fun dancing. Deciding that I wanted the best of both worlds I pretty much re-invented the waistcoat by getting something made that could either be described as a sleeveless un-padded super-short jacket, or more accurately a navy pinstripe waistcoat with an 8-button double-breast, super-small lapels and envelope pockets, with a matching pair of hipster trousers with little tab-and-button thingies on the trouser legs and a tunnel for a belt instead of loops. I don't think I could find anyone to make such a thing these days (I'm not sure I'd wear it now either!) but after that an awful lot of people started wearing (normal) waistcoats to the clubs. Nowadays I make do with a triple-ply mohair from Adam Shener and have done with it.


If you can pardon the pun.... It sounds like we are cut from the same cloth - moth.

Great post hm


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## mraie (Jun 29, 2014)

mental no, OCD definitely, it is the never ending search for prefection


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## centaursailing (Feb 27, 2012)

Thanks guys, I enjoyed reading the posts in this thread - guess that makes me a mentalist too


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## Thecatlinux (Mar 10, 2014)

YES.......we are......YOLO!


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

YOLO indeed!

13 yolos!


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

YOLO? Is that similar to caffè diem?

Or should that be carpe caffè?


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