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PaperclipPerfector  1mo ago (text post)   2860 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for July 24, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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What is something that you completely can not understand why it exists?
From time to to time I notice something and I am like wow there is a market for this.

One big one for me has always been Starbucks. I can not imagine paying their prices for coffee. And I generally want a coffee within the first 15 minutes of waking up so the idea of putting on clothing and going to a coffee store everyday seems both a huge waste of time and money.

So for the most part I can’t understand the volume of business at coffee stores.

on going out for coffee generally - coffee varies between roasters and shops. I enjoy the variety, and DIY can be some effort (e.g. timing cold brew so it's not under or over-extracted). Cafe drinks don't cost that much more than doing it at home, and it forces me to go outside and go for a 5-10m walk, when I might otherwise spend the entire day indoors.

on Starbucks specifically - known quantity, not terrible coffee. Their staff around here get paid decent wages and all speak English as a first language. (unlike Tim Hortons, our budget chain, where 95%+ of their staff are temporary foreign workers on slave wages). I don't go to Starbucks often, but definitely pick up the free birthday drink, and occasionally use it for reliable app pickup because it has locations everywhere.

I make brewed coffee at home, but I can't make a cappuccino at home without buying a bunch of special equipment I don't have room for in my kitchen and only would want to use a few times a year, but it's nice to get one before Christmas shopping or when you're on another fun outing.

My dad loves their drip coffee and it seems as cheap as any other restaurant's version.

With the increasing dominance of expresso-based coffee (paradoxically partly driven by Starbucks), Starbucks is actually one of the best places to get decent drip coffee. At least in London, any of the other major chains will just serve you an Americano without warning you, and the good independents will check you are okay with Americano before serving it.

Paris used to have a culture of decent drip coffee, but I'm not sure if they still do. The last few times I was there I was with kids in a way not conducive to serious coffee exploration.

I've never understood the appeal of espresso over drip coffee, unless all you want is an instant caffeine hit. The whole process is just over so quickly. With a nice big cup of drip coffee, I can have a pleasant chat or get in a solid reading session, I can nurse it through all my morning emails. I can choose to take it to go or spend an hour leisurely drinking multiple cups. It helps keep me warm for an extended period of time on a cold day. An espresso is like 3 sips and you're done.

I mean, I totally get that it's gone quickly, but I personally love a good espresso and I'll tell you why. The idea of espresso is to extract everything that's great about the taste of coffee into that demitasse cup and to leave everything nasty and bitter in the puck of coffee grounds that the water is forced through. A good shot of espresso will light up your senses the moment it hits your palate in a concentrated flavor burst, and can be a whole new level of amazing, especially when getting one from places that know their craft--every single sip will bring that powerful, concentrated flavor. And yeah, the caffeine does in fact hit more quickly when drinking espresso. That said, if you like to sip your beverages leisurely, coffee is always going to be a better choice. But yeah, just talking about it like this makes me want one and maybe I'll treat myself tomorrow!

An espresso by itself, I agree. It's more of "I need to get this in my system quickly" thing than a truly enjoyable experience. I mean, it's good for the couple seconds it lasts and it does leave a lingering aroma on the tongue, but that's still too short for me. But espresso based drinks, on the other hand... Less water than drip coffee; a latté or cappuccino is "creamier", more "milky" than a drip coffee with milk, for the same amount of coffee solubles and overall volume, due to not having nearly as much water.

Musical accompaniment for this conversation.

As someone with an occasional craving for frothed-milk coffee drinks, moka pot coffee with French press-foamed milk scratches the itch reasonably well.

but I can't make a cappuccino at home without buying a bunch of special equipment

It's not tiny, but I bought one of the smallest espresso machines available on Amazon with good reviews for around $100, and I've been slowly upping my cappuccino game with it. It's probably 12"x12"x4", and I was able to find counter space for it. I did already have a burr grinder, though. I'm not sure if it can make the best coffee, but I think it was a fun choice.

I bought this milk frother during (or shortly before) Covid. I use it literally every day. One button, easy to clean, footprint is about the same as a large jamjar.

Thanks all for the suggestions, looks like it might be time to up my foamed milk game.

I make lattes each morning on a little machine with an espresso press and steam wand, and it's lovely.

What model and what'd it run you? I've been considering one now that I'm working from home more.

I don't see the exact model, it was Yabano, with a pressure gauge and about $80 when I bought it three years ago. This looks pretty similar:https://www.target.com/p/anycold-20-bar-espresso-machine-compact-stainless-steel-maker-with-milk-frother-34oz-removable-tank-for-home-latte-cappuccino/-/A-1007776423#lnk=sametab

I did work at a coffee show for a couple of years, and don't mind spending ten minutes making the coffee myself, though that style of steamer does involve running a little litter of milk in circles for two or three minutes each cup.

Yeah if I drank them every day, I'd probably get one. But for something I get 4 or 5 times a year, I'll rent the time and expertise from a coffee shop.

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