The original N7 was a total disaster. Mine won't even charge anymore — for a while it would be that I drained the battery faster than it could charge. Apparently the later series fixed those problems, but I was furious at that lack of QC.

Anyway I have the iPhone now, so if I get a tablet at all it'll be the small iPad Pro if/when it's released.

//

Reminds me of my 2012 Nexus 7 which used to crash all the time with a BT keyboard: it was so slow that I could type a page in Google Docs without anything showing up for 2 minutes. And then things would disappear randomly from the buffer and I'd get paragraphs of stuff that made less sense than when I originally typed it.

//

Oh dear.

I suppose one of the advantages of cooking at home is the reduced risk of that.

Pressure-cooking one of my favourite dishes: red-braised pork belly.

But that's not for tonight. That'll be to reheat after the big event. Tonight is crispy roast pork belly, HK style. It's nice to do two dinners at once. Saves time and washing up…

@height8 The Reserve beans are about as dark as I can stand. Maybe try going to a "third-wave" roastery and getting some light roast Brazilian beans — the few I've had show a curiously sweet grassy earthiness with very little cocoa. Brazilian also goes very well in the Aeropress — not too complex, so you don't risk muddling clarity by using immersion, and get the benefit of the AP brew's richness. It's good that you have a variable-temp kettle. Do you have scales?

Regarding the grinder, you seriously need an upgrade, else everything else will just be a waste of money. Baratza's grinders range from reasonable to quite expensive, and they're usually very highly recommended. I love the Lido grinders, but you have to be willing to put up with hand grinding.

//

@height8 I didn't mean to imply that you were striving for it, it was just an observation compared to my situation :) There is no upgrade from the Aeropress, realistically, short of spending 5k. I'd suggest the Kalita Wave as an easy-to-learn style though — it produces a pretty unique brew and is forgiving, though you'll also need a gooseneck kettle if you don't already have one.

That aside, I can only recommend varying your choice of beans. In fact I might recommend it more than looking for other devices to play with. Look for single-origin or single-plantation beans, light roast — that's the only way to keep the characteristics of the varietal and the origin intact. Though your aversion to acidity is a limiting factor.

What grinder are you currently using?

//

Well, @height8 makes up the quantity, and I blow the budget on quality.

Would end up being quite a bill.

You would, but I'd also be allowed to slap you if you ever overcooked pasta again.

Biggest problem on my mind (at least, for the event): how to hide a 50€ bottle of champagne amongst the other sparkling wines so that only a select few know to hunt for it.

Maybe if I just kept the bottles wrapped in paper towel or something…would keep them cool as well.