snakeriveridaho

I have been a dedicated espresso enthusiast since the mid 1980s. the machines have advanced tremendously since then. I currently use a Dalla Corte Mina, an Olympia Express Cremina lever, and the Cafelat Robot. I gave my 12 year old La Marzocco GS3 to my son. I have tried the Robot's main competition, the Flair. Flair has recently come out with a heat assisted model with a carrying case. I am waiting until they improve the heating mechanism to give it a try again. The current upper end Flair is has a 58 mm portafilter basket. There are only 3 preheat options: 85, 90, and 95 degrees Celsius. I brew espresso mostly at 93 degrees. When they offer 93 as an option, I will try Flair 58+. I am a scientist and I am detail oriented with brewing espresso. From my experience, the Cafelat Robot is best non electric option for espresso. It does a fantastic job at medium espresso roast. Lighter roast are more challenging and need to be extracted at a higher temperature and they are more difficult to get an even extraction. But for medium or medium/dark roast the Robot is superb and the espressos are rich, concentrated, and flavorful! I have been getting great results with 19 grams of beans ground fine enough to result in a yield of 25 grams of espresso in 32 to 38 seconds at about 9-10 bars. Like I mentioned in my previous post, way better results than you will get at over 90% of America's coffee shops. Kirk

I just had 3 double espressos! 😂

Not all the photos loaded for me, but the ones that did are great! Kirk

I enjoy a coffee from a Moka pot also. Nice strong coffee.

Hello, I use a Cafelat Robot. I just drink espresso shots in there morning. The Robot makes great espresso out camping, if you have a high quality hand grinder. I have got great results with the 1Zpresso K-Ultra grinder and beans from Caffe Lusso (either Lionshare blend or Gran Miscela Carmo blend). The espresso is way better than you get from almost all American coffee shops. With the espresso shot it is easy to make an Americano or a latte.

Thanks for the post. I want to get an articulated hitch. I have had 2 trailers with them. They definitely help. We have already been in a few situations where I wish I had one. Kirk

Carrie and I just got back from Smith Rock in Oregon. We had 1 to 2 bars of LTE. Borderline reception and most information wouldn't load. Over the week I tested the cell phone booster. Turned on, the booster help some pages load when they weren't loading with it turned off. However, the difference was minimal and the reception was not adequate to do more than slowly load the news or the weather and check emails. It was not improved to the point where one could move around on the web as needed. Borderline improvement, minimal at best. Kirk

Hello Geoff and Becca, Sounds like you are off to a great start. Looks like great campsites in your photos. Enjoy! Kirk

Congratulations! Best of luck on your current and future travels! Kirk

Hello and welcome! I like to see the number of Olivers increasing in the PNW! Good luck on your travels, we will watch for you on the road. Kirk

Hello, We use SeaSuckers paper towel holder https://www.seasucker.com/. it is a bit pricey but works great. Even better is their small waste band for trash. We have a couple of their hooks also, but the trash can band is the best. We keep the trash can attachment on the surface below the counter, under the pantry. There is room for the paper towel holder over the sink. Kirk

Thanks John, excellent app! Kirk

Hi Mark, Carrie and I are not planning on powering our air-conditioner with solar/batteries. We rarely use the air-conditioner. If we need it, we will find somewhere to plug in or bring a generator. It would be problematic to expect the battery and solar to keep up with that degree of energy consumption. Kirk

Welcome Chris and John and congratulations on your E2! Good luck on your first trip! Kirk

We have that burner in a slide out tray in the back of our truck. It is a great stove. Plus, it's made here in Idaho! Kirk

Thanks for all of the replies! I guess I will call Oliver and ask about our trailer, since we have one of the first production line trailers with the Truma package. Kirk

Hello, Is anyone aware of what this pertains to? Thanks, Kirk

We had our fabricated, powder coated, and separated with a neoprene layer. It is very solid. Kirk

Still just one switch for both sides. Kirk

Mark and Sally, Congratulations on you Oliver! It is definitely an exciting time! Nice land to go through for your first trip. Kirk

That looks great! Nice job, I would like to get that done also! Kirk

Hello, The photo shows on my PC but not on my iPad. Kirk

I am i complete agreement Bill! Kirk

Interesting. Carrie and I always carry our propane fire pit with us now. Growing up I was in the group of “it’s not camping without a big wood fire”. It’s good that some of us can evolve. Kirk

Hi John, I believe another category may be helpful. We won't stop camping, however, living out west, we are affected by smoke every summer now. We have have changed our destination several times over the last few years resulting in many hours cancelling reservations and looking for somewhere to camp with no smoke/fire AND camping options still available (since everything tends to fill up early now) . We have also completely canceled camping trips when the smoke is too bad. We have gotten a lot of smoke from northern California and southern Oregon the last couple of summers. Does smoke/fire severely affect your camping: Yes! Kirk