Joseph F. Radosevich

Preheat the cup. I did a test this year with a thermometer and noticed that the water dropped 30° when I poured it into a room temperature cup. Unless I want the temperature of the coffee to drop, I realized I needed to preheat the cup with hot water from the kettle. Preheat the French press. This is related to the previous insight. I was never happy brewing in my insulated French press. I realized that if the temperature drops 30°, then it is not brewing at the right temperature in my French press. Preheating the French press made a huge difference. Press the French press slowly. I learned from James Hoffman--and someone else I don't remember--that the grit on a french press largely comes from stirring up the grounds by pressing quickly. By pressing slowly or not pressing at all and pouring it through the mesh, you get a much cleaner cup. It does make a big difference and you end up with a lot less of the solids in the bottom which can make the coffee become more bitter the longer...

  I recently bought a new kettlebell. It was my first new kettlebell in 10 years. I read lots of reviews, but few of them included details about how the kettlebell worked with certain styles of training. I am very happy with the REP Fitness Kettlebell and thought it would be good to review it along with details about how I use it. My style of training is similar to what you see in RKC or Strongfirst. I do kettlebell swings to shoulder height. I like kettlebell snatches and cleans, but I don't do long cycle. I didn't want a competition bell. I wanted a kettlebell with a slightly matte finish.  I already own kettlebells from Lifeline, Muscle Driver, and Fringesport. My Lifeline kettlebell is my favorite. It has an amazing matte finish that doesn't rip my hands. The Fringesport One Fit Wonder kettlebells have narrow handles and are rough and slick at the same time (they no longer sell that line).  When I first got into kettlebell training, the reviews I read said that Dragon...