La Marzocco is the most iconic espresso-machine maker in the world, and last month, Jonathan went to the La Marzocco Accademia to talk with their head product designer, Stefano Della Pietra, about the history and core principles of the company; how he became the head of product design there; and the task of taking La Marzocco into the future while staying true to the brand’s storied past.

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TOPICS & TIMES:

Accademia del Caffe Espresso

Innovation (5:39)

Avoiding Fads (14:12)

How Did You Get Your Position? (16:43)

Lina Micra & Mini (20:28)

Other Areas of Design Inspiration (25:12)

Espresso Machines & Watches (27:48)

Officine Fratelli Bambi (30:08)

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After much deliberation, we’re revealing the machine that Jonathan ended up going with on his quest to create daily doses of “hero espresso” — a phrase coined at the end of this conversation. Simon Stewart joins Jonathan for all the glorious, dorky details, and they also discuss decaf coffee & N/A beer; the price of a thing vs. the amount of joy it brings; mtn bikes vs. espresso machines; & more.

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TOPICS & TIMES:

Tea?? (4:36)

PSA: Great Coffee can be Cheap (6:15)

Origins of JE's Obsession (9:57)

E61 vs. Saturated Group Head (15:37)

JE's La Marzocco Linea Micra (26:38)

Beans (31:45)

Other Machines JE Considered (36:38)

Microfoam, Cortados, & Macchiatos (39:33)

Decaf Coffee & N/A Beer (45:16)

Manual Machines & Simon’s Quest (52:37)

Weighing Beans (1:03:52)

Cost & the Economics of this Setup (1:08:39)

Florence, Italy (1:15:31)

Hero Espresso (1:20:51)

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Jonathan Ellsworth was recently at JING Tea headquarters in London for another CRAFTED conversation with JING founder, Ed Eisler. After a proper tea tasting, they sat down to discuss all things tea (and skis); agriculture as art; and the qualities of a great tea.

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CRAFTED ep. 23 w/ JING’s Ed Eisler

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TOPICS & TIMES:

Coffee, Tea, & Skis (5:12)

Curiosity (12:41)

Standards (21:47)

Buying Local (25:49)

Principles & Sourcing Tea (30:26)

Going Forward (32:13)

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Today we are discussing a product that people get very passionate about — and even more opinionated about: cast-iron cookware. Jonathan is joined by Blister senior bike editor, Simon Stewart, who has been using cast-iron cookware for more than twenty years, but is now on a quest to see if the fancier, more expensive options out there are better than their cheaper counterparts. We also discuss the notion of ‘elevating the everyday’; cast-iron cookware as heirlooms; the introduction of new tech; the return of old tech; and more.

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TOPICS & TIMES:

Why are we talking about cast iron cookware (2:57)

Defining "Nicer" (9:26)

Amatuer Hour PA (13:25)

Price Ranges (15:28)

Rape Seed Oil Sanding (21:20)

Why Cast Iron and the Obsession (23:53)

Current Landscape of Cast Iron (27:57)

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WNDR Alpine founder, Matt Sterbenz, aka, the ‘Sauna Shaman’, talks about how Hoji kicked off his obsession with saunas; their numerous benefits; and lays out what it takes (and costs) to build your own sauna. (On our site, you can check out a bunch of photos of the sauna that Matt built. It’s sweet.)

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TOPICS & TIMES:

Defining Terms (8:59)

The cold plunge trick (25:15)

Heart and inflammation (27:19)

hot tub vs sauna (29:42)

planning a sauna and costs (31:17)

Temperatures (43:14)

Sauna Enthusiasm and becoming a Shaman (48:30)

Infrared (51:57)

Wrap Up (55:02)

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To wrap up the year, we are sharing the craft categories that most captivated our Blister reviewers in 2023, and some of the categories they are most curious about heading into 2024. This is a fun one, and it certainly fills out the picture of the people behind our reviews, videos, articles, podcasts, and Blister Summit events.

And over on our Blister Podcast, you’ll also get to hear our team talk about their highlights of 2023, and their resolutions for 2024. Happy New Year!

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TOPICS & TIMES:

1: Luke Kopppa (2:11)

2: Dylan Wood (13:49)

3: Simon Stewart (26:17)

4: Kara Williard (36:56)

5: Jonathan Ellsworth (45:33)

6: Eric Freson (56:59)

7: Sascha Anastas (1:10:42)

8: Kristin Sinnott (1:18:28)

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Over 30 billion bottles of wine are consumed each year around the world, and today, we’re talking about why we need to — and can — move away from ‘business as usual’ in the wine world. Our guest is Revelshine founder, Jake Bilbro, and Jake lays out some fascinating, rarely discussed facts about the impacts of the wine industry; his mission to change that; and why the likes of Jeremy Jones, Shane Dorian, Selema Masakala, Michelle Parker, Tanner Gudauskas, Patrick Gudauskas, Dane Gudauskas, Chris Davenport, Emily Harrington, Drew Holcomb, Vasu Sojitra, Donavon Frankenreiter, and Adrian Ballinger have all signed up to push this mission forward.

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Revelshine Wines

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TOPICS & TIMES:

Special Offer on Revelshine: (2:43)

Jake’s Background in the Wine World (4:30)

Limerick Lane & Starting Revelshine (6:30)

Assessing Our Impacts on the World (33:25)

Other Benefits of Shaking Things Up (40:54)

The Juice: Revelshine’s Offerings (48:24)

‘BLISTERSHIP’, Distribution, & purchasing (59:45)

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Last year on CRAFTED, we talked with Blister reviewer, Paul Forward, about the art, ethics, and craftsmanship of traditional bows (episode #8). And this is the companion conversation to that episode, about the art of making arrows.

TOPICS & TIMES:

Kodiak Island (5:29)

Only a Traditional Bow (11:10)

Arrows: An Amateur's Take (14:42)r

Relating Arrow's to Skis (28:39)

Feathers: Weights, Forces, and Angles (34:10)

Broadheads (44:17)

Price Range (52:07)

Summary of arrows (54:49)

Arrow Makers (57:54)

Beginner arrows vs advanced Arrows (1:00:19)

Art and Science of Arrows (1:04:10)

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CRAFTED ep. 8 on Traditional Bows

Blister Pod ep. 287 on Broadening the Outdoor Community

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