An $8 Stagg EKG, Lavazza's 2024 beans, and a birthday Pasquini

The owner bought it at a local thrift store for $8 and confirmed it "works perfectly fine", against a list price of $199.95 for the current Stagg EKG. The first replies judged condition rather than luck: "entirely dependent on whether the electronics still work." one long-time kettle owner wrote. Then came the detail worth carrying forward — that the wooden handle is held by "ONE SCREW", which a commenter said worked loose as she poured and left her with second-degree burns. Others asked whether the kettle was genuine or a copy, and a regular thrift shopper noted that rising reseller traffic has pushed charity-shop prices up.

The buyer ordered direct from Lavazza, paid €8 for 250g and found a 2024 date on the bag, which he called "absolutely ridiculous" and no better than the November 2025 bags before it. Most replies skipped the date and questioned the purchase: the most-liked answer was that 32€/kg buys specialty coffee from a Munich roaster, "days since roasted when I buy it". The technical claim came next — one reply wrote that the printed date "isn't even the roasting date it's just when they were put in the bag". Suggestions ranged from Croatian Illy at about €7 a can to a Dutch roaster at €26.95/kg, and Lavazza has not responded in the discussion.

The image is a screenshot of Cena's Instagram, showing a flat white with latte art on a wooden table and a bag of Sey's Susan Meneses Pink Bourbon from Colombia. The most-liked reply stated the case plainly — "he has said his hobby is attempting to find the perfect flat white" — and his reputation is on the record: Australian coverage in 2025 reported him calling Melbourne's flat whites the best in the world. One commenter admitted he had been calling his drinks cappuccinos for two years before realising flat whites were his actual favourite. Another noted that Sey, the Brooklyn roaster on the bag, could hardly buy better advertising.

The attempt was specific and small: coffee jelly set in flower and heart silicone molds, most of it shredding as it came out. The best-liked reply asked for the recipe before diagnosing anything, and the practical answers arrived quickly — more gelatin or agar, a firmer set, and a warm-water dip to break the suction. One reply called silicone molds "a trap for set gels because the walls flex when you pull", shearing the corners, and recommended rigid plastic or metal instead. The warm-water advice is the standard one for unmolding gelatin, which is dipped rather than pulled.

The setup was a gift for a son's 21st birthday, and the total came to $400 after a Pasquini Livia and a grinder were bought off Facebook Marketplace and rebuilt by the buyer himself. The response was warmer than the gear: "Epic parent moment." and a run of jokes about being adopted. Commenters picked out the details — a bag of Milkman beans, a milk jug, a knock box — and one argued it was "everything he'll need", of higher quality than most first setups. For scale, a Livia 90 still lists at one retailer for $1,732.50, though used examples sell far cheaper.