That’s interesting to know, thanks! Most coffee shops where I live would probably never get busy enough to use a spare shot. Perhaps they change out to a single shot portafilter, but I’ve never noticed.

Follow-up question - each portafilter is two shots right? So if you end up adding an third shot to a coffee, what do you do with the leftover fourth one?

(Or do you have a smaller, single shot portafilter?)

There’s a German term for nostalgia for a place you’ve never been, fernweh. Perhaps that has some connection?

Path of the Wind from My Neighbour Totoro gives me a similar feeling.

What sort of things would you try to gain knowledge in?

I hadn’t heard of that before - looks like they have some clubs in the UK so I’ll investigate. Thanks!

What do you mean by active listening exactly?

Thanks for the insight - I hadn’t considered that announcing the silence in that way could be useful, but I see what you mean.

Yes I think you’re right - sometimes I’ll feel like I need to fill a silence, and end up spewing out nonsense. Then I’ll feel embarrassed and struggle with the rest of the conversation. It’s quite hard to un-learn that feeling of silence being uncomfortable, but it would definitely give time to help me think.

I think I’m quite good at asking questions, but when it comes back the other way my mind often goes blank. It could be that I don’t perform well under pressure, so maybe I need more practice with that. Speaking slowly is a good suggestion - I find myself speaking way too fast when I want to get a point out.

I’ve had a quick look into that, and yes that does provide some good pointers for general questions to get a conversation going. What should I do if I’m the one being asked those questions and I’m floundering though?

Thanks for the heads up :) The same brand does a conditioner that is silicone free, so I’ll try that out

Thanks for this! Do you reckon a product like this (Sukin Natural Balance Shampoo) would be ok? It claims to be sulfate and paraben free

I’m not sure what you mean by this question, but while I’m here can anyone recommend a shampoo/conditioner brand that won’t dry out my hair? I have quite thick hair for context.