To summarize, the ZPM was sort of a DIY espresso machine that turned into a kickstarter project to deliver a product. It ended up failing, but the effort informed a lot of stuff that came after.
Hoffmann is great. He's the Alton Brown of coffee.
That metaphor popped up for me in another context recently, too, as I found the usual host of the FortNine motorcycle channel, Ryan, to be the Alton Brown of motorcycles. Lots of people watch his videos that don't even ride because of his nerdy enthusiasm and excellent explanations about aspects of motorcycles and motorcycling.
To summarize, the ZPM was sort of a DIY espresso machine that turned into a kickstarter project to deliver a product. It ended up failing, but the effort informed a lot of stuff that came after.