It’s worth mentioning that you really need to hit these with a metal scrubber after every batch. I used one for espresso for about 4 years. I was fine with the scrubbing routine but some might hate it. I wound up going to a pumpless RO system after my distiller started leaking and caught fire…so yeah that’s another consideration. Mine was the cheapest one off Amazon, so that’s a pretty low bar, and it’s probably a miracle it survived 4 years of consistent use.
I’m not the op of the comment, but there is a good chance it is Semiosis by Sue Burke. It’s such a fun read, and quite unique for several reasons.