Somafunk
pfm Member
Try the beans after 3 to 5 days as they will need to off-gas the volatile terpenes that freshly roasted beans exhibit.
The Coffee Thread
- Thread starter matthewr
- Start date
Try the beans after 3 to 5 days as they will need to off-gas the volatile terpenes that freshly roasted beans exhibit.
TheDecameron
Unicorns fart glitter.
I binned what was left. They looked like a normal mid coloured, even roast.
Rico
Bloody Colonials
a small update from the kitchen of Rico. Since last time, we'd dialled in to one main bean from one of our local roasteries, Havana Coffee's Super Deluxe ("A deluxe blend of coffees roasted with Love. An elegant, full-bodied caramel and Mocha hit. So velvety and smooth it's a coffee treasure you will love to share."). We've tried a few other roasters over the intervening months, gravitating back to Super Deluxe.
Consistency was good, I'd dial-in again with each bag (usually 500g at a time which is 7-10 days for us. Single-dosing from a Fellow vacuum canister, weighing input and output from the Eureka Mignon Silenzio with single-dose bellows. I'd spoken with the baristas on best recipe for the beans, which they use double-shot input at 19g, ~35 secs (+/- 3 sec) for 38g out. This would put my espresso comfortably in the sweet spot between sour and bitter when dialled-in correctly. I'd be making minor grind adjustments going slightly finer as days from-new passed, and the shots would start to run a little faster (say 33 secs instead of 35).
One day I'd not been at home much it was afternoon, and I'd swung by to re-up with a bag of beans. Asked what they were serving, ordered a short black as it was Super Deluxe. Sat down and waited. OMG, it was big jump in flavour and texture. Underpinning the shot was what I get at home, but this was broader in every way. Yes they use very fancy conical burr grinders, and a revolving array of top-end La Marzocco machines, and they do it all day every day. I asked about their brew temp - they use 94c, I had been using 93c, subsequently started using 94c, noted a minor difference.
How could I get closer to what the Baristas at Havana produce? I started reading and asking questions (yes, into the wormhole). Perhaps a better grinder was an idea, assuming that the Rocket R58 is enough machine, and my workflow is both consistent and 'correct'. I looked into mods to put 55 or 60mm burrs into my Silenzio, eliminated that idea. Considered some of the very popular grinders and eliminated them. We wanted something shiny to sit alongside the R58. The XL isn't available in Chrome down here.
Long story short time, we bought a very shiny Eureka Atom 65 in early September. The test I put to the sales team was 'if we buy this grinder, will it provide markedly better espresso?' On qualifying my workflow, they were confident it would improve things. They were right. The kicker is that it's a lot quieter than the already quiet Silenzio. I've just fitted a single-dose bellows, as beans sitting it the hopper - and the dead grinds - were sub-optimal. I'd previously set up the single shot button to 0.3sec, and pulsed that a few times to get rid of old grinds before running the 8.6 sec to grind about 19.5g into the portafilter, then adjusting to 19.0 on the scale before prepping the shot - WDT, Leveller, spring-loaded tamp.
It's going rather well, so I'm now working to step up my milk game for Mrs Rico's afternoon Flat White. Although my Espresso is not as good as freshly brewed at Havana, I'm closer. It's good enough for me!
I'm not expecting any other kit upgrades, other than eventually installing a dedicated balanced filtered water line to the R58. Currently I use filtered water (we've fairly soft water, and yes I've measured it) and a 6-month in-tank Brita Filter. I back-flush the R58 with espresso salts weekly while I soak the portafilter in same, and polish the exterior; every fortnight I brush out the grinder. Life is good.
Consistency was good, I'd dial-in again with each bag (usually 500g at a time which is 7-10 days for us. Single-dosing from a Fellow vacuum canister, weighing input and output from the Eureka Mignon Silenzio with single-dose bellows. I'd spoken with the baristas on best recipe for the beans, which they use double-shot input at 19g, ~35 secs (+/- 3 sec) for 38g out. This would put my espresso comfortably in the sweet spot between sour and bitter when dialled-in correctly. I'd be making minor grind adjustments going slightly finer as days from-new passed, and the shots would start to run a little faster (say 33 secs instead of 35).
One day I'd not been at home much it was afternoon, and I'd swung by to re-up with a bag of beans. Asked what they were serving, ordered a short black as it was Super Deluxe. Sat down and waited. OMG, it was big jump in flavour and texture. Underpinning the shot was what I get at home, but this was broader in every way. Yes they use very fancy conical burr grinders, and a revolving array of top-end La Marzocco machines, and they do it all day every day. I asked about their brew temp - they use 94c, I had been using 93c, subsequently started using 94c, noted a minor difference.
How could I get closer to what the Baristas at Havana produce? I started reading and asking questions (yes, into the wormhole). Perhaps a better grinder was an idea, assuming that the Rocket R58 is enough machine, and my workflow is both consistent and 'correct'. I looked into mods to put 55 or 60mm burrs into my Silenzio, eliminated that idea. Considered some of the very popular grinders and eliminated them. We wanted something shiny to sit alongside the R58. The XL isn't available in Chrome down here.
Long story short time, we bought a very shiny Eureka Atom 65 in early September. The test I put to the sales team was 'if we buy this grinder, will it provide markedly better espresso?' On qualifying my workflow, they were confident it would improve things. They were right. The kicker is that it's a lot quieter than the already quiet Silenzio. I've just fitted a single-dose bellows, as beans sitting it the hopper - and the dead grinds - were sub-optimal. I'd previously set up the single shot button to 0.3sec, and pulsed that a few times to get rid of old grinds before running the 8.6 sec to grind about 19.5g into the portafilter, then adjusting to 19.0 on the scale before prepping the shot - WDT, Leveller, spring-loaded tamp.
It's going rather well, so I'm now working to step up my milk game for Mrs Rico's afternoon Flat White. Although my Espresso is not as good as freshly brewed at Havana, I'm closer. It's good enough for me!
I'm not expecting any other kit upgrades, other than eventually installing a dedicated balanced filtered water line to the R58. Currently I use filtered water (we've fairly soft water, and yes I've measured it) and a 6-month in-tank Brita Filter. I back-flush the R58 with espresso salts weekly while I soak the portafilter in same, and polish the exterior; every fortnight I brush out the grinder. Life is good.
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cubastreet
Espresso Fiend
Great stuff. Was the espresso from Havana on Tory St? I used to live by the roastery back when it was on Wigan St.
Sounds like your equipment is sorted now. You just need to make a few hundred thousand shots to really get a feel for distribution and tamping
Rico
Bloody Colonials
Yeah I enjoy rocking in to Tory Street. I too remember the Wigan Street instance.
I reckon I’ve a pretty good feel for distro and tamping - I made my own WDT using a vacu-vin cork (rubber stopper) and 75mm Accupuncture needles - it’s easier to grip. That gives me a clump-free and decent distro; I noticed if the distro was premature and lop-sided, it’s amplified by the leveler tool, and continues after tamping - resulting in channeling. Still experimenting with Leveller depth setting, not convinced it needs to do much compression as that seems to make the top part of the puck denser, compounded by tamping?
I’ve worked hard on my prep practice, measuring consistency both through time and taste. The spring-loaded tamper helps too. It amazes me how sloppy many baristas are around the various cafes in town.
Today I’ve been having fun with Lewis Road Creamery Organic Milk (Moore Wilson) applying Lance Hedrick’s techniques for better milk steaming. Happy days.
I reckon I’ve a pretty good feel for distro and tamping - I made my own WDT using a vacu-vin cork (rubber stopper) and 75mm Accupuncture needles - it’s easier to grip. That gives me a clump-free and decent distro; I noticed if the distro was premature and lop-sided, it’s amplified by the leveler tool, and continues after tamping - resulting in channeling. Still experimenting with Leveller depth setting, not convinced it needs to do much compression as that seems to make the top part of the puck denser, compounded by tamping?
I’ve worked hard on my prep practice, measuring consistency both through time and taste. The spring-loaded tamper helps too. It amazes me how sloppy many baristas are around the various cafes in town.
Today I’ve been having fun with Lewis Road Creamery Organic Milk (Moore Wilson) applying Lance Hedrick’s techniques for better milk steaming. Happy days.
gintonic
50 shades of grey pussy cats
ciderglider
pfm Member
I have a Gaggia Classic machine, and am thinking about adding a PID to it. Any opinions on whether this would be worthwhile?
That's better process control than most of my food manufacturing operations! If the factories did half of that consistently I'd be out of a job.
I recently bought a Niche Duo grinder with both burr sets and it's been a total game changer, not cheap but the work flow is incredible and no need for distribution, no clumps just perfect grinds every single time, no retention or waste either. I was using an old commercial La Cimbali Magum grinder with 73mm flat burrs it was decent but the Niche is on a whole other level, the coffee is amazingly consistent now and you can grind different beans from shot to shot, the thing is just a joy to use, I love it.
If you are unhappy with the lack of temperature control and large swing of the thermocouple in your machine then probably yes but this is all a PID addresses. If you are getting consistent shots by surfing the heating cycle then probably not. The sensor is on the side of the boiler so not directly measuring water temperature.
Rico
Bloody Colonials
Thanks Paul, good suggestion, and appreciated. I flush and wipe the screen after every shot. It's a nano-coated IMS precision, doesn't seem to hold anything at all. Mind you, I'll drop it before next weekly back-flush cycle and see what I can find. It stands to reason it must - 4-5 days in, if I lift the basket, surprising to find a bit of residue and a few very fine grounds in there, and naturally cleaning them improves taste.
I'll check it out and report back next weekend
Very kind, Steve. I'm following the doctine suggested by a number of Baristas on YouTube. It seemed to me that attention to detail and consistency would be the key to good results.
PS - I've been learning by taste what needs to be adjusted, whether it's on the sour-to-bitter continuum, increase tamp pressure or grind finer to increase the contact time? If it's a slightly metallic bitterness amidst a sweet shot, usually portafilter is 4-5 days after last clean. Hmmmm - I am thinking a weekly clean is not often enough! I make 3-4 double-shots per day, so not huge output.
Paul L
coffee lounge for me
It’s a fun journey Rico and we all try different things then settle into a level of routine we are comfortable with. I don’t bother with spraying, stirring with needles or anything like that. 17.5g (some beans like a little more or less) weighed in for 35-40s to give 35g out (profiled shot on the Vesuvius) and adjust grind over the handful of days a bean is in use to keep in this zone. We drink smaller coffees so no naked pf here, done that a long time ago. We use twin spout and split shots as it suits our routine.
These days I use a magnetic collar on the pf and invert the Niche cup, tap to roughly level then a gravity distributor (didn‘t like the fixed distance type) followed by NSEW tamp with finger and thumb on the base and not the handle.
Another here that moved from a Niche Zero to a Duo, I can’t be ar5ed to test the burrs like some are doing, I just use and enjoy and on those rare occasions I use a V60 I swap the burrs. But then I do have the luxury of DC as a mate so I tweak with anything important he points out.
Glad you’re enjoying it all.
These days I use a magnetic collar on the pf and invert the Niche cup, tap to roughly level then a gravity distributor (didn‘t like the fixed distance type) followed by NSEW tamp with finger and thumb on the base and not the handle.
Another here that moved from a Niche Zero to a Duo, I can’t be ar5ed to test the burrs like some are doing, I just use and enjoy and on those rare occasions I use a V60 I swap the burrs. But then I do have the luxury of DC as a mate so I tweak with anything important he points out.
Glad you’re enjoying it all.
Rico
Bloody Colonials
I've read that the Gagguino project is the way to go for Gaggia-heads. Particularly if you don't want to take a small step to a similar but better Rancilio Silvia, yet don't want to lay down the coin for a large step and markedly better e61 HX machine or similar. HTH
Rico
Bloody Colonials
You'll no doubt find this interesting. I installed the IMS Precision shower screen with a new silicone seal (and a thin smear of food-safe silicone grease) in January 2023. This is the first time it's been out since then, Sunday 22 Oct - call it 9 months. The only maintenance is a flush after every shot (simply run a couple of seconds of brew water through it and wipe the screen). And the weekly backflush procedure with coffee salts.
This image is the shower screen and gasket immediately after removal, using a cloth and the ring end of a 12mm spanner.
Inside:
Outside:
So I wiped the inside with my damp microfibre cloth, inspected it and it was shiny. I then removed the seal, wiped that and the outside of the shower screen, applied a thin smear of silicone grease to the seal and reinstalled. Seems that fancy nanotech coating prevents pretty much anything from sticking.
If you've an e61 machine I can recommend the IMS E61200NT Shower Screen. Not only does it stay clean but also provides a much nicer monsoon shower distribution to the coffee bed than the stock shower screen. (I also ran the appropriate version on my Rancilio Silvia, it made a difference there too).
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