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okay it doesn't say a roast level and merely uses a bunch of descriptors that imply it's on the darker side. generally i'm skeptical a blend described as syrupy-sweet chocolate/cherry/nuts should come out of your machine "overpoweringly sour," but sounds like you have room to grind finer anyways which can probably help with that
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Nov 3, 2021 19:52
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| # ? May 13, 2024 15:53 |
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OK I think we're getting somewhere now. Finer grind, WDT, distribute, tamp. Pressure is good and way less of a sour profile. 21 seconds after pre-infusion for the shot. Only 33g out but I can adjust that with the machine. Still get the tart fruity note which now does seem more like cherry than raspberry. One notch finer and/or slightly longer shot time.
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Nov 3, 2021 20:02
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charliebravo77 posted:OK I think we're getting somewhere now. Finer grind, WDT, distribute, tamp. Pressure is good and way less of a sour profile. 21 seconds after pre-infusion for the shot. Only 33g out but I can adjust that with the machine. Still get the tart fruity note which now does seem more like cherry than raspberry. One notch finer and/or slightly longer shot time. I’d try grinding finer and extend the time the pull takes, if that doesn’t seem to be helping maybe bump the amount to 19.5g or something
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Nov 3, 2021 20:05
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Question on workflow…I bought a gaggia classic with a PID and have a Robot. The robot seems so much easier, in both workflow and cleanup…any tips on how to improve the gaggia? Is it supposed to be so messy? And what about steaming because Holy gently caress that makes a ton of mess. Robot: heat kettle, grind beans, pour coffee into portafilter (it’s deep as gently caress so no dosing funnel needed), WDT, tamp (self leveling tamper so that’s easy too, push on shower screen. Pour water in, put PF on robot, scale, cup, push levers. Done. Then to clean up it’s a simple step of taking out the PF, remove shower screen, shake the grounds out, and rinse everything out. Gaggia: preheat PF, grind coffee, wipe water off PF, dosing funnel, coffee into PF, wdt, remove funnel, tamp. Put PF into brewhead, scale, cup, Shot. Done. But cleanup means I remove the PF, run the machine to clean out the brewhead and wipe it out, clean out PF, and then I’m done. Looking at the above, I’d be best served to get a leveling tamper for the gaggia (the robot one is 58mm and only levels for its own PF…it won’t level on the gaggia PF. Cleaning the shower head is just sort of part of the maintenance on a semi auto, I guess… What about steaming? I turn the steam on, wait, then open up the steam and get rid of water into a cup…this makes water and steam go loving everywhere because it seems like it’s under so much pressure. I get steam and water all over the side of the machine even if I use a deep cup or the frothing pitcher. Then with cleaning up after my milk, no matter how quickly I wrap the wand with a towel and put a burst of steam on it, the milk is already burned to the side of the wand, so I spend a while scrubbing it off. The gaggia classic came modded with the GCP wand. I wonder if it’s too much pressure? nwin fucked around with this message at 20:15 on Nov 3, 2021 |
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Nov 3, 2021 20:11
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Finer and slightly longer on the pull seems to be the right direction. Getting real close to what I had in my head this should taste like. 18g in 39g out and 13 sec pre infusion, 23 sec after for 36 total is where it's at right now after tweaking the grind. I think I might even need to go one step finer but we're getting real close I think. Crazy how big an impact the WDT had on things.
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Nov 3, 2021 20:22
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I can hear colors and am talking to myself quite a bit after tasting like 8 shots back to back but I think I finally got it. Flavor was almost perfect but I was getting fines in the shot so I backed off the grind one notch and bumped up the temp to cut the sourness. The straight shot is pretty drat good but the latte with it is as good as anything I've gotten from Starbucks and almost as good as some local coffee shops I've had.
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Nov 3, 2021 21:08
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hypnophant posted:get a puck rake/wdt tool instead Any suggestions on a specific tool or style of tool? Looking to not spend too much as the little things with this hobby are always so drat expensive.
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Nov 3, 2021 22:01
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nwin posted:Question on workflow…I bought a gaggia classic with a PID and have a Robot. I've mentioned it before but the normcore leveling tamper is pretty good for the price. You do need to flush the grouphead to clear any remaining grounds but that's all it should really need. You can get a brush or give it a wipe afterwards with a towel. Steam is not a good part of the experience of single boiler machines but it shouldn't be making that much of a mess. quick vent into the drip tray, aim to fill the jug 1/3 to 1/2 full, make sure the tip is submerged in the milk before you turn steam back on. If it's overflowing the jug you're either stretching too much or getting too much of an angle. Keep the jug upright and put the tip just a bit off center, especially if you're using a smaller jug. Once you hit your desired temp turn the steam off, remove the jug, and give it a wipe with a wet towel before venting again to get any remaining milk out of the holes. The gaggia doesn't have a no-burn wand, I don't think, so it won't wipe off quite as easily as nicer machines but you shouldn't need to scrub hard. Pilfered Pallbearers posted:Any suggestions on a specific tool or style of tool? Looking to not spend too much as the little things with this hobby are always so drat expensive. The cheapest tool is a pack of 0.35mm needles (sold on amazon as either 3d printer nozzle cleaner needles or acupuncture needles) stuck into a cork. should cost less than  and five minutes of your time.
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Nov 3, 2021 22:05
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you can also find 3d printer files on thingiverse for the little base you stick the needles into, it's only a few bucks to get something small like that printed through online services
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Nov 3, 2021 22:10
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charliebravo77 posted:I can hear colors and am talking to myself quite a bit after tasting like 8 shots back to back but I think I finally got it. Flavor was almost perfect but I was getting fines in the shot so I backed off the grind one notch and bumped up the temp to cut the sourness. The straight shot is pretty drat good but the latte with it is as good as anything I've gotten from Starbucks and almost as good as some local coffee shops I've had. I've got this image on my phone as it's a handy reference I come back to a lot when dialing:  Been having a blend with some robusta in it and enjoying the increased bitterness and eathyness to my morning coffee. I'm getting a bit of channeling and my naked shots only start to come together at the end of the extraction. Looking forward to my WDT tool and Normcore tamp arriving. Currently I'm using a single acupuncture needle to WDT and I don't think it's doing the best job and I'm sure my tamp could be leveler.
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Nov 3, 2021 23:03
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Megabound posted:I've got this image on my phone as it's a handy reference I come back to a lot when dialing: Oh dang, I've had the coffee compass chart from that site stuck to my fridge for years, but I had no idea they had one for espresso! Printing it now 
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Nov 3, 2021 23:16
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hypnophant posted:I've mentioned it before but the normcore leveling tamper is pretty good for the price. You do need to flush the grouphead to clear any remaining grounds but that's all it should really need. You can get a brush or give it a wipe afterwards with a towel. I tried the normcore tamper but it didn’t seem to tamp down far enough? From what I saw you can only adjust the height of the leveling piece and not the tamp. I was always able to take another tamper and tamp a bit further which seemed to work better. For the milk, maybe I’m just opening it up too long and that’s where the mess is happening. I don’t have a problem with milk getting everywhere, just the steam. Also good to know that there’s no-burn wands that exist. Unfortunately this definitely isn’t one of those!
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Nov 4, 2021 02:46
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You shouldn’t need to do the stretching phase for long. I use a thermometer and generally stop stretching at around 85F. This is for lattes mind you, not a a cappuccino.
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Nov 4, 2021 04:19
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Megabound posted:I've got this image on my phone as it's a handy reference I come back to a lot when dialing: need to create a dummy version of that ranges between bitter and maybe not bitter.
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Nov 4, 2021 05:03
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rockcity posted:You shouldn’t need to do the stretching phase for long. I use a thermometer and generally stop stretching at around 85F. This is for lattes mind you, not a a cappuccino. A good rule of thumb I heard was stretch until the pitcher is the same temp as your hand, which would be about that. Then heat from there on out.
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Nov 4, 2021 05:11
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Turns out my inlaws have had a Saeco RI9837/05 Syntia sitting in a box unused for like a decade. I know automatics get a bad rap but going to test this sucker out next week.
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Nov 4, 2021 18:26
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Red_Fred posted:A good rule of thumb I heard was stretch until the pitcher is the same temp as your hand, which would be about that. Then heat from there on out. Yeah that seems about right. Also, I use a pitcher called a toroid pitcher from Espro which has sort of an inverted bell shaped bottom and it causes the milk to turn itself for you so you don't even swirl. Works pretty well.
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Nov 4, 2021 21:56
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Follow this guy's tips and enjoy some super nice milk. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTC3dJvwgUI
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Nov 4, 2021 22:18
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Temperature strip on the La Pavoni has been a game changer, I feel like I've been brewing too cold but this last shot I pulled was just 
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Nov 5, 2021 09:03
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Megabound posted:Temperature strip on the La Pavoni has been a game changer, I feel like I've been brewing too cold but this last shot I pulled was just Where'd you get your temp strip from? I was contemplating getting a probe to put on the grouphead for on-demand reads.
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Nov 5, 2021 11:41
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Local roasters, they're easy to find ones in a useful range now as Flair do them for their machines. But, if you're in Australia Alternative Brewing and Breeze Valley for two, otherwise just google flair temperature strip and you'll be spoiled for choice.
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Nov 5, 2021 12:08
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The folks at Clive have got it going on. The dial in for the Atom 75 did not take very long at all. I did 18g I with 32g out at 25 seconds on the La Pavoni and I was like "oh. I can drink this" using the coffee shop house blend, which is two Ethiopian varieties. When the guy who runs the place and went out of his way to buy and maintain a Slayer gives you a thumbs up on your pull you probably did it right. I ain't gonna gently caress with those latte art things for awhile yet though. Now I gotta set up my bar at home all proper like.
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Nov 5, 2021 23:45
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I'm using very average aldi store beans to practice with before I get something a bit exxy to work with And my partner gave the ok to the coffee this morning It's an interesting workflow with the Gaggia to froth the milk first Completely understandable, just feels odd
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Nov 6, 2021 00:55
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Considering we now have a signature blend to use for the coffee house, I think this is a pretty reliable blend to calibrate off of. It's got the right mix of body and sweetness but isn't overly bright or light. I also tried pulling Brandywine Colombian Monteblanco which has a very strong passion fruit and pineapple kind of flavor going for it, but the back end needed some fine tuning (ran out before I could try again). Having some experienced baristas actually give realtime feedback also was super helpful, because they mentioned only a single adjustment each and then pretty much I was right on the money only having dabbled in making espresso before with the La Pavoni. It also got some conversations started, mostly by just existing - having any lever machine out gets people talking and asking questions.
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Nov 6, 2021 01:41
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Of possible interest to the thread:Brut posted:German coffee company Tchibo is giving out 3 pounds of coffee for the cost of shipping(~$6), note that the ground coffee option is a sample pack of 4 different varieties and the whole bean option has only two of those varieties.
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Nov 6, 2021 05:14
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I’m fuckin in for any and all free coffee
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Nov 6, 2021 05:22
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Should be noted that this is United States only.
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Nov 6, 2021 06:34
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I mean absolutely.
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Nov 6, 2021 15:20
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$6.37 for even a single pound of coffee ain’t bad, even if it’s not great. I’m excited.
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Nov 6, 2021 15:22
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That's worth it even if just for cold brew or cooking/baking.
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Nov 6, 2021 18:49
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Kevin DuBrow posted:Of possible interest to the thread: My son-in-law, who was stationed in Germany back in the day was all over this.
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Nov 6, 2021 19:20
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FYI, Gray Ember mug 14 oz $100 at Costco (in stores but looks like online too). Compare to $100 10 oz or $130 14 oz on Amazon. Costco claims 80 minutes per charge vs 60 from Amazon and that is sometimes the case with the Costco exclusive version of items like this. I don't like the gray and I mostly drink straight shots, but I figured I'd pass along for those interested.
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Nov 6, 2021 23:26
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BrianBoitano posted:FYI, Gray Ember mug 14 oz $100 at Costco (in stores but looks like online too). Compare to $100 10 oz or $130 14 oz on Amazon. Costco claims 80 minutes per charge vs 60 from Amazon and that is sometimes the case with the Costco exclusive version of items like this. Just got one online. Thanks! That's one Christmas gift out of the way.
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Nov 6, 2021 23:42
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aldantefax posted:The folks at Clive have got it going on. The dial in for the Atom 75 did not take very long at all. I did 18g I with 32g out at 25 seconds on the La Pavoni and I was like "oh. I can drink this" using the coffee shop house blend, which is two Ethiopian varieties. When the guy who runs the place and went out of his way to buy and maintain a Slayer gives you a thumbs up on your pull you probably did it right. I ain't gonna gently caress with those latte art things for awhile yet though. Now I gotta set up my bar at home all proper like. I drive past their spot quite a bit. Can't wait till its upgrade time and I can stop in and drop some cash!
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Nov 6, 2021 23:49
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Breville’s pressure gauge seems to have stopped working. Even switching to the double walled basket doesn’t have it moving at all. At least it should still be in warranty? This will be two coffee machines that have died in 12 months for me.
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Nov 8, 2021 01:39
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Holy poo poo, used Rancilio Silvia's go for a goddamn fortune in good condition, even without a PID. I had no idea. Guess I'm gonna bookmark the rocket at a bunch of vendors and see if any sales put it in range for me knowing that I can sell this Silvia for basically what I paid 8 years ago.
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Nov 8, 2021 19:29
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 The Weber blind cup working with a 52mm naked portafilter is a certified Good Move. I probably should get a distribution tool but honestly I think now that the grind is generally good (maybe a few microtweaks) I'll be right in the butter zone for pulling shots.
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Nov 8, 2021 20:12
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My Niche arrived today. I have had a Baratza Vario up to this point. I have only ground a bit of stale coffee to get it into the ballpark for tomorrow morning, but already two things stand out: This thing is so much quieter than the Vario. The grounds are fluffy. I had seen the term used before, but hadn't ever seen it in real life. Very much looking forward to my espresso in the morning.
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Nov 9, 2021 03:32
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That blew me away when I got the Niche too, the noise of it is just so much nicer to wake up with than what I was using. Same on the ground fluffiness.
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Nov 9, 2021 04:22
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I did two separate sessions with the Stradivari using 18g in of the coffee house's Ethiopean blend. It looks like that the main thing is to let the grouphead warm up sufficiently or else the actual pre-infusion and pressing gets significantly more difficult. Round 1 Shot 1: 18g in, 27g out at 55 seconds Shot 2: 18g in, 28g out at 35 seconds Shot 3: 18g in, 28g out at 28 seconds Shot 4: 18g in, 30g out at 30 seconds Round 2 Shot 1: 18g in, 28g out at 50 seconds Shot 2: 18g in, 28g out at 47 seconds Lesson learned that you can't rush a good espresso with this thing! I should probably remind myself that flushing the grouphead before the first shot is also a good move.
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Nov 9, 2021 05:40
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