OT: Espresso 201 - Grind, Tamp, and portafilters

[William]

Grind:

What type of grinder are you using and what sort of grind (like ground cinnamon to granulated sugar) do you find works best for your machine?


Tamp:

Do you tamp? What type of tamper do you use and what’s your method? 30 pounds of pressure, points of the compass, polishing, tapping?


Portafilters:

Pressurized, non-pressurized, bottomless? Any tips for using a non-pressurized bottomless portafilter (outside of proper grind and tamp)?


http://cdn.gifbay.com/2014/01/espresso_machine_slow_motion-112796.gif











William

[William]

https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.svpply.com/large/2155970.jpg?1400770569


Sorry, I was just hoping to catch some of that creamy goodness coming out of the machine above.;)









William

[Idris Icabod]

Mazzer grinder, closer to cinnamon than the sugar analogy, but a lot of timing the shot to find the correct grind when setting that up.

I get my 3 year old to tamp because she weighs 30 lbs. I'm trying to keep her at this weight by carefully monitoring her diet for as long as possible, she truly is just at that sweet spot for full body tamping right now, no twist as she removes the tamper.:););)

I'm hoping after 13 years of extra training that she can get a job at Starbucks and have college paid for then I am going to take her 529 plan money and buy the latest Pinarello swoopy e-geared wonder machine.

[William]

Mazzer grinder, closer to cinnamon than the sugar analogy, but a lot of timing the shot to find the correct grind when setting that up.

I get my 3 year old to tamp because she weighs 30 lbs. I'm trying to keep her at this weight by carefully monitoring her diet for as long as possible, she truly is just at that sweet spot for full body tamping right now, no twist as she removes the tamper.:););)

I'm hoping after 13 years of extra training that she can get a job at Starbucks and have college paid for then I am going to take her 529 plan money and buy the latest Pinarello swoopy e-geared wonder machine.

At least you've got your priorities right. ;)






William

[stackie]

Compak K10 for caffeinated. Mazzer mini for the decaf heathens... I mean, citizens. I grind somewhat fine, but have knocked my tamp down to 15 lbs. 30 lbs pressure makes my wrist ache after a big day. I weight the espresso going into tamper going for 20 grams in a 17 gram La Marzocco Strada basket. I accept a 2% variance either way. Use an Espresso Parts tamper, just cuz their logo is sweet. Flat base. I tamp once, pull tamper out, the minuscule amounts not tamped, just fall back into the basket. I do a quick polish, then lock and load.

Bottomless portafilter all the way, all the time. No question. No tips, other than dose evenly by spinning basket as you dose the grounds. Then, level with a finger while spinning basket to evenly distribute. If you don't, you will have squirters. Very embarrassing to have brown stains on the crotch of your pants, and your shot tastes like garbage.

Shot pulled with 3 sec line pressure pre infusion, 3 second hold then full pump pressure. Just cuz that's all my GS3 will allow. (Slayer seriously being considered.) Stop shot when 20 grams of espresso have been extracted. If that takes anything other than 24-26 seconds, a very slight tweak of grinder for the next shot. (Rarely make just one, someone always seems to want one too).

My biggest recommendation besides level dosing technique is the scale. It's the only way to get true repeatability unless you are in a shop environment. Even then, I see my local shop weigh every so often. Just to check your calibration. I can do a cortado in about 90 seconds even when weighing. 70 seconds without weighing.

Probably more than you wanted to know, huh? I'm going to take a Xanax, and chase it with a cortado.

PS. I fell for those Rapha cups too. They rock.

Jon

[William]

Compak K10 for caffeinated. Mazzer mini for the decaf heathens... I mean, citizens. I grind somewhat fine, but have knocked my tamp down to 15 lbs. 30 lbs pressure makes my wrist ache after a big day. I weight the espresso going into tamper going for 20 grams in a 17 gram La Marzocco Strada basket. I accept a 2% variance either way. Use an Espresso Parts tamper, just cuz their logo is sweet. Flat base. I tamp once, pull tamper out, the minuscule amounts not tamped, just fall back into the basket. I do a quick polish, then lock and load.

Bottomless portafilter all the way, all the time. No question. No tips, other than dose evenly by spinning basket as you dose the grounds. Then, level with a finger while spinning basket to evenly distribute. If you don't, you will have squirters. Very embarrassing to have brown stains on the crotch of your pants, and your shot tastes like garbage.

Shot pulled with 3 sec line pressure pre infusion, 3 second hold then full pump pressure. Just cuz that's all my GS3 will allow. (Slayer seriously being considered.) Stop shot when 20 grams of espresso have been extracted. If that takes anything other than 24-26 seconds, a very slight tweak of grinder for the next shot. (Rarely make just one, someone always seems to want one too).

My biggest recommendation besides level dosing technique is the scale. It's the only way to get true repeatability unless you are in a shop environment. Even then, I see my local shop weigh every so often. Just to check your calibration. I can do a cortado in about 90 seconds even when weighing. 70 seconds without weighing.

Probably more than you wanted to know, huh? I'm going to take a Xanax, and chase it with a cortado.

PS. I fell for those Rapha cups too. They rock.

Jon

You sound like a pro with a UBI card (Union Barista Internationale).:)

I roast my own beans and I have a decent grinder so I'm good for freshness and grind. I'm making the jump to bottomless because the mad professor in me wants to experiment and dial in some sweet shots. I experimented once before by trying to turn a pressurized portafilter into a bottomless one with mucho tinkering (hacking and cutting) but I figure I'll get the real deal this time.






William

[binouye]

that's all my GS3 will allow. (Slayer seriously being considered.)

Shop near me got a Slayer this past spring and is pulling some fantastic shots with it (roast their own beans, weigh every dose, time every pull, etc.).

My lowly setup: Solis Maestro set as fine as I can get the replacement burr to go (the original was better, as least for first few years). Tamp with cheap tamper found at a Peet's, and then pull on my old Pavoni lever machine. It can't compete with a really high-end professional set-up, but is OK for home use. Speaking of which, I'm going to bike to the Coop for some fresh beans right now.... thanks for reminding me I'm out.

[stackie]

Not a pro. Mostly just a very addicted amateur in a house of coffee aficionados. I do a couple of charity events every year as my contribution to our kids charter school, which cures any desire of spending every day behind a bar slinging espresso.

Also, fortunate enough in my day job to be able to afford nicer than I deserve stuff (just bikes and coffee, no interest in cars, hookers, or blow).

You will love the bottomless. Easy to keep scrubby clean. The old coffee residue is a huge contributor to gross coffee. I'm a stickler for clean. Multiple baskets, clean after each use, run through dishwasher every night. Flush before and after every shot. Backflush at least daily. Change group head screen and detail the group head weekly.

Jon