What’s on your coffee bench?

[SoCalSteve]

Originally Posted by merlinmurph

OK, I have to say that this thread is totally entertaining. I know nothing about this stuff, but I could definitely go down the rat hole of coffee stuff. And I'm definitely learning something.

SoCalSteve: That's not a coffee bench, that's a coffee palace. I don't even know what most of those machines are, but they're gorgeous. Make my plastic AeroPress look very pedestrian.

Anyways, thanks for the entertainment and all the good info.

Our pleasure!!!…lol. When I’m not obsessing about bikes and bike parts, my second most favorite obsession is coffee. And my wife is very happy about this.

[echappist]

Thanks for all the responses.

Originally Posted by goonster

Leakage through the puck, or leakage around the portafilter?

(2 sec. is a very short pre-infusion . . .)

Does a finer grind reduce the spraying (even if not ideal for flavor)?



Unless you've done this already, I would start with thorough descaling and complete cleaning of grouphead, including behind the shower screen. Consider replacing the portafilter gasket and shower screen.

Might be worth having a professional do this, if there is such a business local to you. They will have instruments to verify that pump output pressure is in the right ballpark.

Thanks for the suggestions. Finer grounds do reduce the tendency to spray (although the output is quite sour), and the leakage/ steam puff/ spraying is through the puck (as opposed to around portafilter).

I haven't done a descaling recently, as I'm using delivered water (the tap water is very hard) and feeding it through a de-scaling filter in the water tank of the machine, but that's a place I can start. I'll replace the gasket as well. Otherwise, I do a thorough cleaning every three month (including the shower screen).

Originally Posted by scoobydrew

If you already have the Rancilio "triple" basket, I would give that a shot. One hypothesis is that there's limited headspace between the top of the puck and shower screen that can lead to variability and other extraction issues.

With the larger basket and added headspace, the water will fill that volume and will almost act as a pre-infusion by saturating the bed, potentially improving extraction just like actual pre-infusion would. Additionally, the added space will eliminate the likelihood of your puck touching the screen. This is particularly an issue when you install your PF to the machine (twisting action can move or "rotate" the puck in an extreme case).

Try a 18g dose in that basket. You'll need to tweak your grind size obviously, but may also need to tweak your pre-infusion settings. When I had a Silvia (no PID) a 18-18.5g dose (bean dependent), triple basket, proper puck prep, and temp surfing yielded great results. I ran into similar inconsistency issues with a Rancilio "double" basket and had to down-dose a bit to get decent results.

Puck prep wise, it sounds like you need to add WDT/distribution to your workflow to distribute the grounds. An unbent paperclip will work okay for the time being, but I recommend using something finer such as 3D printer tip cleaning needles (cheap on Amazon). If you want to spend more, you can get a Levercraft WDT tool or potentially 3D print one of the many WDT tool designs off Thingiverse.

Just to confirm, 18-18.5 grams into a 21-gram triple basket?

Also, I learned today that the double basket I use is intended for maybe 16 g max; so perhaps I am overfilling it.

Originally Posted by SoCalSteve

I assume your machine is a 58mm, yes? If so, to add to this, the E & B superfine basket is like cheating when it comes to helping to keep from channeling. Also, a puck screen will help you from having channeling and it also helps keep your machine cleaner.

2 more items to spend money on…lol. No one said it’s a cheap hobby. But when you get it right, oh so satisfying!!!….

Would you happen to have a suggestion for the screen? I have it recommended to me before but could use a lead for a reputable product.

[crankles]

Originally Posted by jkbrwn

Just realised I've never actually shared my own coffee bench. Humble but delicious coffee all around. Ain't no milk drinks here!

Left to right:

Upgraded Robot tamper
Robot with pressure gauge and upgraded hands
Random cocaine I mean jewelry scales (big joke!)
Hario scales for pourover
1ZPresso JX-Pro
Aeropress
V60
Bialetti

The latter of which never gets used but it looks cute, right?

Love it. low wattage consumption!

[scoobydrew]

Originally Posted by echappist

Just to confirm, 18-18.5 grams into a 21-gram triple basket?

Also, I learned today that the double basket I use is intended for maybe 16 g max; so perhaps I am overfilling it.

Yes, 18-18.5g into the Rancilio "triple" basket. The part number should end with -103. The "double" basket part number should end with -102.

I believe Rancilio designates their baskets using the classic Italian standard, so a single shot is 7g, double is 14g, and 18g is triple. Nowadays, the standard is ~18g give or take.

I took a a couple pics to compare the baskets side by side, showing the 102 "Double" 14g, 103 "Triple" 18g, and a VST 18g. You can see the Rancilio 18g basket is similar to the VST 18g basket.

[SoCalSteve]

Originally Posted by echappist

Thanks for all the responses.



Thanks for the suggestions. Finer grounds do reduce the tendency to spray (although the output is quite sour), and the leakage/ steam puff/ spraying is through the puck (as opposed to around portafilter).

I haven't done a descaling recently, as I'm using delivered water (the tap water is very hard) and feeding it through a de-scaling filter in the water tank of the machine, but that's a place I can start. I'll replace the gasket as well. Otherwise, I do a thorough cleaning every three month (including the shower screen).





Just to confirm, 18-18.5 grams into a 21-gram triple basket?

Also, I learned today that the double basket I use is intended for maybe 16 g max; so perhaps I am overfilling it.



Would you happen to have a suggestion for the screen? I have it recommended to me before but could use a lead for a reputable product.

I’ve had great success with this screen: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08NSZ3WYR...roduct_details

[AngryScientist]

For the last couple of years, for the daily brew, pour-over has been my jam. Espresso is saved for "special" times.

Anyway, I have experimented quite a bit. Anyone who really loves pour over - would you care to comment on grind size? A micro photo of the grounds would be marvelous.

How do you feel about the relationship to grind size for pour over vs french press?

Interested in thoughts.

[jkbrwn]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

For the last couple of years, for the daily brew, pour-over has been my jam. Espresso is saved for "special" times.

Anyway, I have experimented quite a bit. Anyone who really loves pour over - would you care to comment on grind size? A micro photo of the grounds would be marvelous.

How do you feel about the relationship to grind size for pour over vs french press?

Interested in thoughts.

I've posted about this before I think. Lemme dig it out from a coffee related thread. French press definitely requires a coarser grind size. Pour over is finer as the water is in contact with the grounds for less time, generally, so a proper extraction requires finer coffee grounds than the long steep time of a French Press.

Edit - found it, but it was actually about a proper espresso grind versus something inappropriate from an electric-non-espresso grinder, so not quite relevant to your question:

https://forums.thepaceline.net/showp...&postcount=189

[jkbrwn]

Originally Posted by crankles

Love it. low wattage consumption!

Yep. Can make all of my coffee even if I have a power cut using my camp stove/kettle

[jh_on_the_cape]

I love coffee. I want a PID for my Gaggia classic but I am wondering if I will even notice. I mean, it's at the bottom of the list!
First ascent coffee beans are really good to me.

Sent from my SM-G781U1 using Tapatalk

[froze]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

For the last couple of years, for the daily brew, pour-over has been my jam. Espresso is saved for "special" times.

Anyway, I have experimented quite a bit. Anyone who really loves pour over - would you care to comment on grind size? A micro photo of the grounds would be marvelous.

How do you feel about the relationship to grind size for pour over vs french press?

Interested in thoughts.

There is more to the grinding then just a pour over typical grind.

First off lighter roasted coffee tends to be idea for pour over because the method is slower than say an espresso, and the lighter roast are less porous than darker roasts. Also, with a lighter roast you will need to grind it a bit finer then with a darker roast which needs a courser grind so the contact time with the water is shorter reducing bitterness of a dark roast.

But you're not done yet because the water temp is crucial too with light vs dark roast. A dark roast should have a lower temp so as to prevent over extraction leading to bitterness.

So, you have to play around with the type of roast you prefer to use for a pour over, but generally a pour over is more suited for lighter roasted coffee which will mean using a finer grind with hotter water. Having said that, I have used dark roasted coffee in a pour over, but I simply used a coarser grind and water that has been off boil for 30 seconds.

[tanghy]

pourover is usually slightly finer than FP, but the key is using fresh coffee and grinding fresh, so that it blooms out during the first 30s or so. then with that, there is a good resistance to the water flowing thru the bed.

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

For the last couple of years, for the daily brew, pour-over has been my jam. Espresso is saved for "special" times.

Anyway, I have experimented quite a bit. Anyone who really loves pour over - would you care to comment on grind size? A micro photo of the grounds would be marvelous.

How do you feel about the relationship to grind size for pour over vs french press?

Interested in thoughts.

[crankles]

Originally Posted by jh_on_the_cape

I love coffee. I want a PID for my Gaggia classic but I am wondering if I will even notice. I mean, it's at the bottom of the list!
First ascent coffee beans are really good to me.

Sent from my SM-G781U1 using Tapatalk

Here's the thing about a pid...consistency. Without one, I had to temp surf abit on my silvia. I'd get great shots about 6-7/10 shots and decent ones the rest of the time...and maybe a real stinker in there if I was in a hurry. With a PID, it was great shots were 9/10.

[benb]

Pour over depends on what brewer you're using too.

I have a Chemex + Hario V60.. the V60 needs a much much finer grind than the Chemex.

Both are quite a bit finer than French Press.

For the V60 I use almost the same grind I use for my Aeropress or Moka Pot.

[benb]

Originally Posted by jkbrwn

Just realised I've never actually shared my own coffee bench. Humble but delicious coffee all around. Ain't no milk drinks here!

Left to right:

Upgraded Robot tamper
Robot with pressure gauge and upgraded hands
Random cocaine I mean jewelry scales (big joke!)
Hario scales for pourover
1ZPresso JX-Pro
Aeropress
V60
Bialetti

The latter of which never gets used but it looks cute, right?

I have a lot of similar stuff... don't have a picture but could take one, but I never put everything out on the counter cause it's too much stuff and some of it doesn't get used.

1.7L Bonavita kettle
Cheap OXO burr grinder
Fancy Flair Royal hand grinder
V60
1L Chemex
2-cup Bialetta Moka Pot
12-oz Bodum French Press
Bodum milk foamer
Flair Neo with lots of upgraded portafilter + pressure kit
Random gram scale (doesn't fit under the flair, needs to be upgraded at some point)
Aeropress

Chemex, Aeropress, French Press, and Moka pot don't get used that much so are almost always stored away.

[MikeD]

What's the purpose of backflushing an espresso machine?