Glad to hear that it worked out for you to a certain degree. Just looking at the tablespoon in my kitchen drawer... that is not actually that much coffee for a 1oz shot.

BTW, you really REALLY should look into de-pressurizing your portafilter.

Quick question... what do you mean by "fresh roasted" re the beans at whole foods? Anything more than 2 weeks is not going to be in the money for you.

I'll have to figure out how to remove the device, I attempted to read up on it briefly last night but I the thread got off-topic and then someone mentioned breaking their portafilter and I decided to learn about something else for the time being.

The problem with the whole foods beans is that I don't know when they were roasted, I'm going to ask the roaster how to tell from the expiration date. Instead I just picked up some just roasted beans from Coffee Exchange today, they roast in the back room so all their beans are fresh (which is even more guaranteed by how insanely busy they are, those beans don't sit around long).


I used 2 1/2 table spoons to make a 1oz shot, otherwise it comes out watery. I'm getting privy to the colors to watch for and I have to stop the thing very quickly before what looks to be pale ale starts coming out.

Okay, I popped out the pressure hole thing in the single cup basket PF with my Stanley stubby screwdriver, was actually pretty easy. I don't use the single cup basket much so I figured what the heck.

Result: No crema whatsoever.

Edit: Tried again this morning with 2 tablespoons of coffee with the modded filter. It worked with a 1oz shot but no more.

Any idea why I have to use 2 tablespoons plus for 1oz of espresso on either filter? Is that okay?

Rennix,

Two Table Spoons, to me, doesn't seem like that much for a 1 oz shot. I am working to recall the dose from back when I was rocking a Secco and a similar grinder to yours, and I remember having to really feel like I was 'updosing'. Now, also remember that your portafilter is much smaller than what a lot of us are using. Many of us are using 58mm portafilters where we can dose, easily, 17 grams. So, just off the top of my head, I would say 2 tbs is pretty decent for an oz.

Also, not sure if you have noticed this fact, but a lot of us are pulling 'ristrettos' which can be anywhere from 1.5-1.75oz, and that is from a full 17 grams, so it seems you are doing ok with your 1oz.

Cool, thx man.

Updates and a quick questions:

I got a Kyocera grinder and sold the Krups. I depressurized the filters, just figured it out on my own. I found out I could get freshly roasted Intelligenstia Black Cat down the street which I am now a major fan of.

I'm getting some tasty stuff to come out now. I'm using about 13g of coffee and grinding like granulated sugar. I started finer but it clogs my filters even with a tiny tamp (level to make it fit). Is it just my baskets or what? In the directions for the maker it says to use coarser ground coffee and now I know why I think. I can't get anything fine to work well.

My questions is: What should espresso grind look like? Mine is a little sandy looking not as fluffy as I've seen. I guess it's okay?

I've been able to make good crema consistently now, but my problem is a lack in flavor unless I stop the shot short. I have never gotten a flavorful shot like I get in a cafe no matter what I do. Could it be temperature? I don't know what to try.

Not everyone at once!!!!

rennix wrote:Not everyone at once!!!!

Here's an honest answer, but it is not the answer that you seek. No one here with any experience in making espresso would try to tell you how to work with that HB machine, because they would regard the machine as not worth serious effort. This is because a machine at that level is incapable of making good shots on a repeated basis, and any good shots coming out of it are probably going to be due to luck.

What we would recommend to you would be that if you are serious about making espresso at home, that there is a bottom end limit for equipment below which you can't go if good espresso is your goal.

But worry not. Espresso is the most expensive type of coffee to try to make in a home. If you don't have the funds or interest to invest in a better machine, you can make good drip or presspot coffee with a decent grinder and very little else.

ken

THANK YOU



In order to understand espresso though I guess I would need to know what the limiting factor to extracting flavor is here. I think it's my tiny 51mm basket with a drop out bottom (it has a rubber gasket), that or the pressure. Oh well...