Anyone attempted to do manual preinfusions on the twist?

I did an accidental preinfusion today and the shot was quite good so it got me thinking about preinfusion on it.

This has happened to me a couple times accidentally (such as running out of gas in a cartridge) with some good results, but I have not tried this intentionally.

yes, it was an accident for me too...was on my second shot and forgot to completely fill chamber with water...it pushed just enough to preinfuse, had to put more water in and then push the actual shot

I may do some testing once my order of cartridges come in

subq wrote:Anyone attempted to do manual preinfusions on the twist?

I did an accidental preinfusion today and the shot was quite good so it got me thinking about preinfusion on it.

Came a little late to this party...

From time to time I've experimented with this... Sometimes with a quick pull and release of the trigger before the final "pull", and lately with a pre-wetting of the coffee cake by extracting with the (often leaky) rubber flapper valve removed. I block the holes in an ese "pod" outer basket and mount that during pre-heating so the unit will hold water. After pre-heat, I install the standard basket with the tamped coffee, fill the chamber and pull the shot in the normal way (with the rubber valve removed, as I mentioned).

My unsophisticated impression is that these pre-wetted shots are also quite excellent, somewhat smoother, with a little less "bite". I always pull "naked" shots, normally 15g coffee giving a 1oz shot in about 25 seconds... I see no difference in the flow... still a nice, centered cone.

Interesting thought, removing the flapper valve for pre-infusion. This is more tempting to me than playing with multiple pulls of the lever, I may have to give this a try sometime.

Do you fill the chamber to the same spot without the flapper valve? Do you notice the chamber getting dirty without the valve to prevent blowback?

I've never bothered to measure exactly, but I do try to compensate for pouring into the headspace. I fill the chamber to a bit below normal... that'll depend, of course, on your dose. My pucks are not especially wetter when I'm done, nor am I aware of excessive blow-back into the chamber, and the shower screen doesn't seem to get any dirtier than normal. I suppose I'd see more of that if I hadn't compensated on my fill... I think I just lucked out guessing the amount. That said, I've never let a "wet" puck or a little blow-back bother me. My lower dose of 15g might be a factor as well... there's a lot of headspace.

Considering MyPressi temperature issues, I'm not sure how long the water sits on the puck before you pull the trigger has much practical bearing. The temperature is going to drop pretty quickly while you wait, and it takes a while for the water to substantially alter the puck. Eventually the upper third of the puck does turn into a slurry, but that's a long way down the temp curve.

Any difference in taste/mouthfeel is subtle... I think there's something going on, but I'd want to hear it from someone more experienced than I with this whole flavor profile thing. Maybe I'll put on my lab coat next time...

-Lee

I pulled several shots last night and this morning with the flapper valve removed, with the idea of paying more attention to puck/shower head condition post pull...

For a 15g coffee charge, tamped to maybe 18 lbs (guessing), I've been filling the chamber to just the bottom of the indicator. The extraction yields a 30g shot in 24 sec; I stop the flow just before the Twist runs dry on its own. I'm left with a "dry" puck, intact, with even wetting throughout and no residue on the shower screen or in the chamber.

After pre-heat, it's quick and easy to grab the contraption by its handle and dump, then swap the blocked pod basket for the prepared regular basket.

Maybe I'll just forget the valve and make this my regular routine. Maybe make a stopper for the regular basket and preheat it along with the water chamber... pull the stopper, give the basket a quick dry and I'm off to the races.

I'd still like someone do do a better flavor analysis than I to see if there's really any benefit. As I say, I think I see it... pretty subtle though...

I'll put this on my list of things I'd like to try, along with brewing coffee into dry ice someday.

I'm a regular Twist user at work, but I'd like to avoid anything that adds time or steps to my routine, but I might try this out at home first just to see.

Once you've worked out how you're going to hold the water w/o the valve, I think time/step-wise it's pretty much a wash.

It appears that you have some real expertise in this game... I hope you'll post your Twist preinfusion impressions at some point. I like what I'm getting, but I don't have a lot to compare to...

Chris (or anyone else) - you play around any more with this?

I stumbled on this idea last week while reading the lever forum and saw "preinfusion" stuff, when one pulls the lever to get a 5-10 second preinfusion over the puck, then pulls the shot.

So I tried it with the twist (my main espresso for now) by pulling the trigger, letting go when I see drops forming on the bottom of the basket, waiting a few seconds, then pulling the trigger again. I've been dosing more than usual (20g now), and grind set to have 20-25g shot in the cup in about 35-40s (about the time the stream goes from brown/golden to sort of a lighter golden color; don't think it's quite blonding yet). This last week has been a brazilian something or other, looks to be roasted just to 2nd crack.

Quick caveat: I'm still learning to like straight espresso, now with having figured out the twist, my shots over the last few weeks do taste like what I get at the coffee shop but with a lot more zing (think flamenco in the mouth). But given how new I am to this and the possibility the espresso at these shops may yet be pulled incorrectly, so there's no comparison to "good" yet.

What's been noticed: the preinfusion mellowed the zing and gives what one might describe "balanced" (???). There's a combo of sour, bitter, coffee, "berry" -- all at a very very strong combination. There was a day I could swear I tasted sugar. I think I like this double-pull better; it doesn't seem to have affected the usual 4 pulls with a little left over on the cartridge.