Fleeting Microcasa Crema

[ian2kris]

I have finally acquired a beautiful Microcasa A Leva. All of your posts have helped me a great deal in making a relatively quick transition from a La Pavoni Europiccola to the new Elektra. As predicted the move to a spring-lever has forced me to become much more conscious of grind, dose, distribution and tamp. I am still playing around with the routine, but in general have been getting some very tasty shots. The one disturbing change for me has been the very fleeting/short-lived crema that I have been getting from the new machine. I have even done comparison shots with the La Pavoni and from that machine I get a more enduring crema along with what I can only describe as a more syrupy mouthfeel that is lacking so far in the Microcas' shots. Any ideas, advice?

Ian

[ian2kris]

Oh, I forgot to mention that the other symptom/problem that have noticed is a very wet/disturbed puck. I have played around with the dose, as I understand that these machines don't react well to over-dosing. Checked several times with a dime, and it seems that there is enough clearance. But often after pulling a shot the puck has obviously been torn up. There are a lot of very wet grinds clinging to the screen. It almost seems as though the puck is getting torn up in the pre-infusion. I am tamping 35-40 lbs. on a scale.

I have been pulling the cup away between 30 & 40 seconds, (plus a 10 second pre-infusion) with a .5-.75 oz. shot volume. At that point the lever is 90-95% of the way back up. When I have tried adjust the grind for a faster pull, I get a very thin shot with very little crema.

I am very curious to hear your thoughts.

Ian

[KarlSchneider]

I have finally acquired a beautiful Microcasa A Leva
<snip>
in general have been getting some very tasty shots. The one disturbing change for me has been the very fleeting/short-lived crema that I have been getting from the new machine. I have even done comparison shots with the La Pavoni and from that machine I get a more enduring crema along with what I can only describe as a more syrupy mouthfeel that is lacking so far in the Microcas' shots. Any ideas, advice?

Ian

Hi Ian,

Since I have no experience with a Pavoni but some with an Elektra I can only offer limited ideas. You mention tasty shots with the Elektra. That parallels my experience perfectly. I find the taste of the shots I get well above the quality I got from my Giotto or previous (lesser) machines. I devote all my efforts to exploring and developing this dimension of what I can get from the Elektra. I notice crema and mouthfeel but do not really try to increase either. This is based on my observing that increases in quality of crema or thickness of mouthfeel seem to me to come with decreased flavor quality.

My thought is that one can adjust technique to optimize any of these 3 factors - taste / crema / mouthfeel - but not necessarily all three at the same time. One can choose to emphasize one or perhaps two or one can try to get the best balance of all three. My experience is that crema and mouthfeel increase together and usully in opposite direction to taste.

Another central factor here is the beans used and their freshness. Some SO offer maximum individuality of taste and invite that focus - which is my focus. Some (most / all?) blends seem aimed at maximizing the three components you mention. Perhaps, one has to choose.

KS

[KarlSchneider]

Oh, I forgot to mention that the other symptom/problem that have noticed is a very wet/disturbed puck. I have played around with the dose, as I understand that these machines don't react well to over-dosing. Checked several times with a dime, and it seems that there is enough clearance. But often after pulling a shot the puck has obviously been torn up. There are a lot of very wet grinds clinging to the screen. It almost seems as though the puck is getting torn up in the pre-infusion. I am tamping 35-40 lbs. on a scale.

I have been pulling the cup away between 30 & 40 seconds, (plus a 10 second pre-infusion) with a .5-.75 oz. shot volume. At that point the lever is 90-95% of the way back up. When I have tried adjust the grind for a faster pull, I get a very thin shot with very little crema.

I am very curious to hear your thoughts.

Ian

Hi Ian,

I had similar wet puck problems at first with my Elektra. You did not say whether youare using the single or double basket. I found the double particularly prone to wet pucks. I think you are overfilling the basket. Grounds on the screen suggests this. I still make that mistake occasionally. Usually now I have a dry puck and smooth surface on both 7g single basket/single pull epresso and 14g double basket / double pull Americano as long as I do not overfill. To tell the truth it was an experiment produced by so many wet double basket shots early on that opened me to trying the maligned single basket. Have not gome back to the double for espressi since.

KS

[ian2kris]

Karl -

Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I have been using the double basket, and do suspect that I have been over-dosing. I found that strategy worked well with the Pavoni. Your suggestion to try the single basket will hopefully spur me on to more experiments. The one shot that I pulled seemed even thinner, and with even less crema. I also plan on simply focusing on the basics of consistency of dose, distribution and tamp along with variations in grind.

One other thought that I have had was trying a naked portafilter. I was looking at the business end of the spouts and watching how water flowed through there and have been wondering is those little gromet-like openings aren't disturbing the crema as it flows out.

It may sound as though all I am interested in is syrupy texture and big crema, but that is not true. Taste, for me, is paramount; and though it is my experience that in home, (especially lever) espresso endeavors excellent taste is a moving target I am getting good to great (to my palate) flavor with the Elektra. The reason that my attentions are focused on mouthfeel and crema is because I want it all! With the La Pavoni I was able to occasionally achieve great flavor, copious/enduring crema, and a lovely syrupy mouthfeel. I think that such a "God-Shot" should be possible with the Elektra as well. I certainly have tasted those shots from a variety of professional machines at places like Stumptown, Blue Bottle, Ritual et al...

I agree that SO roasts can provide focused vivid flavors, flavor profiles that I think Chris Tacy might describe as having "clarity." I often get into periods of roasting only SO for espresso, but I have also come to appreciate the deep and layered flavor of good blends. [Chris might, I think, describe my "layers" as muddled and unfocused. I would be very interested in tasting a blended roast shot that Chris had dubbed as having clarity.] Just before Christmas I went on a business trip to Europe that ended in Lecco Italy, just an hour north of Milan. There I found many delicious shots with varied, but consistently clear/vivid flavor profiles in an astounding number of little "bars." I mentioned that there we virtually as many profiles as bars, but the one unifying theme was that it seemed obvious to me that the blends, (I do believe that everywhere I went I was drinking blended roasts) we designed to primarily be consumed as straight shots, or at least with the minimum of milk. Low acidity and more "bottom notes" in terms of flavor profiles predominated. Only on one occasion did I taste what was a somewhat cloying fruitiness that I would guess came from a Central American bean.

Wow! Have I babbled on! In the end I guess I should be pleased with the flavor that I am getting, and continue to play to try to get the other elements that I am looking for. I must say that the conversation of clarity/vivid vs. layered/muddled flavor profiles is fascinating. While perception of flavor is subjective, I do strongly believe that experienced tasters can reach consensus about a lot of flavor profiles and their descriptions in a wide variety of food. Watching and talking to professional cuppers is pretty mind blowing. One quickly realizes that there doesn't need to be any "hype" when a good taster is sharing observations. I think the wine industry could take such a lesson.

[gammeltoft]

Hey,

I have been mainly a pavoni man myself, but did own the elektra leva for a few months as well. To me it sounds like your grind is too fine. Given the long extraction rate and destroyed pucks, I would suspect that you have too much initial resistance in the puck forcing the water to eventually tear it apart. I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but try and readjust your grind to the coarse side (aiming for a 15 sec extraction + preinfusion) and then slowly work you way towards the finer side. You ought to be able to produce a fast shot (near gusher) without the puck breaking up. If you cannot do this, you need to look at pressure in the boiler (maybe too high) or your tamping/distribution technique. As always, it's about eliminating the variables one at a time.

Best of luck,

Thomas

[ian2kris]

Thanks for all of your input and suggestions. I have been playing around with some variations with some bit of success. First I have been consciously underdosing and that is helping. Also I am tamping with less pressure, 30# on a scale, also with some improvement. Finally this morning I have gotten some compact and fairly dry pucks, with nice pours, (25-30 secs. + 10 secs. of preinfusion) by pulling the lever down about 3/4 of the way before locking in the portafilter. That last variation seems to have really helped the soggy puck issue. I am using a double basket, with some Sulawesi Toraja Grade 1 that I roasted Sunday evening. The crema is quite nice and high in proportion, but still dissipates quickly, espcially in a cap cup, (I would guess because of the larger surface area).

I am pleased with the incremental improvements/refinements. Next I plan on trying to simply raise the cups closer to the spouts so the espresso is less disrupted. I also think I am going to take the plunge and chop the portafilter into a naked state.

I will try and post some pictures when I have a chance.

What are others' experience/expectations with how long crema lasts?