My first nekkid' pull

[Worldman]

...well, almost my first. I finally have gotten a crotchless PF (from Espresso Parts as part of the HB Anniversary celebration), though I had to wait until my daughter came down form Cleveland since it was a birthday gift. This is a pretty nice PF as it is OEM cut meaning that it is plated after the milling. Hence, the entire thing is chromed, i.e. there is no exposed brass. There are, however, some exposed sharp edges though it has been stated by Espresso Parts (on HB) that future OEM cut PF will have smoother edges.

OK, OK...so I got the thing and waited until my daughter and son-in-law left to go back to Cleveland before I tried it. The below picture is not my first pull though it was taken during my 2nd or 3rd day with the thing. As you can see, the "funnel" is not as long (deep) as it is on nearly every other crotchless pull, and I have no idea why this is so. Any thoughts would be appreciated! These beans were a couple of week sold since I ran out of my (new) usual blend* and these were some remaining miscela bar I had on hand (perhaps they were 3 weeks old).

(*) = my new usual blend is Fair Trade Organic Espresso from La Prima..but this is the subject for another post.

Len

The beginning of the shot


The "middle"


The end


The shot ~ 30" after the pull

[HB]

As you can see, the "funnel" is not as long (deep) as it is on nearly every other crotchless pull, and I have no idea why this is so. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Jon notes "Higher pressure produces a darker and shallower cone":


From How to make a beautiful "naked" triple espresso

I would also attribute it to the type of coffee, its freshness (degassing coffees produce bulging cones), and type of basket.

PS: Many of our members frequent multiple coffee sites. Please avoid cross-posting your question, or mention the other site(s) to avoid repetitive responses (link).

[cannonfodder]

Morning Len. Having had a few shots from you, I would say it is your beans. That shot went blond quicker than I remember when I was visiting.

In addition to the pressure that HB points out, to fresh of a bean will give you a crema gusher. I pulled a shot from some barely 24 hours old coffee once, the cone extended half way down to the cup, the crema goes flat fast and tastes like baking soda. I also rarely go over 2oz on my shots, but that is a personal preference.

[jesawdy]

I also rarely go over 2oz on my shots, but that is a personal preference.

Which leads to a question I have had... how does one properly measure the volume of a shot when it is a lot of crema? I would think you have to get some experience in when to stop based on time and blonding and almost throw volume out the window (to a certain extent)??? Do you understand my question?

And to the original thread, my guess would also be the bean age.

-Jeff

[jrtatl]

Which leads to a question I have had... how does one properly measure the volume of a shot when it is a lot of crema?

measure to the top of the crema before it dissipates.

YMMV.

[Worldman]

Dan,

Sorry about the cross posting. It shan't happen in future.

Here are some pics of the pull from 13 June. The "funnel" is longer and the shot is shorter (to assuage the concerns of cannonfodder). However, these are all double shots which I usually pull between 2 and 2.5oz.

The beginning:


Middle:


The end:


Len

[HB]

However, these are all double shots which I usually pull between 2 and 2.5oz.

The photos aren't very revealing. If you want to try videos, let me know.

[Worldman]

Well, my shots are looking mo' betta. Here are some pictures of a single pulled this evening.






...and here is the resultant cino.


Len

[HB]

...and here is the resultant cino.

Mmm-m, the texturing looks very good.
I would pull the shot directly into the cappuccino cup to avoid losing crema when transferring between vessels.

[Worldman]

...the texturing looks very good.

Dan, you refer to the texturing of the milk? It was rather nice and this brings up another aspect of the crotchless PF...my latte art has improved (it still leaves a lot to be desired, but it HAS improved) since getting the crotchless PF. I am most certainly NOT sure why this might be...but it is true. Perhaps it is due to a thicker crema, though it seemed I had more frequent all crema shots when I used to be crotched.

I would pull the shot directly into the cappuccino cup to avoid losing crema when transferring between vessels.

I agree! The crema left in the shot glass is a continuous regret of mine and even licking it out of the shot glass (well, trying to) does little to relieve my pain.

I used to pooh pooh those who pulled into shot glasses as just playing around. Guess I've just been "playing around" since getting the naked lady.

Len

[Worldman]

Ahhh...I was daydreaming about coming home today and pulling a few shots for wifey & me. The look of the shot as it falls out of the crotchless PF IS sensual - though it is hard to photograph it at the moments you want.

Here is the start of a double I just pulled:


It quickly developed into this:

The stream would bulge and interrupt...it was so cool to see but I was not fast enough to catch it on film (well, silicon, anyway). Here it was just before it "blipped".

Then this:


And looked like this ~20 seconds after it was pulled:


And was drunk looking like this:


Len

[HB]

It quickly developed into this:

Nicely done. That looks like a signature "cannonfodder cone." What blend and how many days post-roast is it? The only espresso I've seen balloon out more is Dr. John's Malabar Gold...

[cannonfodder]

Now you have done it, I have cone envy...
The only time I get a drop like that is when I am using very fresh (too fresh) beans.

Have you adjusted your pump pressure or was this shot just the result of observation and modified/improved technique?



Liquid Love

[PaniniGuy]

Worldman,

That is damned pretty (the photo above in Cannonfodder's post)...

One question on the naked PF... we got one a couple months ago and it did not have the jaggedness of yours, which is really visible in that last photo. Very surprised it shipped like that. Be careful not to cut yourself!

[Worldman]

Nicely done. That looks like a signature "cannonfodder cone." What blend and how many days post-roast is it? The only espresso I've seen balloon out more is Dr. John's Malabar Gold...

Thanks! I feel honored to have kind words from the "GREAT HB"!

The blend is La Prima's bar blend; it is perhaps 6 days from roast. So, this ballooning is something desirable? Really, I didn't know. What was really cool was that the shot would swell and then there would be a momentary interruption in the shot fall. Man, it looked so sensuous...but is hard to get on camera and almost can't be seen with the naked eye.

Len

[Worldman]

Worldman,

That is damned pretty (the photo above in Cannonfodder's post)...

One question on the naked PF... we got one a couple months ago and it did not have the jaggedness of yours, which is really visible in that last photo. Very surprised it shipped like that. Be careful not to cut yourself!

PG, LOL!!! Actually, my Espresso Parts nekkid' PF WAS rough edged when I got it...but these are now pretty smooth. I guess this is just from use as I didn't do anything to wear away the rough edges. I suppose it was just a roughness in the plating which has self corrected from use.
Can you see some roughness to the edges of my PF?

Len

[Worldman]

Now you have done it, I have cone envy...
The only time I get a drop like that is when I am using very fresh (too fresh) beans.

Have you adjusted your pump pressure or was this shot just the result of observation and modified/improved technique?

Dave,

The beans were certainly not TOO fresh as they were almost 1 week from roast.

The shot you see above was not with any adjustment of pump (OPV) nor any modified/improved technique...well, I suppose I am more careful in my distribution and tamping since I got "sprayed" a couple of times.

I have since adjusted my OPV to allow ~10 1/4 bar though I do not notice any difference in taste, body, etc.

Len

[HB]

So, this ballooning is something desirable? Really, I didn't know.

I don't attribute the voluminous cones with anything special, i.e., I assume they are a characteristic of the coffee (or freshness). An experienced homeroaster would know better than me. Despite the encouragement of a few friends, I've not taken the bait yet. It's easy to be lazy when there's Counter Culture a few miles from my office and great online roasters a click away.

Plus my wife would kill me if I spent even more time on coffee...

[cannonfodder]

Worldman,

That is damned pretty (the photo above in Cannonfodder's post)...

One question on the naked PF... we got one a couple months ago and it did not have the jaggedness of yours, which is really visible in that last photo. Very surprised it shipped like that. Be careful not to cut yourself!

Well, that depends on whose portafilter you are looking at. The one in my post is my portafilter, which I made. It is actually smooth on the bottom, I polish the sharp edge off but the light may be playing tricks.

[RapidCoffee]

I don't attribute the voluminous cones with anything special, i.e., I assume they are a characteristic of the coffee (or freshness).

In my experience, "flo-cones" are associated with fast extraction rates, not coffee characteristics.