Search found 643 matches

by mgrayson
March 22nd, 2024, 8:06 am
Forum: Tips and Techniques
Replies: 9
Views: 236

Continuing difficulties in diagnosis

I get stuck in ruts. The best advice I've gotten is to make a large change and try refining from there. For instance, try 16g in a smaller basket. Try very different grinds and for each grind, different outputs to balance sour and bitter. The coffee universe keeps discovering new zones of parameters...
by mgrayson
March 21st, 2024, 10:17 pm
Forum: Lever Espresso Machines
Replies: 9
Views: 466

Lever Position on Manual vs. Spring

Mark, Hah! Didn't know that
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by mgrayson
March 21st, 2024, 7:29 pm
Forum: Lever Espresso Machines
Replies: 9
Views: 466

Lever Position on Manual vs. Spring

I tried that argument with my wife. It didn't work. (And while I am a descriptivist and believe that language is fluid and that there are no rules for grammar, I am saddened that "utilize" has become a synonym for "use" and has lost its meaning of "unusual or unintended usage". You use a washing mac...
by mgrayson
March 21st, 2024, 6:24 am
Forum: Lever Espresso Machines
Replies: 9
Views: 466

Lever Position on Manual vs. Spring

A spring lever is relaxed when the lever is vertical. Energy is added to the spring by pulling the lever down, lifting the piston. Water then enters the chamber, and the lever rises as the spring releases its tension and forces water through the puck. I'm told that one can change the pressure profil...
by mgrayson
March 19th, 2024, 1:18 pm
Forum: Lever Espresso Machines
Replies: 50
Views: 2428

ACS Vostok 1 group wear

Perhaps a silly question - are you sure they weren't there when you got it? The machine was undoubtedly tested before shipping. It may not be your doing at all
by mgrayson
March 18th, 2024, 9:20 am
Forum: Lever Espresso Machines
Replies: 50
Views: 2428

ACS Vostok 1 group wear

As someone who has never used a spring lever, and has one supposedly on the way (the last few shipping date estimates have come and gone unremarked), I appreciated the video. Both directional instructions were new to me. And the first thing I do after receiving the EVO Leva will be to press divots i...
by mgrayson
March 12th, 2024, 2:44 pm
Forum: Knockbox
Replies: 48
Views: 2004

How to improve coffee beyond "good enough"?

A curious update: After years of bashing straight-sided-baskets-with-too-many-holes because I could never pull a shot without gross channeling, I had another look. After all, distribution tools have advanced significantly in recent years. I chose a Pullman basket that had been sitting in the drawer,...
by mgrayson
March 12th, 2024, 12:37 pm
Forum: Lever Espresso Machines
Replies: 50
Views: 2428

ACS Vostok 1 group wear

I wonder if a little felt or leather would go well at the contact points. Pianos, which take an enormous beating, have a lot of felt inside them
by mgrayson
March 12th, 2024, 7:34 am
Forum: Marketplace
Replies: 10
Views: 585

Why Choose Espresso Over Filter Coffee?

Accidents of history. Decades of bad American coffee, intolerable without milk and sugar, followed by some very good espresso in Italy. I've since had some excellent drip coffee, although I've seldom made it myself. My comfort coffee is a latte without sweetener, and that's most of what I make at ho...
by mgrayson
March 11th, 2024, 4:56 pm
Forum: Tips and Techniques
Replies: 37
Views: 1316

Coffee too fresh for espresso. How to tell?

An experiment to help you taste "too fresh". Grind some coffee and let it sit for an hour. That will not perfectly mimic aging, but will get rid of a lot of the CO2. Now pull that shot and compare it to a fresh-ground shot. The difference will give a good idea of what "too fresh" tastes like