Spring lever video

[peacecup]

Here's a link to a spring lever video featuring V:



A very fun and useful project. I found out that it only takes about four minutes total to produce an excellent espresso once V gets hot. And nary a sound to distract me from Alessio Benvenuti's rendition of the Mozart Meneut.

PC

[HB]

I really enjoyed the vignette, "A Little Blond." My favorite part was the dosing mechanism. I was surprised by the three pulls though and the speed of the return stroke. The quality of your videos and Dave's have me seriously considering a digital video camera... for taking footage of the kids, of course.

[peacecup]

Dan,

This was my first espresso of the day, first with this new (old) grinder, so not only was I groggy, but it wasn't at all dialed in. Figured on doing a second cut, but you know how that goes, so I just decied to edit it. Hence the results in the cup -far from the best V can do. She does require three pulls to produce a 1.5-2 oz. espresso, and if I'm feeling ambitious and dose just right I can get a 2-oz doppio with four pulls. V has a 45-mm group.

Digital video is so easy - you probably heard the little one inquring as to the grind. One of these days I'm going to edit the miles of kid footage for the family...

PC

[cannonfodder]

I have never used a spring assist lever before, it looks interesting. Maybe one day I will get my hands on one to try out.

The quality of your videos and Dave's have me seriously considering a digital video camera... for taking footage of the kids, of course.

I just use the video mode on my canon S2 IS photo camera. It will do something like 320 or 640 rez at either 15 or 30 FPS. But it uses up a lot of memory fast. The first one I did of the lever pull was over 45mb if I remember correctly. I just use Microsoft movie maker to edit, which appears to be what peacecup used as well.

[peacecup]

I borrowed a pretty serious 3-chip Sony mini-DV camera - supposed to be near commercial quality. I could get the model number if someone wanted it. It can be plugged directly into a PC via firewire connection and controled via Windows MovieMaker as cannonfodder mentioned. I've toyed around with more sophisticated video editing software such as Adobe, but they quickly begin to consume monumental amounts of time. The whole process I used for A Little Blonde took about two hours from downloading the video to posting it on HB, including setting up a GoogleVideo account.

Thanks to cannonfodder for the inspiration. I hope to have another go at it sometime soon.

PC

[Alchemist]

Very nice production and shot.

I find it very interesting how differently we all appear to pull a shot in our own world. I have pulled on both a spring and manual lever, but neither your pull nor cannonfodder's looks like mine.

I don't think any are right or wrong as long as the taste is right. It's just interesting.

I do have to say I have never seen a dosing like yours. One mound, no tapping down, no leveling - just straight down. Seems you might be promoting channeling on the edges as the density of the grounds would be higher in the center from the mound. But again, if it aint' broke, don't fix it.

[peacecup]

John,

I am usually a bit more careful about leveling, either with a few taps on the PF or a light leveling tamp. The blonde results in the video probably reflect a general neglect of grind, dose, level, and tamp. Made for a good title though!

PC

[mogogear]

Boy is Karl going to enjoy watching and listening to your production.

All nice components. How old is the child in the back bround? My daughter keeps flunking my every morning test exam of - " What is Dad doing" ? She replies "Making coffee" !! Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

I agree if you had clips of all of us doing our thing, they would be all over the board. Interesting that all of us read the same stuff, some of us buy the same machines, and we apply it in vary different ways.

Also, Nice epilogue line .

[peacecup]

My 3.5 year-old loves helping to make espresso. She gets a workout grinding with the hand grinder, and enjoys steamed milk and cocoa. She has her own cardboard Ponte Vecchio, and has practiced roasting beans on her stove. She also knows play time doesn't come until after espresso time on the weekends, when the PV crowds out mom's Saeco for counter space. When her mom asked her what dad wanted for his birthday she didn't hesitate to say a Cremina.

PC

[peacecup]

I've recently gone to a new level/tamp technique. Don't know why I didn't think of this before, but now I remove the basket to dose, then very gently drop it to distribute and level the coffee before tamping. I also tamp with the basket removed from the PF, which ensures that it lays very level on the table while tamping.

My espresso, which have been very good of late, have just gotten better.

PC

[peacecup]

I just pulled an extra nice shot of 4-d old Heritage Cafe Espresso, and had to share this update. In the video I show a quick and dirty dosing technique, but I usually use a lot more care. I've gone to dosing in the basket w/o the portafilter, which makes it easier to distribute and level. As I dose I occasionally stop and tap the basket on the counter to distribute and pack the grinds.

For the shot I just pulled I dosed right up to the dispersion screen (maybe 16-17 g?) pretty finely ground. I've also recently altered my "Fellini" pre-infusion - I now take an entire lever pull, a quick rise all the way to the top after the cylinder is full, then a quick second pull to pre-infuse. This sends more water to the puck then my earlier 1/2 Fellini pull. I then hold this pre-infusion for less time - maybe 5 sec, whereas I used to hold up to 10 sec. The full dose and fine grind on this shot required me to lean on the lever just a bit to keep the flow at the correct level. Herein lies the secret - if I can grind and dose to the just past the spring tension level, I can get a bit of extra pressure on the shot w/o choking. When all these things come together, I can get pretty close to a "Gosh", if not a "God" shot!

Peace,

PC

[grong]

I too have been dosing into a loose basket, and tapping down to settle grounds as you suggest. I have also been declumping with mr. brown's technique of covering the heaping basket with another empty upside-down basket, and giving the grounds a shake before further tapping, leveling, and tamping. I didn't think my Rocky grinder with doser created much clumping, but after seeing the sorting results of mr. brown's technique, I realized how much better the grounds could be distributed, and the taste improved.

I will try some pulls with your revised infusion technique, and grind and tamp to require spring pressure, plus a little muscle.

How much volume are you getting on these new shots? I find that my favorite shots produce about 1 ounce with two pulls, with a double basket. Faster running pulls are a little more coffee-like, about 1-1/2 ounces, this considering the shot stops when the lever stops moving.

Is your Heritage roasted near you? Or is it flown in?

[peacecup]

Just a note of caution - leaning on the lever puts a lot of pressure on the one cotter pin that links the lever to the piston.

I usually get 0.5 oz per lever pull, and I usually like three pull, 1.5 oz ristrettos (volume measured including crema). I think 15 g is a little much for 1 oz of espresso, but sometimes I like it that way. My first two pulls are usually all crema if I'm using fresh beans. Sometimes I'll go a fourth pull to 2 oz. if I want a stronger caffeine dose - if done correctly I can do this without blonding.

Heritage is a local Juneau roaster, celebrating their 30-year anniversary. Caffe espresso is a 5-bean blend, Brazil, Yemen, and others. I don't know how it compares to the other popular espresso blends often recommended on HB because shipping to Juneau precludes getting coffee sent here often.

PC

[grong]

Thanks for the cautionary note about the pressure on the cotter pin. I think I'll stay spring powered, as it works well.

Enjoy your fresh blend. What is the degree of roast?

[peacecup]

Wishing you and yours a happy and healthy holiday season,

PC

[mogogear]

I guess Prof Stack has his task well invisioned now.... Nice three-stroker!

Ho Ho Ho

[chopinhauer]

Thanks for the videos. Besides being informative they are truly fun to watch. Mozart goes well with the serene process of making sublime espresso. I'm getting out my violin sonatas to play when next I use my machine.

I have never used a spring machine, just pump machines and my two non-spring levers, the europiccola and cremina. So my comment here is not a criticism just an observation regarding multiple pulls of the lever. I was told by the people who sell and distribute pavoni here in Sydney Australia (Italians who have been doing this for 30 years and honestly do know their stuff) that pulling the water through the group on a lever machine more than once per shot is not a good practice as the second stroke just delivers blond, dirty water. The pavonis at least are, according to them, a one stroke machine, everything good comes out in the first pull. If you want a longer shot, you should add hot water, not a second pull.

Now my experience of the europiccola confirms this. One pull, even if short, tastes much better, richer, etc than two pulls. So my practice on the europiccola and the cremina is always only to do one pull, and if someone wants a longer shot, add hot water.

However, I often read here that people who want doubles on both the pavonis, creminas and microcasas regularly do two pulls And now I see that peacup does three!! pulls for a single on the ponte vecchio. So my question is, don't you find that this diminishes the flavour, texture, colour etc of the espresso, or am I missing something, or making false assumptions?

[peacecup]

pulling the water through the group on a lever machine more than once per shot is not a good practice as the second stroke just delivers blond, dirty water.

The difference is pushing a volume of water through the puck over a 30-sec. vs. pushing the same volume through the puck in three 10-sec. periods. The pressure profiles will, of course, be different, but the dirty water bit is nonsense. If you want to verify this, simply take two pulls with your Pavoni, let each pour into a separate cup, and taste. If you have shot glasses all the better, because you can see the crema. With fresh beans I usually pull near 100% crema over all three pulls.

I think the important factor is coffee:water ratio. My PV produces 0.5 oz. per pull. I get 15g or more into the basket, so at three pulls I have a 15g:1.5 oz. ratio, which is pretty high.

[Pixelator]

Thanks for the videos Peacecup!

I'd like to make a suggestion for your next clip. If possible, set your camera on manual focus. Zoom in on the subject, the shot glass, and focus. Zoom back out to frame your shot. Then, when ready, press record. You'll then keep your subject in focus without the auto focus hunting if you happen to move the lens during the shot.

Since Vaneli's no longer carries the Export, I've emailed the factory in Italy to see if they will sell direct. If they will, it will be interesting to see what it will cost now that W has ruined the value of the $ during the past 6 years!

I wish you all a great holiday season! May all your pulls produce nectar of the gods!

[prof_stack]

I guess Prof Stack has his task well invisioned now.... Nice three-stroker! Ho Ho Ho

Ho Ho Ho, Indeed!

WONDERFUL videos! Good stuff. I'm definitely getting a tamper now and will start the next climb up this steep slope of espresso excellence, or something like that.

Is your portafilter handle in-line with the lever? Mine is not, but I don't think that matters, right?

Thanks again!