Bill - Hurt you? Anyone I run into who even knows what mst3k is is an automatic friend in my book

Bill/Eric- I just got the Vario a few weeks ago, so it should be pretty new. I don't notice the arms moving during grinding.

Chris - I was going to get one at some point, but I figured I should get used to the basics first. Maybe I'm already ready for it.

Brian L - Agreed. I just didn't think the extraction could be that wildly different if I was doing the same thing for each shot.

Brian - I had planned on doing WDT at some point, but I figured that was more of an advanced technique used to fine tune my pulls. Looks like I need to try now.

Alan - I have cats, but fortunately they're not too interested in coffee.
Thanks for the info about all the factors that affect trying to dial in, I'll keep them in mind, especially with the amount of beans in the hopper. That's something I've definitely been inconsistent with.

Evan - thanks for the info, I'll have to check the serial number. I'll have to experiment with single dosing too.

Nick - I agree, my gram scale is pretty small so it's easier to weight Vario bin to get the dose. When I say sweep, I mean I'm sweeping the grounds within the portafilter to distribute them, I'm not sweeping off the excess, so what I'm weighing in the bin should be what's in the portafilter (maybe 0.2 or so less if some accidentally falls out).

Here's a question for everyone - could I diagnose the extraction with what's coming out of the spout before I get a bottomless portafilter? I'm still trying to understand what exactly is blonding. Sorry, I'm still pretty new to all of this, and my head is still spinning trying to absorb everything I've already read in the last few months. I'll try to read through the FAQ that Nick mentioned.

mst3000,

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, then I'd expect a video to be worth even more.

Here is a video clip that may be worth looking at re: blonding...Other members can read the "Comments" below on the page and see if they agree with anyone at what point (# of seconds in the video) the blonding starts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SZKLZd0A0o

-- BR

mst3000 wrote:Here's a question for everyone - could I diagnose the extraction with what's coming out of the spout before I get a bottomless portafilter?

It's hard to diagnose distribution and extraction problems if you don't have a bottomless portafilter. So, just address the problem directly...use the WDT. that eliminates or fixes most distribution/extraction problems.

Agree with getting a bottomless PF. If issues are apparent watching your extractions through the new PF, then a WDT would be a good thing. An easy utensil for that is to just get a wooden chopstick and use some coarse sandpaper to "whittle it down"...thin it out a wee bit. Only takes a few quick stirs.
FWIW, my Vario grinds didn't need the WDT except on those very dry winter days.

Here's an "Espresso Blond Quiz" video done by HB's Dan Kehn (from 1-3-08):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=p ... AuKLMFALUc

-- BR

IMAWriter wrote:Agree with getting a bottomless PF. If issues are apparent watching your extractions through the new PF, then a WDT would be a good thing. An easy utensil for that is to just get a wooden chopstick and use some coarse sandpaper to "whittle it down"...thin it out a wee bit. Only takes a few quick stirs.
FWIW, my Vario grinds didn't need the WDT except on those very dry winter days.

I have bamboo skewers - is that too thick?

mst3000,

Just take an ordinary paper-clip and unfold it most of the way -- there's your own professional & personally-fabricated WDT Tool.



-- Br

If memory serves, it was one of the HG-One guys who used the whisk, the other the chopstick?
The Forte's stronger motor would occasionally give me a bit more astatic than my Vario. Nashville's humidity has been higher this year, due the wettest/iciest winter in decades.

I think the OP would be well served, as most of us have, with a bottomless PF. I can't recall if he mentioned if he's using the CCV1's basket?

mst3000 wrote: Here's a question for everyone - could I diagnose the extraction with what's coming out of the spout before I get a bottomless portafilter? I'm still trying to understand what exactly is blonding.

You probably can, but I think it will be harder. Judging only by the stream coming out of the spout takes some experience and you've noted you are fairly new to things. Many advocate the bottomless portafilter because it makes diagnosis so much easier. Considering how much money goes to equipment and coffee, the $50-$70 for one is worth it, at least in my opinion.

As others have mentioned WDT can help a lot (bamboo skewer, sewing needle, paperclip, etc. all work well enough). You can start with this, watch the spout carefully for blonding and then judge by taste. While you may still have some channeling you can't see, the WDT should help get rid of any egregious channeling at least.

I saw the following youtube video some time ago, which at least gives a closeup of a spout during an extraction. You also commented on blonding. You can read many threads about blonding here, but my own opinion, fwiw, is that it is more important to be consistent in judging the blonding point than trying to find the "perfect" blonding point. There is a variance in people's opinions of this transition and whether to cut exactly when it occurs or a few seconds after.

But if you are consistent in your blonding point, then you can make progress judging by taste. If you don't use approximately the same level of "blonding", you'll have too many variables with changes in dose, grind and then extraction, making it hard to judge the effect of grind and dose changes to taste.