It all depends on the coffee. For current dead-ristretto SOE, weigh and be happy:

Keep in mind that even though you see blonding, it does not mean that extraction has stopped rather what is/isn't being extracted is changing. Tradition of the ristretto (1:1) pull would tell you that all the "good" stuff in a shot is gone when the shot is blonding. While this methodology in the end yields a very satisfying espresso, much of the reasoning put forward by espresso evangelists of the day for why it was happening was pseudoscience at best. With the popularization of lighter roasts (and thus changing extraction rates of solubles in the coffee, and even what is available for extraction) a 1:1 shot can be rather unpleasant even though blonding would indicate it was time to stop the shot. All that to say is that using blonding as an indicator of proper extraction can be misleading. Matt Purger did a nice 3 part series that explains espresso extraction very nicely, I will post a link below. As always, experimentation with your own palate will lead you best. You can have the most amazing looking shot that follows all the pop-cultural rules of extraction and still not like what you get.


http://www.baristahustle.com/espresso-r ... -together/

Skeet Shooter wrote:So I'm relatively new to espresso on my CC1 (first machine) I am currently dosing 17.2-17.4g into a double basket portafilter.

My shots come out a bit slow usually. I have a 3 second infusion and cut the shot around 33-35 seconds total time when I get to around 35g measured in the cup.

The taste seems good to me, however I feel like it might be allowing the blonded a bit too long. Most often I get great crema and mottling/striping that lasts. I'll see if tomorrow I can post a shot up here that I pull in the morning. For now, I have one that is from when I first got my machine, so its probably not representative of what I am doing now.
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My methods are pretty good now that I've had some months to work on it, but I am looking to get better. Should I start just cutting my shots shorter and say "to heck with measuring"?

Well i did try some suggested changes this morning. Resulting shot tastes good to me and Crema looks the same to me as well. I'll let you guys be the judge...

18g Red Bird
Shot time looked like around the 30 second mark I cut it as it got up to 37g in the cup. I probably should have cut it around 28 as that was when it started to blonde. But i'll be honest, its difficult to monitor the color, the shot time, and the weight all at the same time.

If it tasted good it was good....it's that simple imo

Just play around a bit around these parameters to see what you like better, I predict you'll find an optimum soon, just by taste and the playimg around will show you what parameter to focus on. My experience is that blonding and shot time are mere indicators and not real parameters I use on a daily basis, weight and more precisely grounds in vs espresso out is what matters mostly for me.

Cut the shot based on weight, not by blonding. Try different yields until you find what works best.

Don't worry about what your crema looks like either. Some good looking shots can taste very bad, and visa versa.

If you are using a bottomless, cut the shot when it begins to wiggle (lose its cone shape). Your last photo probably cut the shot before I would. The old HB philosophy has a lot of people terrified of any blonding and cut the shot at the first sight of it. As previously stated, I also believe this is before the light roasts began to take off. Now, redbird is not one of these light roasts but it still enjoys a long shot usually in the 35 second range.

I would not recommend blindly cutting the shot off by weight.

Interesting that you said that ^^^ I've found that my optimal shot times are between 33-35 seconds with RedBird. Its a damn fine coffee.

I did try a single origin organic local to me, and besides its very expensive price, was not impressed with it. Perhaps Its supposed to be brewed at a lower temperature than what I have it at, but I never felt the price and taste stacked up to RedBird or Black Pearl from Chris's Coffee.