True Times For Pulling A Shot With An Elektra Microcasa a Leva

[room1232]

Crazy question and excuse me if the answer should seem simple but when it is said it should take 27 seconds to produce a good shot are we talking from the time after one lets go of the lever or the complete time including the 10 seconds of preinfusion, thus then 17 seconds for the lever to complete it's travel. Please advise. Lets talk about this.

Thank You.

Anthony Wolberg

[HB]

The best shots from my Microcasa are slowww-w. Although I haven't timed precisely, I would guess it's ten full seconds of pre-infusion and a leisurely 25 seconds of extraction time. The pour itself is faster than drip-drip-drip and slower than a solid stream. Of course, I'm a weekend lever guy and will gracefully defer to the greater wisdom of the full timers.

PS: I'm not into espresso-tography, but here's an acceptable shot from the Microcasa.


Excerpted from More signs of ECD (espresso-compulsive disorder)

[cremacafe]

Time definitely isn't of the essence with a MCL. I preinfuse at least 10 secs, sometimes 20.....just depends on the freshness of the beans etc. I wait till a see an equal bubbling through my naked PF, then let it rip. It usually takes another 20-30 secs to pull the shot. That is all for one pull as well.....I don't care for the overextracted bits that come out from a second pull.

[room1232]

Who or where did you get your naked portifilter for your Elektra Micro Casa A Leva. I am intrigued.

[cremacafe]

I made it myself, a dremel and my Dewalt recip saw. Took about 15 minutes. I did buy a new one from 1st line just in case I screwed up, but it works great. Doesn't look as smooth as the one I bought from espressoparts, but it does look pretty good.

[room1232]

Very Cool. I would love to go that route.

[srobinson]

I vote with everyone else. I usually do very slow shots both on the Elektra and the Pavoni. I think a tight grind gives you that mouthfeel that is unique on these machines. I pull with my eyes, not a watch on these.

[hbuchtel]

When y'all talk about pre-infusion (on a lever machine) what specifically do you mean?

Is it from the point that water begins rushing into the chamber till pulling?

Or from the point where the chamber is full till pulling?

Thanks for your responses, Henry

[HB]

Preinfusion begins when the puck is first wetted and ends once the lever is released (spring-lever like the Microcasa) or the barista presses down (manual like La Pavoni). Usually I pause about 10 seconds. Note that the brew pressure equals the boiler pressure during preinfusion (not zero).

[buzzmc]

And, does the preinfusion time enter into the shot pulling time? I guess that's where I'm most confused with all my reading.

[HB]

The stock answer to the question "When do I start timing the extraction?" for pump-driven machines is when the brew switch is pressed; it includes any preinfusion time, which generally isn't more than a few seconds. Since levers have a much longer preinfusion time, I time from the moment that full pressure is applied, though to be honest, I pay closer attention to the look of the pour than a stopwatch.

[hbuchtel]

that full pressure is applied, though to be honest, I pay closer attention to the look of the pour than a stopwatch.

Sorry to get a bit off topic, but if you find that a pull is going faster then usual, would you apply less pressure to get a normal extraction time or continue with a normal amount of pressure and finish quickly?

(is there an easy answer to this? )

Henry

[buzzmc]

Henry, I'll take a swag at this with my near virginal experience... That would be that if you don't have pressure, you're not going to get good results.

I think as long as you have pressure, when we get better, we can vary that pressure to some degree with our level machines to "fix"/adjust things for what we're seeing in the cup. But without pressure you're missing "a" component that you can't get back by just slowing down the pull to get to that 25-30 seconds.

I had this very thing this morning... Brand new bean, so I already know I have some experimenting to do. Same grind as last bean, same tamp, almost no pressure, and almost no crema, and funky tasting espresso that I didn't want to necessarily waste, so I made a latte with it after I tasted it. The old bean/setup would have taken significant pressure and no way I could make a pull inside of 10 seconds, this new bean with the same setup, no way I couldn't make a pull inside of 3.

[espressoperson]

Sorry to get a bit off topic, but if you find that a pull is going faster then usual, would you apply less pressure to get a normal extraction time or continue with a normal amount of pressure and finish quickly?

(is there an easy answer to this? )

Henry

Not much I can do once a shot is started. I follow through with the pull as best I can, taste, learn from the experience, and adjust the factors for the next shot. It's usually a disappointment but always informative. Shots are perfected by consistently dialing in many factors over time like dose, distribution, tamp, pull. If one factor is off the shot is probably not going to be your best.

[HB]

Sorry to get a bit off topic, but if you find that a pull is going faster then usual, would you apply less pressure to get a normal extraction time or continue with a normal amount of pressure and finish quickly?

Since my lever is spring powered it's a moot point, but Steve has counseled me to "go with the pull" with his Cremina (at one time I denounced his modulation of lever pressure as cheating). Thanks to him, I now have a mild case of "fully manual" lever envy.