Effects of brew pressure on taste of espresso - Page 2
- cafeIKE
- Posts: 4704
- Joined: 18 years ago
If you don't know gauge accuracy, you're adjusting blind. When the gauge 'ages', you may adjust needlessly.innermusic wrote:Should I be calculating brew pressure or backwash pressure? (About 1/2 bar difference on my machine.)
Lot's of experimenting w pressure, not profiling, many years ago led to the conclusion pressure is not crtical.
As Chris says, trust your taste.
PM me if you want borrow my gauge. You pay shipping & insurance. Both ways. .75kg
Ian's Coffee Stuff
http://www.ieLogical.com/coffee
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- innermusic
- Posts: 454
- Joined: 14 years ago
Didn't realize that gauge could be inaccurate - I figured a gauge measures pressure. Babe in the woods that I am. Anyway, this morning I dropped down to 8 from previous 9ish and the difference in taste was huge, and terrible. Then I pushed it up to 9.6 same coffee and tasted much better. Low pressure was more dry. Awful.
Steve Holt
Trent Hills, Ontario Canada
Vivaldi II, Macap MXK, Baratza Vario
Trent Hills, Ontario Canada
Vivaldi II, Macap MXK, Baratza Vario
- cafeIKE
- Posts: 4704
- Joined: 18 years ago
8 on the gauge could be below 7 on the puck... yuck
Ian's Coffee Stuff
http://www.ieLogical.com/coffee
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- cannonfodder
- Team HB
- Posts: 10497
- Joined: 19 years ago
Machine gauges are notoriously inaccurate. The capillary tube that feeds the gauge connects pretty far upstream from the grouphead will also affect the reading. Before I had the scace I simply screwed a pressure gauge onto one of my spare portafilters. Do not take the onboard gauges as being an exact measurement, but a general reference point for changes. Adjust the machine to your taste.
Dave Stephens
- AndyS
- Posts: 1053
- Joined: 19 years ago
Doesn't that pressure regime describe most lever shots?cafeIKE wrote:8 on the gauge could be below 7 on the puck... yuck
-AndyS
VST refractometer/filter basket beta tester, no financial interest in the company
VST refractometer/filter basket beta tester, no financial interest in the company
- HB
- Admin
- Posts: 21981
- Joined: 19 years ago
No doubt that it would describe the majority of spring-powered lever espresso machines. I certainly wouldn't describe the espressos they produce as "yuck". In fact, for some coffees, I think spring-powered levers produce more nuanced, flavorful espressos than those produced by pump-powered machines.
Dan Kehn
- cafeIKE
- Posts: 4704
- Joined: 18 years ago
Never measured pressure on lever.AndyS wrote:Does that pressure regime describe most lever shots?
Anything tried below 7 on a vibe pump was less than appealing.
Kinda a flat and 'oh so coffee'
The response was to a post with a vibe machine
Ian's Coffee Stuff
http://www.ieLogical.com/coffee
http://www.ieLogical.com/coffee
- AndyS
- Posts: 1053
- Joined: 19 years ago
Espresso that tastes like coffee? Disgusting.cafeIKE wrote:Kinda a flat and 'oh so coffee'
-AndyS
VST refractometer/filter basket beta tester, no financial interest in the company
VST refractometer/filter basket beta tester, no financial interest in the company
- aecletec
- Posts: 1997
- Joined: 13 years ago
I'm not sure about 'oh so' coffee (or what that is), but 'so so' coffee I can empathise with.
- HB
- Admin
- Posts: 21981
- Joined: 19 years ago
Split follow-on discussion to Brew pressure gradient of espresso.
Dan Kehn