Wet, glunky pucks

[aeroplane]

I have a new machine, (S1 v2) and I can't seem to get a good, solid puck after extraction. The top is wet and gooey, and when the puck hits the bonk-box, it falls apart into many pieces, not resembling a 'puck' at all. The pucks are 'glunky' (Yes, it's a new word, but onomatopoeia demands it -- the pucks glunk out of the PF...)

I haven't changed my technique from my previous machines, and trying to fine tune it (tamp presure, fluff the grinds, dose less, dose more, etc...) isn't making much difference either.

The espresso tastes decent to pretty good, however...

I'm scratching my head. Help please!

[cafeIKE]

Grinding coarser and adding more coffee to the basket generally makes for more impressive pucks.

The same is not always true of the espresso.

[woodchuck]

Aeroplan, I have an S1 VII and have learned to live with wet pucks but good espresso. I'm not sure what makes the S1 have more of a propensity to deliver wet pucks but it happens. I do find that my pucks themselves tend to hold together pretty well. The water just tends to sit on the top of the puck. The S1 cafe at http://www.rimpo.org has had a few threads on this subject.

Cheers

Ian

[lsf]

The same thing happens to me as well since I changed from a rocky to a super jolly. With Rocky I was getting nice solid puck but with the mazzer, the pucks break into many parts. This, however, doesn't seem to affect the taste. I haven't figured out what could be the reason for this since I haven't changed anything in my technique when I did the upgrade...

Any explanations ?

[Wescott]

In my experience too the Vivaldi delivers good results from a wet puck. Sometimes they are drier, but rarely do they fall out in a clean piece. But the coffee is doing what it should. Exception because of the depth of the 53mm basket? Maybe. Could also be the way the pump attacks the puck. I suspect that, if you like the coffee, then pursuing the elimination of the wet puck may be counterproductive.

[Niko]

It also depends on the grind setting, the deeper PF has a lot to do with this as water takes a while longer to travel down there. I've had excellent shots with muddy pucks and not-so-good ones with dry ones, I wouldn't judge a puck by its cover...
I don't get muddy pucks often but I've seen it on a couple of other S1's. You'll get this more often if you mostly pull Ristrettos.

Did you see this on Rimpo's S1 site?: http://www.rimpo.org/wforum/viewtopic.php?t=26

[another_jim]

What exactly is supposed to be wrong with wet, gunky pucks? The more space between the top of the puck and the shower screen, the wetter it's going to be. It has absolutely nothing to do with shot quality. Now, a mostly dry puck shows you are having big problems.

[TimEggers]

What exactly is supposed to be wrong with wet, gunky pucks? The more space between the top of the puck and the shower screen, the wetter it's going to be. It has absolutely nothing to do with shot quality. Now, a mostly dry puck shows you are having big problems.

Agreed. "Puckology" is really a silly endeavor.

[Niko]

What the puck is going on around here?!
sorry, couldn't help myself


You can break a window with some of my pucks.

[aeroplane]

Thanks for all the responses!

All three of my previous machines would leave a solid puck. This one dosen't. Because it was different I assumed it was wrong.

I will judge by what's in the cup, not in the bonkbox.

[aeroplane]

To Jim, woodchuck, Wescott and Niko --

How much space should there be between the shower and the bed? I have been filling the double basket to about 1mm under the clip ridge, and that has been leaving the faintest impression of the bolt in the puck.

Too much? Too little? Any advice will be appreciated, thanks!

Jim

[cafeIKE]

I will judge by what's in the cup, not in the bonkbox.

To Jim, woodchuck, Wescott and Niko --

How much space should there be between the shower and the bed? I have been filling the double basket to about 1mm under the clip ridge, and that has been leaving the faintest impression of the bolt in the puck.

Too much? Too little? Any advice will be appreciated, thanks!

Jim

[Niko]

It depends on the type of blend or S.O. bean for me. I always go by weight (between 15.5 - 16.5 grams) and I usually try to not updose the S1's. It's usually around 2mm below the basket ridge for me where the bolt leaves a very slight impression.

[Randy G.]

.........The espresso tastes decent to pretty good, however...

VERY few of us taste the pucks so it is hard to comment...

As others have stated, taste the espresso and don't worry about the puck- headspace and the efficiency of the 3-way affect the amount of moisture left on the puck. If the thought of wet pucks is bothersome, think of it this way- dry pucks are caused by over-heated brewheads and brew water that is too hot... that is not true, but it is a point of view, no?

In my limited experiences, dry pucks were the rule with the Silvia and Rocky but wet pucks are the rule with Vibiemme Domobar Super and the same Rocky. But the espresso is noticeably better and more consistently so with the Vibiemme.

And really, I always taste the espresso, and, in opposition to the rumors, I never taste the pucks.

Back in '68 I saw the Sloppy Pucks open for the Airplane... The colors, dude... the c o l o r s ....

[woodchuck]

Aeroplane, much like Niko, I dose until the bolt leaves a slight impression on the puck. Any more than that and the coffeee will channel like crazy around the bolt head. I have been thinking about shaving down the bolt head a bit further to give me a bit more room to pack more coffee but haven't tried it yet.

Cheers

Ian

[Niko]

Ian,
I was going to try that also.
Some time ago I placed a parts order and the spare bolts were out of stock. I still plan on grinding one down but not without a spare kicking around.


You mean to tell me that you guys don't taste the pucks
How d'ya know if the shot extracted correctly if you don't get the full effect?

Back in '68 I saw the Sloppy Pucks open for the Airplane... The colors, dude... the c o l o r s ....

Duuuuuude!