leopm wrote:One of my primary directives in espresso is that I won't ever use a scale to weigh coffee, so I'll have to learn how to dose by volume.

Going without tools is an admirable goal, but since you're reporting inconsistencies, the first place I would look is your dosing. Practicing consistent volumetric dosing is one of the suggestions in Exercises for tuning your barista techniques. When you can dose ten times in a row with no more than 0.3 grams of variance, put away the scale.


"When you snatch the pebble from my hand,
then it will be time for you to leave."

It's much like a Karate-Kid thing...

I never saw it like a temporary solution. Maybe it works as a training tool, for a time, but I'll certainly never use it as a permanent solution.

Maybe I'm wrong but I believe that even with home equipment limitations we should not get very far from the simplicity of the professional barista. The entire ritual of preparing espresso is lovely, but can't result in 5-7 minutes to pull a single...

Will look for some cheap scales in eBay and here in Brazil. Thanks.

Well, to keep things in perspective, imagine if the professional barista were only given 2 or 3 attempts per day for a month to pull their absolutely best shot versus relying on "muscle memory" gained by pulling a couple hundred per day for a month. If I spend an extra 2 minutes in prep time but the result is more consistent espresso for my once-a-morning session, I think it's worth it.

In other words, with experience comes simplicity. In my opinion, early learners are well advised to validate their steps along the way where possible (e.g., weighing the dose, verifying the pour using a bottomless portafilter). Otherwise, they risk attributing inconsistencies to various mechanical factors rather than the inconsistency in their technique.

Scan the forums and you'll find dozens of threads from newbies attributing their poor espresso to lousy brew temperature control, too high/low brew pressure, a grinder that's out of whack, etc. They might be right, those are possible factors. But the greater likelihood is that the problem is on the handle side of the portafilter. Since this site aspires to be "your guide to exceptional espresso", I believe it's fair to ask said newbies to apply proven techniques of eliminating barista inconsistencies before following them down the "something is wrong with my equipment" rabbit hole.

+1 to Dan

With home espresso, its better to win ugly
than lose pretty. I can see having flair if you are entertaining,
But when that shot may be the only highlight of
your day, you dont want to mess it up...

Dan,

I've been watching the forum more actively these last weeks and I'm impressed with your positions about several discussions in here. You usually see a little beyond the others.

As I said I'd never do weighing...I always saw it like a too much scientifical approach, but I have to recognize that really makes sense what you and the others said in this topic. Professional baristas often pull perfect shots without a minimal effort, easy like opening a Coke and put in the glass. Never thought about the muscular memory and all that stuff. It really counts a lot. We'd certainly perform much better if doing the same thing all day over.

I just ordered a scale a few hours ago. It was a simple model ($25), but it has 0.1 gram steps and may help. Gonna try.

Despite all discussion about the tamper base, I also think a new tamper will help, as my actual is not a big deal. Really.

Thanks for all.

Well, just wanna thanks for all those that supported me in this ever-endless-going way of espresso.

Since I started this topic I changed three things in my routine, based in the comments of other members.

1. I started to use a scale, and I'm now very pleased because I only added 15-30 seconds in my ritual and at least I can control one of those many variable (weight). I discovered, for instance, that some blends require different doses to taste well.

2. Started to use nutation tamping since yesterday. It's early to comment, but got some decent shots with it. Let's try out more.

3. Started with WDT some days ago. I use a very sophisticated and expensive tool (open paper clip). Still not sure if it's improving consistency, but I'm still testing.

There goes some pictures of recent shots: a ristretto and the double, taken today. I liked it, although it was a little bit overextracted because of too hot water. There is one picture of new scale I put in the modded Breville Ikon, since the stock one won't cover espresso range.








Leonardo