1. Last week, for the first time since I started doing espresso at home I could drink my shots without any sugar...AND feel pleased with it.

2. My wife really hates espresso and haven't drink one for months. Today she saw me pulling espresso and asked me to make one for her. I pulled a good shot (luckily) and gave to her. She tasted and said: "very good! I liked it".

Congrats! I'm still working on getting my wife to like espresso. I suppose I need to step up my game, eh?

By the way, a big thanks to another_jim for the post "Grind, not Dose". I think that his theory really makes sense and after testing it by 4 days now I've noticed real effects of adjusting dose instead grinding.

It turned easier to control flow rate x extraction rate, that was a real problem with some of my extractions. Last days I finally got to "match" end of extraction (by color) with the correct amount of espresso after the time (25-35s). Before that the blonding was coming too early and the attempts to correct the problem by grinding variation were leading me to slow down too much the flow rate, what was resulting in 0.5 oz shots frequently.

Now, my problem is most related to some eventual side channeling (not always), but I think it can be caused by bad tamper, since I'm caring well about the distribution. I ordered a flat base tamper (mine is convex), let's see what happens.

leopm wrote:...I think [side channeling] can be caused by bad tamper, since I'm caring well about the distribution.

I am deeply skeptical that the piston shape is at fault. Double-check that your tamp is level, firm, and consistent (not canted left/right); if the pour still channels, look for other causes besides the tamper.

While I do agree that convex tamper bases may offer an advantage over flat bases in cases of flawed barista technique, in my opinion, it's too small a difference to justify a purchase unless you're simply curious. If you want to try an experiment, I recommend nutation with your current convex tamper.

HB, I tried nutation once, but was not pleased with the result. However, I have to recognize that just one time maybe is not sufficient to test this technique.

I'll try again the nutation, but I don't know...that convex thing still makes me think about the channeling, because in a straight tamper it tends to press more the center than the edges. At this time I don't have a naked PF, so I detect channeling by the color pattern of extraction. Sometimes the puck also helps me in diagnosing the problem, as it expands much more in the edges than in the center after the shot.

Anyway I ordered a flat base tamper not only because of the base, but because I'm not very confortable with the grip of my actual tamper (besides that, I customized the tamper to fit 51mm basket, since it was 53mm originally). Once I had the opportunity to choose a new base style I got a flat, to try different. It's even possible that the actual shape of the handle is screwing up things and making the tampering not perfect.

iantrevor wrote:Congrats! I'm still working on getting my wife to like espresso. I suppose I need to step up my game, eh?

Yeah, certainly! One of the things she said is that coffee wasn't bitter...maybe sign of better control in the end of extraction. Now the hard part: to acquire bigger consistency...I got a "sink" shot today.

Good luck for you.

leopm wrote:because in a straight tamper it tends to press more the center than the edges

Do you employ WDT?

I tried WDT for a few days, but abandoned because it was taking much time to prepare a shot and WDT turns very difficult to control dosing by volume, once the stirring of clumps changes the density and the visual volume (my only way of controlling the dosing).

Besides that, after re-adjusting to a coarser grinder and bigger dosing I'm getting much less clumping, so actually I just distribute grains evenly into the basket and tap a couple times in the counter to fill empty spaces. After a couple knocks, grains are practically leveled. So I tamp lightly to finalize leveling and after that a straight tamping. That's all.

Today I pulled two shots in sequence. The first channeled incredibly, leaving an almost white crema and much bitterness. The second one was much better, what included a slower pace extraction. Both was made with same procedure, dosing and grinding setting. As you see, the problem now is being regular...

Buy a 0.1g scale. As little as .5g can make quite a difference

If you have coffee in the hopper, grind a couple of seconds into the bin any time the grinder has sat for more than a few minutes.

Oh yeah, tamper shape is [almost] irrelevant.

CafeIKE,

I always do this "cleaning" in the grinder. My grinder is doserless but has a box to store ground coffee. Every time I'll take a shot more than one hour since the last, I grind a very small amount to clean the burrs. I mantain the box always empty, because I only grind the exact amount I'll use in the shot.

About the scale, it may be a good solution but it's one of those things I'd never do in espresso. 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. Weighing coffee adds an annoying task at the process that particularly I can't take. It has to exist another way...

About tamper shape, maybe you're right. Anyway, my actual tamper is not a very good option. As I said, I adapted it from 53mm to 51mm and the handle isn't comfortable either.