So I'm the new guy. I'm about 3 weeks into this (rather excellent) adventure and needless to say my consistency could use some work. However, more often than not my shots are sour and under-extracted. This problem is only compounded by the good shots that continue to raise the bar higher. I'd like to gather some tips if I could, to compare your respective MCaL techniques and experiences. I've read the majority of the related threads on the forum, and there's some great stuff, but I'm hardly going to start asking questions on three year old threads

Background info: I'm burning through a pound of beans every 2-3 days trying different suggestions from the forum and playing with the dose and grind. I've read Scott Rao's book and I think I've got the basics down. So now it's time to receive a little criticism.

I've been using a variety of beans from Intelligentsia / CCC / PT's / and a local roaster. Doing my best not to exceed 8 days old on the beans, but mail order during the holidays can be a little harrowing.

I lowered the PStat to .9 per Stehano's recommendation in multiple posts.

My process: I fill the boiler to about 80% of the sight-glass. After a dry pull to heat the group and PF, I use the double basket and dose at ~15g (about 9s on my Vario). I groom with the side of my finger and use a very light tamp - 10 to 15 lbs or so - to level and then a quick polish. Once the PF's locked in place I pull until I hear water running just a bit and give it a 5 count to preinfuse. Then the lever goes all the way down and I give it about 10 seconds or until I see the first drops. I slowly raise the lever to about halfway (I have to keep slight pressure applied on the first pull - normal?) and then give it another slow pull down. After another 3 count at the bottom I can usually let it go. Around 2/3 of the way up, the stream (more often than not) starts to blonde and I remove the cup. I'm producing around 1.75-2oz per shot. It's safe to say that 3 out of 5 pulls are underextracted and sour, one is excellent (for me), and one is bitter.

There was a remarkable difference in taste after I adjusted my Pstat, but I'm still not sure if I've got the grind all figured out - which leads me to believe that I don't. However, every time I try to grind finer than my current range of settings, my pucks turn out soggy and rather disgusting.

So my first questions:
What should the puck from a good shot look like when it's spent? Should it come out in one piece?
How much do you dose for the double basket - and do you use the double pull on the lever?
If the shot is under-extracted but the puck is soggy, is that an indication of high dosing?
Do you turn off your machine between shots to preserve the temperature of the water? Is this as critical with the Pstat lowered?
As beans get older, the grind needs to get finer?
Reasons for the sour shots?: Since (I think that) my grind is about as fine as it should go, it seems to me that I might be dosing a bit high or that the temp is too low (I turn the Elektra off between shots). I'm not sure how much more I can adjust the duration of the pull - the whole process is around 35-40s before the shot blondes. Since the shot is blonding but still sour, is the dose too high?

What do you guys think? All comments and suggestions are immensely appreciated.

while I was using mine over the summer (kitchen remodel) I used my Microcasa a lot. I kept the heat on mine and the second shot always seems better. I'm guessing I'm in too much of a rush for the first shots.

If the espresso tastes better with soggy pucks, then go with a soggy puck.

Mark

I'm no lever expert having only owned my MCaL since since August but I do get some very nice shots doing the following:

Pull a quick flush to warm up the cup & p/f if its the first shot
I dose right around 14g for a double/medium tamp
Pull the lever all the way down & hold it for a 10 count
Let it go up 2/3 of the way (by itself)
Push it all the way down again & hold for a couple seconds to let the chamber refill
Let the lever go back up (by itself)

If my grind is dialed in the shot does not blond out & I have never had to lift the lever to finish a shot. I leave the machine on until I've pulled 2 or 3 shots & then turn it off until I feel like having more.

Bit sour, and going blond? Classic for under extraction. Dose it down just a bit, but grind finer. If you dose down and it keeps it up hold the dose and keep cranking down the grind.

This is one reason I like to come at it from the other way. Get a dose in the basket that does not overload the group and screen with a grind that chokes the machine. Then I quit messing with the dose and start backing off the grind. Just remember it can take a couple of shots for your grinder to catch up with the grind adjustment so overshoot can be a problem to look out for.

Once you feel you are in the range you can start trading off the dose and the grind again, if you feel like playing with more than one variable

-Cecil

As CRCasey noted above dose down and grind finer until you hit the sweet spot. MCal from my experience does not perform well overdosed. The combination of overdosing and inadequate head space above the puck usually results in a poor shot. Also as noted in an above post your 1st pull may be too cold resulting in the sour flavor. Since your drinks are a mix of good and bad, you pull the shots in a similar fashion my guess is it is probably a temp. related issue.

What has worked for me to pull more consistent drinkable espresso are relatively finer grinds, dosing on the lower side, utilizing a thump and a light touch leveling tamp. For the 1st shot, flush again just before loading the PF. Initially I pull the lever slowly down until water hits the puck, then slowly pull the lever to lowest position. Drops forming. Slow controlled release of the lever until a stream starts, then I let the spring do all the work until ~3/4 up. Finish with another complete pull. My pulls last only ~25-30seconds from when the first drops appear.

I would stick to one specific roast to eliminate/reduce a variable until you nail down relatively consistent drinkable espressos. Aging beans and changes in RH, room temp add enough variable to deal with.

How the puck looks in the filter basket up to a point after a pull IMHO is not important if the extraction looks good and most important the espresso taste good.

Try dosing down then grinding finer if the original grind setting is too coarse for your tamp pressure. I don't weigh anymore. Measure by volume, grind, thump, level tamp. If too high I've overdosed and or way too coarse. Use the single basket as a lid & shake, pull off some coffee, shake, thump again and level tamp again. Not exactly to most peoples standards regarding technique, but saves wasted coffee and usually results in something better than a sink shot. Under dosed I just go ahead and pull a shot.
After the 2nd or 3rd espresso I stop or pull a shot for a cappa. MCal just gets too hot. No objective data, but turning off the MCal just for a short time between pulls does not seem to allow adequate cooling of the grouphead.

Over the past almost 3 decades I've owned only 4 machines. Couple vibe pumpers and couple lever machines. The MCal has the flattest learning curve. But definitely worth the time. Stick with it and the machine will yield some interesting, high quality espresso.

Howie, you've got great advice from everyone so far, but there's something else that could help:

You mentioned that you changed the pressurestat setting. At what pressure does it switch on and off now?

Cheers

Mike

Hi Moshe,

and welcome to the club!

There are others better qualified to tell you whether the pressure gauge can be easily set back to zero - and equally whether the Elektra has always had a name plate. My impression is that it has, but it's just that - an impression.

As for the pressurestat setting, there are two different types of models which require a different procedure. You will find both procedures and photos of both models in this thread: How to adjust Elektra Microcasa a Leva pressurestat?

There isn't universal agreement on the best setting since this can also be influenced by your preference in beans and roasts, but most people go for setting the pressurestat to switch off at around 0.9 bar which is a good compromise, including for heat management. Don't forget that the pressurestat may need some fine tuning after you have let it run through a few on/off cycles, having hit what seems to be the right setting - so don't rush things and pop the base back on as soon as you first get success (switch-off at around 0.9 or whatever you settle on).

Lastly, it might be worth checking that that the vacuum breaker valve (the metal one behind the filler cap) is not stuck. It should initially steam and then shut as the machine comes to operating temperature. The raised pressure gauge needle could have been caused by the vacuum breaker being stuck (through scale) in the shut position. This isn't terribly likely but is worth checking.

Cheers

Mike

Howie wrote:... more often than not my shots are sour and under-extracted ... After a dry pull to heat the group and PF, I use the double basket and dose at ~15g (about 9s on my Vario). I groom with the side of my finger and use a very light tamp - 10 to 15 lbs or so - to level and then a quick polish.

When brew pressure maxes at 6 bars or so and can fall off to 3 bars, there is not much difference between a 15-pound and a 30 pound tamp. The tamp must be in the 5-pound-and-below range to yield the benefit of the so-called "very light tamp" which, for domestic spring levers, is even extraction when brew pressure <= 6 bars.

Howie wrote:Once the PF's locked in place I pull until I hear water running just a bit and give it a 5 count to preinfuse. Then the lever goes all the way down and I give it about 10 seconds or until I see the first drops. I slowly raise the lever to about halfway (I have to keep slight pressure applied on the first pull - normal?) and then give it another slow pull down. After another 3 count at the bottom I can usually let it go. Around 2/3 of the way up, the stream (more often than not) starts to blonde and I remove the cup. I'm producing around 1.75-2oz per shot. It's safe to say that 3 out of 5 pulls are underextracted and sour, one is excellent (for me), and one is bitter.

I am all for a leisurely and not a rapid, jerky pull but you may be giving the water too much dwell time in the group, so that the temperature is dropping too much. I would recommend that you try the following:

After an ultra-light tamp and with the PF locked in place, pull the lever arm all the way down in one not-too-rapid smooth motion and then immediately let the lever arm rise under your hand a little way -- until you see a drop -- and then bring it down again. Count to 5. Then allow the lever arm to rise under spring power.

Howie wrote:I'm still not sure if I've got the grind all figured out - which leads me to believe that I don't. However, every time I try to grind finer than my current range of settings, my pucks turn out soggy and rather disgusting. ... What should the puck from a good shot look like when it's spent? Should it come out in one piece?

With the proper grind fineness, an ultra-light tamp, and 15g in the double basket, the stream should run for 20+ seconds before blonding. There is nothing wrong with a sodden puck. The machine simply doesn't have a valve to draw the water off.

15g is not excessive, but it wouldn't hurt to shave a gram off.

I wouldn't turn the machine off between shots while working this routine out. Look for the second shot to be the best of the three.

All,

Thanks for the excellent advice. Significant improvement over the next few days. I had more luck with the method of choking the machine, then backing off on the grind; rather than dosing down . I cant seem to get a good distribution when I dose down a lot - what's a good method for this? I know people say to use a small round object, but I can't quite seem to get the technique and the smaller doses turn into blonde gushers. Due to channeling I believe?

timo888 wrote:After an ultra-light tamp and with the PF locked in place, pull the lever arm all the way down in one not-too-rapid smooth motion and then immediately let the lever arm rise under your hand a little way -- until you see a drop -- and then bring it down again. Count to 5. Then allow the lever arm to rise under spring power.

I will definitely try this ... I hadn't even considered forcing the water through the puck like that. I assume there's no pre-infusion with this method?

timo888 wrote:When brew pressure maxes at 6 bars or so and can fall off to 3 bars, there is not much difference between a 15-pound and a 30 pound tamp. The tamp must be in the 5-pound-and-below range to yield the benefit of the so-called "very light tamp" which, for domestic spring levers, is even extraction when brew pressure <= 6 bars.

What does a 5 pound tamp look like? (Is it more of just a leveling tamp using your fingertips to place the tamper in the basket?) I didn't realize it would make a difference going even lighter.

michaelbenis wrote:You mentioned that you changed the pressurestat setting. At what pressure does it switch on and off now?

I reduced the pstat about 3/4 of a turn. Now it switches off at just above .9 on the gauge and the overshoot will take it up almost to 1.0