I just crammed the PV basket totally full, did a three-fellini preinfusion, and pulled a really great shot.

It reminded me just why I love to fill the PF basket as full as I can go. I've been doing a lot of trial and error in dose and grind, just for fun, but coming back home was very rewarding.

PC

If the resulting cup is righteous, how can you have strayed from the path?

Well, I'm not too good with words...but I meant that I had strayed by trying different doses. Really I was, as usual, overstating and over-simplifying. Most shots from the PV, regardless of dose, are quite good unless I really get the grind way too coarse. This almost never happens anymore.

But tonight's after-dinner doppio was so good that I had to write about it. And it came from a nice, full basket, which was my standard for a long time when I got the machine.

PC

I'm going to be starting that whole learning curve when my Caravel shows up next week, along with the no-name West German hand grinder that Orphan Espresso said was a great espresso grinder. So I will be seeking the path of righteousness, real soon now.

George, hope you enjoy that caravel. As I stated on another thread, once I got into the Caravel thang, it rewarded me with very sweet tasting shots.
Do not be disturb if your pucks a are a bit soggy, that's just how it works sometimes.
For grins, loosen your grind before pulling the first shot. better the first time to gush, than have a stuck lever and get angst!

Yes, the Caravel and hand grinder will be a great pair. Just stay on The Path, that is fill the basket right to the top. At least that's what works for me. (but be careful not to pull too hard, as timo notes in the Caravel thread, the seals can be damaged if one puts his mind to it)

I just pulled the AM cappa on the PV, and followed The Path again, ending in the ethereal land of liquid bliss. But like in so many things it was the Caravel that steered me back towards The Path. Over the past few months I've found that espresso enjoyment with the Caravel is linearly, if not exponentially, related to basket fullness. But I'd been allowing the dose on the PV to go where it would, varying a bit with how many beans I put in the hopper. As I said, the machine is so forgiving that the shots are always acceptable.

The practical point that makes it easy to follow The Path with the Caravel is that the basket requires no headroom - so dosing consistently just requires filling the basket all the way to the rim. The PV, while not requiring much headroom, does require a mm or two, and getting it exactly right takes a little focus.

Rob, some day I'll post a photo of a stack of spent pucks standing next to the Caravel. Whatever it is I do, the pucks always pop out firm, just as they do with my PV. Maybe its the Dienes'....

PC

PS: I tested my KYM pocket rocket grinder for the first time last night, guessing at a suitable grind adjustment. Half hour later I was still waiting for the PV lever to rise so I could remove the PF.

peacecup wrote:I just crammed the PV basket totally full, did a three-fellini preinfusion, and pulled a really great shot.

It reminded me just why I love to fill the PF basket as full as I can go. I've been doing a lot of trial and error in dose and grind, just for fun, but coming back home was very rewarding.

PC

That's interesting Jack. My Pavoni shots have been improving going the opposite direction, using down dosing by the single sweep finger method, I got from Abe Carmeli's Versalab Thread

peacecup wrote:[snipped]

PS: I tested my KYM pocket rocket grinder for the first time last night, guessing at a suitable grind adjustment. Half hour later I was still waiting for the PV lever to rise so I could remove the PF.

hahaha

Like Peacecup I had been staggering along the path of righteousness and continuing to find that updosing was the path to perfection but then while QC ing a Caravel ...ground a 7 gram spoon, tapped it down with a rap on the counter, shrugged my shoulders since I was just testing the seals anyway, raised the lever to bubble out the air pulled straight through and jackpot....tiny shot but just fabulous. Is it Caravel magic or is there something to downdosing as well as updosing? Sounds a bit unlikely as it seems overall that the higher you dose in the basket the better both the pull speed and the crema.