Angelo,

Thanks, it was really my pleasure and an enjoyable experience. I like pulling singles as much if not more then doubles, but since I was just breaking in the Gaggia Factory, I hadn't gotten around to trying out the single basket yet; it turned out your post was the perfect opportunity to give it a try.

I think that the temperature management I had to learn to pull a good single will really help with my doubles too. I went back to doubles this morning simply because I only have time to pull about two shots before work and wanted more then just two singles, had nice shots of Verve Sermon and Handsome Coffee Roaster's espresso.

I really think I was spoiled with starting on a La Peppina spring lever with a PID, so easy because you can dial in the temperature with the open kettle since the temperature in the kettle is only slightly above the brew water and have the machine sit ready to pull the next shot while you focus on dose or grind. With the Gaggia Factory (or La Pavoni), keeping the temperature variable fixed requires more technique and planning, but that's one of the reasons that I picked up the Gaggia is that I felt ready for a challenge (and a steam wand).

This comes with a bit of a delay as I was not around recently. Anyhow, better late than never

Ok, I pulled two single shots yesterday and today, with completely opposite results.

Yesterday I pulled a single for my wife's latte using the same grind I use for the double but dosing at 8~9 grams. the result was that I chocked the La Pav, with coffee dripping down slowly, but surprisingly with quite good crema. My wife said coffee tasted "smoky"...

Today I pulled another single, still using the same grind as for doubles but dosing at 8 grams and tamping very lightly. The result was what you see in the picture: not very good
Basically the shot started blonding just after half way through the pull, which spoiled the crema. Maybe with 8 grams and light tamping it is worth going for a finer grind.



A few practical problems: I have a Nuova Simonelli Grinta with timer function. That is, once I press the start button I cannot stop the grinding half way through, but I have to wait for the whole pre-set time. That makes it difficult to dose for single and for doubles, even because the more I go for a finer grind the less coffee I get for the same grinding time. So, what I am doing now is to keep the grinder setting for a double shot and throwing away the excess when I dose for singles...but this is such a waste!!!
This problem gets aggravated even more when one considers that with the La Pav a perfect double shot is not always double the quantity of ground coffee as a single...I wish I bought a grinder without timer!

Finally an observation: When I was using my Gaggia Classic he shot was not blonding that soon for an 8 grams dose. So the question is: hwy does blonding occurs so much early with the La Pav? Is it the case that the La Pav would under-extract with respect to the Gaggia and therefore produce a lighter coffee for the same amount of grind?

Will post more when I have improvements, but if you guys have any suggestions feel free to chip in, it would be very much appreciated!

Cheers,
Angelo

Hello All,

I am posting this with a huge delay, but I had to experiment quite a bit before being sure of what I was going to write

I can confirm I can make single espressos with 8 grams of coffee perfectly well now!!!

What made my life easier in using the single portafilter with an 8 grams dose of coffee was...roll of drums...my new hand grinder!

The practical problem I had was that I could stand changing the setting of my Nuova Simonelli Grinta every time I had to make a single (with the single I personally like a slightly coarser grind and obviously a much shorter grinding time - I have a set timer on the NS Grinta). So I bought a hand grinder on the internet, which is this one in the picture still available online at
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TURKISH-BRASS...3216307942



Now with this new grinder my singles are rich in crema to a point I think I have too much of it. I cannot actually explain whether I am grinding at a coarser level than with my Grinta (and therefore i have more crema) or whether the hand grinder gives a different consistency to the grind...empirical results though are amazing!

the singles are less in amount of coffee and have a different flavour. I perhaps still prefer the 12 grams shot flavour, but the singles taste very nice too. At least with singles I can dring 3 of them and not feel super hyper all day along

So al in all, the La Pav can be successfully used t omake all sort of shots, as also confirmed by Yakster. More and more in love with this machine after only 2 months of use!

Gary,

For me, it's a case of using what I have. I have a 51 mm tamper and a chopped portafilter for the Gaggia Factory, so that's what I use. I haven't found the need to get a spouted portafilter, the temperature management seems to be pretty good with the chopped portafilter alone. I've been planning on buying a spare 45 mm La Peppina portafilter to go bottomless with (more clearance for cups and less cleanup) but so far haven't pulled the trigger. I may have to add a spouted portafilter to my list for the Gaggia or go with a chaps portafilter mod.

I have heard of singles tampers and double-headed tampers with a smaller top that will fit down inside the tapered part of a single filter basket. I went with 8 grams because I don't have one of these and needed enough coffee above the taper to tamp with.

I haven't been using a slapshot method with the Gaggia, and in fact I've been tamping with considerably more pressure then with the La Peppina to prevent the water filling the group from disturbing the puck and breaking through during pre-infusion. I may need to try a finer grind and a lighter tamp, and maybe not locking in the portafilter into the group until after I start to raise the lever to prevent issues.

I appreciate the tip about a heating flush, I'll have to try that. I need to pull more espresso, it's been mostly Chemex / Kone lately (Daytum data entered since 8/24) and have had to make a special effort to make coffee or espresso even once a week at work.

Chris, Gary, Angelo, others? -

I'm curious which of the two styles of singles basket is working out for your millennium/factory machines. One is a newer 'pod compatible', and the other is an older smoother design. The older one is harder to find but still available. Both are pictured here: Basket for Pavoni Millennium single shots.

I only pull singles with my Cremina.

- 9.5 grams (weighed before grinding so prob a little less in the PF)
- level and extremely light tamp
- Penny bottomless PF
- 5 second wait with lever all the way up
- slow, easy extraction
- cup usually pulled before I reach the bottom

My Pav pro is one of the later models supplied only with the pod-compatible filter, which works fine for singles with "standard Italian" doses that don't reach the pod lip.

You should be fine with the same grind as for doubles, tamping level and maybe giving a tiny little twist with no pressure when removing the tamper, since it can otherwise sometimes lift the tamped coffee with it.

In my experience most people's problems with preparing a single dose on the Pavoni can be linked to grind/dose problems on the one hand, but above all poor distribution and non-level tamping, combined with cutting the shot (pulling it out) too long after blonding.

hth

Mike

My Millennium Gaggia Factory G106 came with the old-style single basket (the one on the left of the photo in the thread you linked to above, and since this is the only single I've tried, I can't compare the two.

It's been a good while since I've made singles, my double espresso production far outstrips singles. I've also been using my La Peppina now since I cleaned and lubed her.