Hey Jim, thanks for you efforts and the kind words

For the occasions when I experiment with strong downdosing - for really fresh coffee that has an acrid taste, or a coffees that tastes too bright - im using a dosing tool. Though when downdosing more than few milimeters below the rim I couldn't get an even extraction with the known curved dosing tools (several people posted about it). So I'm using a straight dosing tool cut out from a plastic spatula. It has two indentations on the outside which define the 'grooming depth' and two flanks that help removing excess coffee. It is not very slick to handle but gets the job done:

PICTURE EDITED


By extending the size of the two flanks one should be able to simplify its efficient use.

I'm not following the picture (being a sociologist, not an engineer). Can you reshoot it shown in use, i.e. grooming a basket. You may also want to post it in a dosing thread in "tips."

As you suggested I opened up a separate topic for it:
http://www.home-barista.com/tips/...g-tool-t10051.html

and I took the liberty of replacing the picture in my previous post - with a hopefully better version

Excellent, thanks

Anybody in the Chicago area who would like to participate in some blind taste testing of the DC Mini, either as taster or as shot puller or both, please let me know by email or PM. We'll set up a time for it. Free lunch or supper included, no pay

Jim,
I'm game, and up to travel in a few days.

Joel

A few questions / observations:
Jim: The DC dudes are unquestionably Italian. This may or may not translate into 7g singles. Seems reasonable to ask them (and get an answer} just what they had in mind with their design. (I may be presuming too much, but I betcha they want to sell a large amount of their product. And that means targeting HB'ers like many posters here who are sort of inclined to do doubles.) Why would they not cooperate, considering that you are fair, knowledgeable, and have an initial positive impression of the machine? After all, where would the Isomac Tea have gone without your adding at least a small degree of market confidence? The DC is most assuredly not designed for the Italian commercial cafe market.

Marshall: Say more about "clarity." When I think of clarity, I think of my Royal Balance (vac) brewer. I like drinking the product, but it makes me think too hard. I become a critic instead a guy standing at a bar going "smack, smack" good shot. If the technician in you is not up to the task, spring loose the poet.

La Spaziale fans. My Viv II was a sweet machine. IMO, if you own one, the DC is not an "upgrade" you want to consider. For everyone else, if you have the bucks, want marginally more-accessible control, and value the compact and robust design, you will like the DC.

Works in progress: Departing from my eclectic, undisciplined, whatever SO and blend choices, I'm now into my 4th pound of Black Cat. I like triples with the thin disperser. 22g with swipe that loses maybe 1g. Best characteristic is " movement," which I define as changing "focus" of taste as 1) the shot cools, and 2) the sip sits in my mouth. Still working on a tendency to bitterness, short-lived crema, and occasional thinness or deficient mouthfeel. IMO, these are not unique to the DC, but enduring challenges.

Greg chimed in on the Fluid-O-Tech OPV. The issue is not adjusting the pressure down, but that there can be a very large drop from the blind filter to the espresso flow pressure, worse than with most other OPVs. Based on this, and based on getting lever like shots no matter what I did, I defeated the OPV (by turning it all the way in) and made shots with the pump unregulated.

Blessed quiet! The mouthfeel is much improved as well.

Note, this is probably not an issue with most of the shipped machines; but DC needs to reconsider this Fluid-o-tech Pump and OPV combo. It is rated for commercial duty; but I remember all the people bitching about it when it was on the Valentina the first year that machine was out. Subsequent models had the quieter 52 watt Ulka and the large brass OPV that is standard on the better home machines.

In any case, once that was done, I explored the temperature dial. Changing temperature works differently on this machine than it does on the Elektra or on an E61 HX. On those, going hotter takes the edge off the acidity, going cooler takes the edge off bitterness; but the overall tastes remain the same. On this machine, changing temperatures changes the actual flavors one gets.

This may because of the flat line temperature profile. It could be analogous to shining a spotlight, picking out some things with great clarity, and leaving others in the dark. A humped profile is more like a floodlight, it may be more intense in one direction, but the whole room gets lit up. In any case, I was running my darker roasted cappa blend for straight shots. At cool temperatures, it was easy to pick out the tobacco, blackcurrant, and clove flavors from the Guat/Kenya blend I was using, but the taste was kind of raw. At higher temperatures, the shot became warm and carmelly, but lost its distinct flavors, the tobacco and blackcurrent were gone, the clove was just a hint.

It could be that the lack of clarity has something to do with this extreme variability on the temperature response. At the wrong temperature, some of the signature flavors of a blend might disappear.

Still looking for people in the Chicago area who can help with taste tests this Sunday to Friday (March 1 to 6).

another_jim wrote:Still looking for people in the Chicago area who can help with taste tests this Sunday to Friday (March 1 to 6).

I'll volunteer. I've studied Endo's posts, and I'm sure I can taste them from here, if you send me a parts list.

It's going up against a pair of Elektras. We will pull all three shots simultaneously. The taster will pick the odd shot and say if it's better or worse. Reasons why it's better or worse are optional. Five to six rounds will establish if one can consistently pick the Mini. If one cannot, it performs similarly to the Elektra. If one can consistently pick it, the preferences come into play. They may consistently for one machine or the other, or mixed (i.e. the machines taste different, but not better/worse). In any case, with sufficient rounds, the experimental set up is decisive (this is why I got a pair of identical machines); and the result will be as assured as any taste test could be.

I asked James Warren at DC USA about how these machines are set up here and in Italy. The Italian machines ae delivered with the thick dispersion block, and the same baskets. The baskets are specified at 7 and 14 grams, at which point both gently touch the shower screen and produce a puck which is neither dry nor soggy.

James resets the vibe pumps to 9.5 bar against a blind filter; it's almost a certainty that the machines come from Italy set to 11 bar, which has been the vibe pump standard there for years.

With the thin dispersion block, both baskets can take an extra 3 to 4 grams before hitting the shower screen.

I don't think the changes for the US market are particularly happy. As far as I'm concerned, the machine performs hugely better with the thick block, set at 11 bar (at 11 bar, the OPV remains closed for a normal double, so it's no different from having no OPV, while it would pass a small amount of water for singles), dosed at 14 grams, and set to lower temperatures, around 87.5C to 92.5C. Set up in this fashion, it is, IMO, in contention for a good espresso score; used in the US style, it performs poorly.

Marshall or Ian may disagree; but the taste tests will tell. If it fails in this set up; I'll recalibrate it back to the US set up and repeat the blind testing.

I've found at very high pressures I either get severe channeling, or the portafilter unscrews itself from the mount (not a pretty sight). I've been happy at 8.5-9 bar.

Can I come? I'll be the one wearing the carbon-fibre easter bonnet.

Dissing carbon fiber loses you 15 in-style points:

hperry wrote:Recognizing that you are not evaluating a Super Mini, any guesses whether similar performance parameters might also be true for it?

I'm guessing pre-infusion issues separate the two, with the Super mini actually being able to pre-infuse. Dunno about gicleurs in the SM. I'm guessing that these other brew parameters obfuscate the results.

-Greg

Cool pen. Is that a Namiki Vanishing Point?

another_jim wrote:Dissing carbon fiber loses you 15 in-style points:
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shadowfax wrote:Jim, I'll pit my Pelikan M400/800s, not to even mention my 1930s Duofold, against your silly Namiki Vanishing Point for style any day. :p

Those are lever machine pens; for the sheer absurdity of a high tech, double boiler, manual espresso machine, only a retractable nib fountain pen will do. In any case, your pens don't match the decor.