Diagnose this espresso extraction

by **fizguy** on Sun Aug 21, 2011 12:10 am

My lovely wife just got me a bottomless portafilter for my birthday and I am interested in your collective opinion on what there may be to learn from this extraction. One thing to note is the room for improvement in my video producing!

I will save the details for later so as not to induce a bias.

by **Randy G.** on Sun Aug 21, 2011 1:34 am

needs better lighting...? :wink:

It was difficult to see the backside of the basket - looked like extraction was slower back there, but it could have been the video.. How did it taste?

by HB on Sun Aug 21, 2011 12:35 pm

I agree with Randy, the lighting is horrible. But the rapid initial beading and twisting stream points to channeling, likely due to uneven distribution.

I recommend grinding a little finer and paying close attention to dosing evenly into the basket. Neutral dose weights (14 to 16 grams) allow a greater margin of error, assuming the dose is consistent and the distribution is even. Double-check your technique by referring to the reliable 1, 2, 3 punch for "idiot proof" recommendations and the Home Barista's Guide to Espresso for everything else. It also would not hurt to double-check the brew pressure; if it's higher than 9.5 bar against a blind basket, the margin of error is noticeably reduced.

by **boar_d_laze** on Sun Aug 21, 2011 1:59 pm

I had to tilt my monitor to see your basket's screen clearly, but that did work.

Dan's right about everything, but niggler that I am I'll add two slight caveats.

(1) Perspective.

(2) Don't ignore the obvious. When the stream suddenly lightens by two shades, that's [ahem] meaningful. The biggest visible flaw was letting the shot run too long. If your cups come with handles or shapes which allow them to be moved, and/or your machine has some sort of lever or switch allowing you to end the pour, you should make use of at least one of them sooner.

BDL

by **fizguy** on Sun Aug 21, 2011 3:54 pm

Thank you for your responses.

I agree the lighting was poor...next time I will have additional light sources.

I also agree that I let it go on a bit too long, perhaps a bit mesmerized by the extraction!

I would say the cup tasted pretty good, but perhaps a bit on the sour side.

I will try a finer grind and see what the results are, maybe reporting back or with a new video.

by **yosetl** on Sun Aug 21, 2011 10:08 pm

Hi, Justin. Don't know if it was the light , but from the video, it looks like the 6 o'clock area (near the handle) were extracted faster compare to the 12 o'clock area. That could be the cause of the sour taste.

If it was the case, maybe you have some problem with your distribution / leveling.
Have you try WDT to distribute the grind? It a must with Rocky IMHO.

Ciao


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