thomas5267 wrote:3. Measure 5g of coffee bean and load the grinder.
4. Grind.
5. Cycle the switch and swipe out stale coffee. Repeat three times.
6. Discard the coffee.
7. Measure 14.5g of coffee bean and load.
8. Thwack the doser while grinding to a container.
9. Cycle the switch and clear out all the coffee from the chute and the doser. Repeat three times.

My first reaction was that this was a put-on, and a very funny one at that. Then I noticed all the responders are taking it seriously. So, now I'm thinking, maybe the OP is serious.

I don't want to beat this dead horse again, but doesn't anybody else think this is an obsessive, useless protocol? Will it be "best practices" on H-B in two years?

Marshall wrote:I don't want to beat this dead horse again, but doesn't anybody else think this is an obsessive, useless protocol? Will it be "best practices" on H-B in two years?

I already commented that the OP's procedure is overly fussy - without any unjustified extrapolations about this website.

Frankly, these insults are getting really tiresome. As you remarked on another thread,

Marshall wrote:... everyone is entitled to their own habits, and no one appointed me home barista policeman.

Thank goodness for that.

I appreciate Marshall's reaction, but also appreciate the OP providing copious details. Typically new members post very few details and force us to either (a) play 20 questions, or (b) make assumptions. Below is a typical first timer post of the genre:

Joe Newbie wrote:Blonding starts at 17 seconds after the first drop, 24 seconds after the pump is engaged. Why does blonding happen so early?

So-o-o, a chorus of members ask... is the coffee fresh? What kind of coffee? What dose? What volume? Are the grinder's burrs sharp? Signs of channeling during the pour? Do you own a bottomless portafilter? How do you dose/distribute? Oh, and finally someone asks: How does it taste?

Returning to the OP...

thomas5267 wrote:It taste very sweet but lack of some delicate flavor. I would like to call this a god shot but it is pretty lame because it only has 33% crema by volume!

Huh? You call an espresso lame because it "only" has 33% crema? To each his/her own... If the flavor profile was in godshot territory, I wouldn't give a damn about crema volume.

A brew ratio of 50% +60% is a ristretto; they're characterized by sweet intensity. If you want more delicate flavor without sacrificing too much of the ristretto nature you liked, see Espresso 101: How to Adjust Dose and Grind Setting by Taste for more details.

HB wrote:A brew ratio of 50% is a ristretto;

I'm confused. According to Brewing ratios for espresso beverages a ristretto is typically >60%. The 50% should be a normal espresso.

You're right, my mistake... 50% is indeed normale range, not ristretto as I originally wrote. Thanks for the correction.

thomas5267 wrote:The third one is the best shot I've ever made and tasted in my live. It taste very sweet but lack of some delicate flavor. The volume is about 40mL, The dose is 14.6g and the beverage is 27.1g which yields a brew ratio about 53%. I would like to call this a god shot but it is pretty lame because it only has 33% crema by volume!

Glad to hear you are getting such good results so quickly. However, it has been my experience on pump machines that espresso extracts as virtually 100% crema. Upon completion of the pour, your espresso should be 80-90% crema, even with a regular spouted portafilter. If the crema volume is 33% after settling for a minute, that's OK. But if it extracts at only 33% crema, I'd be trying to find out why.


15g dose of aging Metropolis Redline (with blonding at ~40ml).