I've dialed in the Klatch USBC championship blend to give a pretty tasty shot. I'm using 17g in an LM double, naked PF, for a 25 second extraction. The only problem is I'm getting less than .75 oz extractions -total- in that time. I stop the shot based on color, and as I said, the taste is fine despite the low volume.

Now I would like a little more elixir in my cup! So I give the grinder a twist to a few notches up. Same dose. But now, in addition to more volume, the shots run fast, blonding early.

What gives? Distribution issues? I use WDT....

-bean

And did it taste bad? Do you just WDT and tamp or is there anything else in the mix to level the grounds? Have you tried the finer grind with a lighter tamp?

brad

oops see next one

DigMe wrote:And did it taste bad? Do you just WDT and tamp or is there anything else in the mix to level the grounds? Have you tried the finer grind with a lighter tamp?

brad

Yes, it was a 15 second, 1 oz total shot volume (again 17g double basket naked pf) that tasted mildly underextracted. I know I can try pulling a little hotter to help with that. I wouldn't be worrying if it was just off by a couple of seconds, but 15 s is fast! It comes out a little too light in body, and the entire pour is like a gush rather than the honey-drool that we espressopornographers seek.

I dose into a metal jug, WDT just for a couple of seconds to break clumps, pour into PF, tap tap tap to settle the bottom portion, another WDT to fluff out the top and level it, and then tamp. I tamp lightly - fingertip tamp just to bring the tamper top level with the top of the basket and seal the grinds together. I probably use 5-10 lbs of force. I guess next time I can try a harder tamp, but I don't think it's gonna add more than 3-4 seconds to the pour.

My target is a 1.75 oz double which means I have to back off the grind another two notches. It's gonna take the pour time down to 10-12 seconds. I don't get it... I have pressure tested this machine with a rigged PF and it's dead on at 9 bar avg.


~bean

This may seem like an odd question, but what is the contents of this coffee?

Jasonian wrote:This may seem like an odd question, but what is the contents of this coffee?

Not sure.... but this is a common problem for me. It is not limited to one coffee type. My longer shots almost always run too fast.


Cannon - the beans were frozen and vac-sealed at day 5 and this is about day 4 since defrost. I had the same issues before freezing them.


-bean.

Maybe it's a DC-metro region issue, because I have been experiencing something very similar, very light colored pulls. Interestingly, the coffee looks okay, like a tiny glass of guiness, but coming out it is blond from the very start. I have started increasing my dose and have already reached the low 20 gram range, based on a suggestion from one of Intelligencia baristas I had a chance to chay up at CoffeeFest DC this past weekend. I also watched him pull a shot. I noticed that when he finger leveled the grounds he didn't actually level it but left a healthy mound in the center of the basket. That has been my goal, but even at 20+ grams, using the WDT means there isn't enough grounds in the basket to do a proper leveling off. I wonder if my Rocky is fluffing enough.

Joel

Maybe it's just you DC and MD people. I"m getting beautiful pours from Redline right now.

Bushrod wrote:Maybe it's just you DC and MD people. I"m getting beautiful pours from Redline right now.

:D

It sounds like you are volunteering to come over and help us figure out what we are doing wrong.

dcmusichound wrote:Maybe it's a DC-metro region issue, because I have been experiencing something very similar, very light colored pulls. Interestingly, the coffee looks okay, like a tiny glass of guiness, but coming out it is blond from the very start. I have started increasing my dose and have already reached the low 20 gram range, based on a suggestion from one of Intelligencia baristas I had a chance to chay up at CoffeeFest DC this past weekend. I also watched him pull a shot. I noticed that when he finger leveled the grounds he didn't actually level it but left a healthy mound in the center of the basket. That has been my goal, but even at 20+ grams, using the WDT means there isn't enough grounds in the basket to do a proper leveling off. I wonder if my Rocky is fluffing enough.

Joel

Hey Joel, glad you're back in the espresso wars.

Yeah, btw when I say blond, I mean a sort of cafe-au-lait color. Just not red-brown like it oughts ta be.

Hear hear, Rich needs to come over. And bring that Vivaldi out with him.

~tMb

Now, Ari, you know the Vivaldi is chained to the counter, as it were.

Bushrod wrote:Maybe it's just you DC and MD people. I"m getting beautiful pours from Redline right now.

+1

Currently enjoying Gimme! espresso beans.

Javier

Well, for what it's worth, I know Heather likes to dose a LOT of coffee for this blend. (like, a whole lot)

21g comes to mind.

If the shot gives up the ghost early, it means there wasn't much ghost to give in the first place.

The solution? Start with more contents, and you'll have more to extract from the puck, resulting in a longer extraction.

(that's the very rudimentary theory, anyway, and I realize it's not as simple as that, but it's a rule of thumb that works more often than not for me)

Jasonian wrote:Well, for what it's worth, I know Heather likes to dose a LOT of coffee for this blend. (like, a whole lot)

21g comes to mind.

If the shot gives up the ghost early, it means there wasn't much ghost to give in the first place.

The solution? Start with more contents, and you'll have more to extract from the puck, resulting in a longer extraction.

(that's the very rudimentary theory, anyway, and I realize it's not as simple as that, but it's a rule of thumb that works more often than not for me)

Thanks Jason, I'm gonna give the stuffed triple another try tomorrow. I know she jams it into a double, but I'll hit showerscreen and channel out if I try that.

-tmb

The_Mighty_Bean wrote:Thanks Jason, I'm gonna give the stuffed triple another try tomorrow. I know she jams it into a double, but I'll hit showerscreen and channel out if I try that.

-tmb

She does it with a stock LM basket on an LM group-head.

Dosing 15g, I bottom out on the ridge on those things. They'll hold a lot, given the same "designed" head space. (entirely dependent on the machine)