I started out with a Capresso Infinity grinder for my Europiccola, and have found that to be insufficent. I succumbed to the upgrade fever, and now have a slightly used Macap M4 stepped dosered grinder. I think I would have preferred a doserless and stepless, but when you're buying used from buddies - you can't be too choosy.

Originally, I thought I read to keep other factors (like dose, tamp pressue) consistent and try to vary the grind to find a nice extraction time. A week or so of experimentation seemed to give me the result of one setting that would stall the machine at a specific tamp, and the next too coarse for good lever pressue at the same tamp (i.e. too short exctraction times). I had somewhat higher expectations for this grinder, but perhaps I'm doing something wrong with it. I've varied my tamp at the finer of the two aforementioned grind levels, and have been getting pretty good results.

What has been your experience in dialing in a grinder? Were you able to fine-tune it for a desired set of tamp, dose, etc. variables? Or did you find you had to co-vary some variables to get a good pull?

-Elliott

I have a stepless Nuova Simonelli MCF and use only a very light leveling tamp. I have to tweak the grind slightly every day as the roast ages and as humidity changes. So it's not as simple as finding "the" spot....it is a moving target.

Regards
Timo

That's exactly my concern, that with such a wide range between adjacent settings on my m4, I won't really be able to tweak the grind to account for things like the coffee aging, humidity, and such without having to alter other variables as well.

Maybe a stepless is the way to go?

egall wrote:... with such a wide range between adjacent settings on my m4, I won't really be able to tweak the grind to account for things like the coffee aging, humidity, and such without having to alter other variables as well.

Maybe a stepless is the way to go?

If you grind only for espresso, stepless has clear advantages.

Regards
Timo

I chose the stepless model of the M4 and I'm happy I did, but there are ways to work around it. Excerpted from Dan's Feature Spotlight on Espresso Grinders:

"Changing the grind setting is easiest with the Macap, albeit without with the same level of granularity as the others. Pushing down the pin release on the left allows the collar to spin freely, so moving the setting from espresso territory to presspot and back is a snap. This quick-change ability appeals to coffee drinkers who enjoy different preparations, but it comes at some loss of the ability to fine-tune the shot timing exclusively by changing the grind.

The increments between each adjustment correlate to approximately six seconds of pour time for most espresso blends. Quibbling about two or three seconds seems a little extreme to me, but I offer suggestions below if you wish to fine-tune beyond your grinder's ability to adjust."

And then:

"Some espresso purists insist one should only change the grind to correct a too fast or too slow pour. I believe you'll have better results by watching the pour instead of a stopwatch. Regardless, given the emphasis on precise 25 second pulls that dominates online discussion boards, it is worth noting several techniques for those who wish to compensate for small differences in pour times between two of the Macap's steps:

1. My preferred technique--don't worry about it

This is the straightforward way of dealing with it: Put the timer in the drawer, watch the stream color and cut off the shot when it blonds. If it isn't widely off mark time-wise (i.e., less than 22 seconds or greater than 32), it is close enough. In other words, let your taste be the judge and "Trust the Force, Luke."
2. Increase or decrease the tamp pressure

This suggestion may raise a howl in some quarters, but increasing the tamp pressure by 10-15% adds about 2-3 seconds to pour time.
3. Always tamp harder

If changing the tamp pressure from shot-to-shot offends, instead increase the tamp pressure for all shots. The "hard tamping" barista sees a smaller pour time change between two increments than a "light tamping" barista.
4. Tamp mid-way

Fill the basket a little over halfway, tamp lightly (say 5-10 pounds), finish filling, then tamp as usual. You'll add a couple seconds of pour time.
5. Add more grounds

A couple more grams of coffee adds around 2-4 seconds, depending on the fineness of the grind and the moisture content of the beans.
6. Shift the setting mid-way

Grind half of the shot, stop, move the increment up/down one notch, finish."

Good luck!

Justin

Nice to find this thread. Related question: I've got a used MDF and a Europiccola. My most rudimentary understanding is that you need a finer grind as the beans age. I'm using a lightish blend from 49th Parallel at the moment, a good 10-12 days past roast. Just two days ago, dialing down from a 4 to a 3 finally gave me the proper resistance and a good strong pull of a double resulting in 1.5-2oz -- a very nice shot.

Here's where things get curious. Yesterday, at position 3, I nearly choked my machine. Today, I thought of moving back up to 4. At the last minute, noting today was just a little cooler than yesterday, I left it at 3 and got another really good pull. This was simply on a hunch. I forget the prevailing wisdom on warmth/humidity.

Generally speaking, does one grind finer as the beans age? And would one grind finer one day -- to very good result -- only to find the need to grind coarser the next, using the same batch of beans -- as I (almost) did today?

As always, I offer the disclaimer that many have their own likes/techniques etc, but anyone have general thoughts on the grind "trajectory" throughout the life of a batch?

(I'm sure this has been covered before...)

Thanks.