Any ideas on how to make loading up a Pavoni Millenium Europiccola with grinds from an MDF any easier?

The grinder's pf fork is much too big to be of use with the Europiccola's pf. My ritual for far too long has been to empty the grinds onto a long metal ashtray (clean, of course), then dump the grinds from the ashtray into a glass, and then gently pour them from the glass into the filter -- which takes a long time in and of itself, since there's always the dangerous possibility of the coffee pouring out of the glass too fast, winding up mostly in the sink, instead of the filter.

Yes, I have taken the laborious aspects of working with lever machines to a whole new level!

And I still love it, and I've been living with this method for quite some time, but anybody got any ideas on how to improve this a bit?

(Short of getting another grinder, which I hope to at some point -- though it seems all "forks" are too big for the Euro...)

Thanks!

I find it easier to remove the basket from the pf (remove the spring clip) and hold the basket under the doser while filling it. This way, I can leave the pf in the grouphead to keep it hot while grinding and filling the basket. It also allows me to rotate the basket 360 degrees while filling to get an even fill. I tap a couple times on the pf fork when filled half way and then overfill slightly. I use the Stockfleth move to level the basket and then tamp. This results in a dose of 18 +/- 0.3 grams (I weigh the filled basket every now and then to check my consistency). I remove the pf from the grouphead and drop in the filled basket and then lock in and pull the shot. Start to finish takes under 30 seconds.

This is one of the reasons I went with a doserless grinder. The Pavoni's baskets are a much better fit than they would be with a doser. Just something to think about if you do eventually get another grinder. I am afraid I don't have any techniques to help though.

I have a similar situation to you, except I have a Mazzer Mini. I actually just removed the portafilter fork from the grinder altogether. My other "trick" is that I use a styrofoam cup with the bottom cut out, wedged into the top of my filter basket, when I am dosing. After I dose, I stir the grinds vigorously to get rid of clumping (the Weiss Distribution Technique), lift the cup up slightly out of the basket (if you don't, you may end up with bad side channeling), tap gently, take the cup off, level, tamp, lock & load. Works pretty well.

I think that the cups I found were the smaller 7 oz. styrofoam cups... You can get them at any grocery store, I would think. I used a knife to cut the bottom out, but it would be better to use a razor blade.

I like to think that I get reasonable results.

From my Flickr set...

shadowfax wrote:I have a similar situation to you, except I have a Mazzer Mini. I actually just removed the portafilter fork from the grinder altogether. My other "trick" is that I use a styrofoam cup with the bottom cut out, wedged into the top of my filter basket, when I am dosing. After I dose, I stir the grinds vigorously to get rid of clumping (the Weiss Distribution Technique), lift the cup up slightly out of the basket (if you don't, you may end up with bad side channeling), tap gently, take the cup off, level, tamp, lock & load. Works pretty well.

Hi Nick, great to see you posting here again! Turns out there are yogurt cups that fit the Millenium baskets (51mm) pretty well:

Fits perfectly in an aftermarket basket from partsguru.com, bit of a tight squeeze in the basket that comes with the Pavoni (and Gaggia Factory). That's what I use with my (doserless) Mazzer SJ grinder.

Side note: you should not get any side channeling with a correctly cut yogurt cup funnel. First, the plastic is very thin. Second, the funnel should only extend 1/4" into the basket (at most). Any side gap at the top is completely filled in by leveling (or "grooming", as Scott Rao calls it in his new book). The top of the tamped puck should be below the level of the funnel, or you're probably overdosing the basket.

Yeah, I tried the little yoplait ones--my wife buys them all the time. But I have the old school 49mm basket, so it's just a little too big for the basket. No matter, next week a big 5L HX that weighs almost as much as my wife will be here, and I'll be in 58mm land again.

Thanks for the idea, though. It makes me wonder about those little Activia yogurt cups...

For my 58mm basket I found a Dixie cup in the cabinet that worked perfect. Fits snugly and has a shoulder so it doesn't fall in or tilt.

Ira

pavman, since you have a millennium, I would say you need to get a yogurt cup (Yoplait). If you want to try the WDT, I have a spare dissecting needle I can mail to you... PM me if you are interested.

Thanks all for these tips. Yeah, I'd read about styrofoam and yogurt cups in this context before, but had forgotten. Thanks for the reminder, and I think I will get on the ball and cut one up.

Shadowfax, thanks for the needle offer. I remember reading about WDT when it was first all the rage several months -- a year? -- back. I'm sure it works, but I'm worried about putting more time back into the ritual after saving some with the cup. If I do start WDTing, can't I just use a sewing needle?

pavman wrote:Shadowfax, thanks for the needle offer. I remember reading about WDT when it was first all the rage several months -- a year? -- back. I'm sure it works, but I'm worried about putting more time back into the ritual after saving some with the cup. If I do start WDTing, can't I just use a sewing needle?

Yeah, I think that's probably fine. It may just prove to be a little short. The dissecting needles are nice and long. plus the barrel doubles as a convenient leveling tool. But if you want to see if the effects of using one are worth the extra time it takes, I think that a little needle would work fine.