Making Progress With My New Lelit - Page 2

by **ssauer2004** on Mon Sep 13, 2010 4:48 pm

Thanks for the tip. I placed an order for two more pounds of Toscano. I am a pretty coordinated guy, but I keep canting my tamp to the left. I am left handed though. I kind of correct it after the first initial tamp. Am I doing something bad?

by **mitch236** on Mon Sep 13, 2010 6:32 pm

What you might want to try is doing a light tamp while putting your fingers along the sides of the tamper base so you can feel the basket edges. That way you can guide the tamper to a more even place before you tamp with full force. It works very well, try it!

by HB on Mon Sep 13, 2010 8:09 pm

You should tamp with your forearm/wrist straight and upper arm parallel like this:

From HB Roadshow - Espresso Tamper Reviews

Notice he is not "palming" the tamper. If you grab the tamper like you would a doorknob, you'll naturally keep it straight. Don't grab it by the ball like you might a rubber stamp. If the tamp is canted, don't try to correct by retamping. It will only make it worse by breaking the puck/basket adhesion and further fracturing the puck.

You may want to try removing the portafilter basket retainer spring and tamping with the basket on the countertop, then gently sliding the basket into the portafilter. It's a fairly foolproof way of assuring the tamp is straight.

by **ssauer2004** on Mon Sep 13, 2010 9:19 pm

I really appreciate all of the advice. When my coffee comes in I'll post some updates.

by **ssauer2004** on Wed Sep 15, 2010 5:34 pm

Got a fresh shipment of Toscano in today. I wanted to do additional testing and grinding but I have a pistol match tonight. I would think my hand would be a tad unsteady after four or five shots of espresso.

by **ssauer2004** on Fri Sep 17, 2010 7:19 am

Another round of testing last night. I think I am pretty close to where I need to be. There will be another round of testing tonight.

by **mini** on Tue Sep 21, 2010 12:59 pm

Any updates as to how your espresso is going? I'm a Le'Lit owner, and I've probably brewed 25 pounds of Toscano. If you're still trying to improve a specific aspect, then I might be able to help you out.

by **ssauer2004** on Tue Sep 28, 2010 7:18 am

I basically dialed in the Toscano. I purchased two pounds of Red Bird last week. I've been having some difficulty with it dosing at 18g. I have noticed that I can pull better shots if I only allow the machine to warm up for about five minutes. After five minutes, I go into my temperature surfing routine.


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