I've been playing around with the grind and trying to get the right size. I've noticed that even a little change in grind can make a huge difference. Also, my Bistro has four buttons on it; I'm not sure which one to use. I have a La Cimbali double spout portafilter. I've been pressing the one tall glass button. I'm using two little 2 oz cups and took a couple of photos of two shots, which are about a quarter turn off from each other on the grinder. Everything else I did the same. I noticed there is very very little clearance between the tamper and the inside of the portafilter. It really takes some practice.

Would you guys please evaluate my shots below and tell me if one of them is close to what it should look like? Note that there was a second cup on each of these, so the amount of liquid I got out is roughly x 2 what you see in each picture.

Sorry about the lack of flash on the first one.

First, with the coarser grind:

Now, the finer grind:


Thanks!!!

cyclones wrote:Would you guys please evaluate my shots below and tell me if one of them is close to what it should look like?

Sorry, "eye cupping" can only spot gross errors. They look perfectly acceptable to me. More importantly, how did they taste? Did you prefer one over the other? If so, why?

Also, my Bistro has four buttons on it; I'm not sure which one to use.

That depends on your dose of coffee and desired extraction volume. Many times these are programmable... if this is the case there is no way to tell you where to start without knowing the volume of water dispensed for each button.
On my auto machines with buttons I have program one button to pull the shots, one set to surf the temperature, one set to purge the head after brewing and one set to rinse the portafilter.

Swirl the shot, taste it, chew on it. When you taste it, is it balanced -- not excessively bitter, cutting, sour? When you chew on it, are the flavors clean and pleasant? Then you've made a good shot.

75% of coffee expertise is developing your own judgment. You can't begin to do that until you trust it.

Perfectly acceptable to you Dan? The color is OK, but unless the spro sat for some time, that looks a little thin/diluted to me. Probably had very little mouthfeel based on the visuals, not much else to say and I doubt much to "chew on" as Jim suggests.

BTW how old were the beans used for those extractions? Didn't see that mentioned.

another_jim wrote:Swirl the shot, taste it, chew on it. When you taste it, is it balanced -- not excessively bitter, cutting, sour? When you chew on it, are the flavors clean and pleasant? Then you've made a good shot.

75% of coffee expertise is developing your own judgment. You can't begin to do that until you trust it.

Sound advice indeed.

Making beautiful shots is not the objective. Making good tasting shots is . . .

Cheers,
Jason