I dove into the hobby a couple weeks ago when the Quickmill Lucca M58 arrived. Currently grinding with a freshly-burred Rocky; K30 Vario on the way.

There's been some thrash during the first couple weeks with three diff kinds of coffee. Some decent shots and plenty of sink shots. I know much better results are in the future. Currently working a pound of Redbird and thinking I will order 5 for the beginning of detailed dial-in. Redbird seems a good (safe?) place to start. My initial goal is to make chocolaty comfort shots consistently.

I've read copious amounts of how-tos. I've started by measuring 18 gr, distributing and tamping as consistently as possible. PID set at 200. Most pulls are 8.5 - 9.5 bar. I pull until blonding or until 35 seconds if I can't detect obvious blonding. I will start weighing shots in the next phase. Most pulls are not suffering from catastrophic channeling nor are they picture perfect. I'm focusing on taste as opposed to seeing a text book pour. Consistency from shot to shot with any one coffee has not been great; it's a challenge to duplicate a good shot. I have mainly been varying the grind to try and get a shot to pour around 25 - 30 secs. I think in general the shots are on the bitter side, strong and lack sweetness.

I'll be starting a spreadsheet that logs coffee, days from roast, grinder setting (relative though it may be), dose, temp, time, pressure, weight and result. That seems like enough to work with.

I can foresee that the K30 will be challenging as one can vary grind and dose (time). Does it make sense to stick with 18 gr. as a baseline? I realize it might not shake out as optimal but.. you have to start somewhere.

Any advice on getting consistent chocolate appreciated; that's my starting goal.

Questions:
If you put freshly roasted beans in the freezer is resting suspended? The Redbird was frozen a few days post-roast and now after a few days thawed is getting LOTS of crema. Could be it will not peak for a few more days if freezing matters.

The Lucca came with a double and triple basket. When using the double, 18 gr. is pretty far below the top of the basket after tamping. Does that matter? If I add more coffee, it chokes the machine and I understand I would have to adjust the grind.

Thanks to all who share here; I've learned a lot. Now is the doing, with patience.

Resting is slowed considerably when beans are properly stored in a deep freezer. I think most would recommend not putting beans in a standard freezer (with a thaw cycle), but in my opinion, a deep freezer works well (I'm sure some would disagree).

Here's what I do (and have done with a 5lb bag of Redbird with good results up to almost a couple months later):

• Purchase a Ziploc Sealer Starter Kit (comes with a vacuum pump and a couple bags). I'd also recommend buying some additional gallon Ziploc Sealer Bags (I rarely use the quart bags)
• Purchase Ziploc freezer bags
• Portion out the beans into quantities that will last you 1-7 days (I usually do 6-8oz, but whatever works best for you)
• Put the beans in the vacuum seal bags and seal
• Put the vacuum-sealed bags inside the freezer bags (taking out as much air as possible)
• Place in deep freezer
• Once beans are taken out of freezer and unthawed, do not put back in

Besides the above, I also have some coffee bags- with the air valve on them- from previous purchases. I usually will wipe down these bags and put the beans in those bags before placing in the Ziploc vacuum bags. That way I'm not getting the vacuum bags dirty with coffee oils, etc., and can continue to reuse the Ziploc bags. Might be overkill, but so far works well.

Other people use other storage methods, but this is a cheap way to try out freezer storage without spending too much money. Than you can look at canning jars or other methods, if preferred.

Amazon sells the vacuum bags but they're a bit spendy. I know Walmart has them at a better price, I believe both online and in-store.

Don't forget to leave some fresh beans out for immediate use as well.

This will give you an idea of dose. You can start with 18g and adjust based on the guide.

Espresso 101: How to Adjust Dose and Grind Setting by Taste

Your tamped coffee bed should be below the rim of the basket. When you lock it in and take it out, there should not be an imprint from the shower screen on it. If there is, reduce dose.

Here's what works well for me for RedBird on my machine:

Double Basket: 200-201F, 18gr coffee, 24-30sec (+8sec pre-infusion), 28-29gr espresso (50-55ml)

Might be a good starting point. However, definitely adjust for your machine and taste preferences. Grind amount could definitely need changing based on espresso machine, type of basket, etc. Nickel test isn't a bad idea. Brianl's comment above about making sure there isn't a shower head imprint is also very good. Easier to do than the nickel test as well.

I understand Redbird to be best around 8 days.

Agreed.

Maybe it's just me, but it seems to taste its best right before it starts to taste old. I think it slowly rises to it's peak of flavor (somewhere around 7-9 days?), then taste often drops dramatically after that. Multiple times with RedBird, I've had some shots one day, thinking "that was great" and then the very next day the shots were nowhere near as good.

Still very good any time before that peak though (assuming it takes about 3 days to receive the shipment), so I usually deep freeze immediately after receiving the beans, and leave enough out to last about a week.

Cincyjack wrote: Currently working a pound of Redbird and thinking I will order 5 for the beginning of detailed dial-in. Redbird seems a good (safe?) place to start. My initial goal is to make chocolaty comfort shots consistently.

Try a variety of coffees. Metropolis, Counterculture and Klatsch make excellent comfort food coffees.

Cincyjack wrote:I'll be starting a spreadsheet that logs coffee, days from roast, grinder setting (relative though it may be), dose, temp, time, pressure, weight and result. That seems like enough to work with.

This is probably futile advice, but I would like you to reconsider and focus on espresso as a delicious beverage to be savored and not as a lab experiment for generating data points. With the equipment you are buying and assuming you buy good, fresh beans, making great espresso will be easy.

+1

No truer advice.

Marshall wrote:This is probably futile advice, but I would like you to reconsider and focus on espresso as a delicious beverage to be savored and not as a lab experiment for generating data points. With the equipment you are buying and assuming you buy good, fresh beans, making great espresso will be easy.

While I don't necessarily agree making great espresso will be easy, IMO it can take some time and practice to get consistently good results, I believe the sentiment is let your palate not data points be your guide.