I've been playing with my new Vivaldi II for about a month now... but I've run into an issue with getting the right grind / dose for a particular espresso blend.

New Vivaldi II ( direct plumbed, inlet pressure regulated to 2bar )
New Vario grinder
Both of these are about a month old and I've been making 6-8 doubles / day.

I'm now trying "Peoples Daily Espresso Blend" from Social Coffee from Richmond Hill ON, Canada.
http://www.socialcoffeecompany.com/products/people-s-daily-espresso

Roast date of beans 4/25 ( 20 days old ) package opened two days ago, although I started trying to dial this in about 3 days ago....

Vario Grind Settings
Macro ( top setting ESP ) - all the way up
Micro - 1 click down from Finer (top)
Note that I can only grind one set finer.

Dose 15g ( per my palmscale )

I usually dose around 14.5g but I've upped it a bit to 15g with this particular blend.
I've been careful to make sure I have headspace and have been dosing the machine
between 14 and 15g. When I lock the pf in, and unlock it, I don't see any indentation in
the puck ... I'm using a bottomless PF with a double basket.

Since I'm new at this, I've been trying to be careful with the distribution. I grind into a small
dixie cup then weigh it. I then dump a little in the PF at a time and ensure a good distribution.
I then use a paper clip to break up any clumps ( WDT ).

30 lb tamp using an Espro tamper.

I do a very light tamp, then tap the side, then a full tamp (click) twist, then a light polish tamp
before checking that my tamp is level and removing (blowing off) any excess grounds.

Vivaldi II is set for
Brew temp of 94C
3 second pre-infusion
9bar brew pressure


Problem

Even with the grind set this fine, the shots are running fast. There is no spray or channeling
that I can see at all. The overall pour progresses nicely but I get a double in ~18 seconds. (Note
that I have 3 sec pre-infusion and I start the timer as soon as I hit the double button) The shot
starts to blonde fairly early. When I pull the PF the puck looks good, no holes / cracks etc.

Is my Vario is still grinding to coarse ??? I didn't have this problem with other beans I've tried.
With the others, I set the Macro to the top (ESP) and the Micro to 7 notches from the top. This gave
nice shots with a 14-15g dose. With other beans I got a 2 oz shot in about 25 seconds with
nice reddish brown crema. With this blend, the shot runs fast even with a finer grind.

The "Peoples Espresso Blend" is a blend from Brazil, Bolivia and Ethiopia and the roast is lighter color than the other beans I've used. Anyone else using this blend? Any suggestions ?

Thanks in advance

If you are having a problem only with this particular blend and not with others, that suggests the problem is with the beans. I don't know the Vivaldi, and I have not run into this problem with my vibiemme, but with my Silvia there were definitely certain roasts and blends that it could not handle well no matter what. Also it may be a problem that the beans were roasted almost a month ago; depending on how you were storing them they could definitely be past their use-by date.

A - if you haven't already done so, check grinder calibration, just so you know.

B - lighten up on the prep OCD. You're wasting your life away. Give the PF a gentle side to side shake to level and tamp. 30# is a myth. Ensure your tamp is level BEFORE you start, not after. DON'T TAP !! The Vario, by all accounts, doesn't need WDT.

C - perhaps this stalish coffee needs a coarser grind and higher dose. [This endless fascination with some arbitrary number of grams continues to baffle. If the espresso sucks : Change the dose, change the grind, change the coffee ]

D - ever had a professionally pulled shot of this blend? A fancy web site doth not a roaster make. From their website, looks like this coffee is designed for updosing : Dose: 18-22 grams... no mention of basket size

Coincidentally, I just finished a shot of People's Daily, roasted 4/18. However, I received mine a couple of days post-roast, and popped it into the deep-freeze until this afternoon.

The problem is not the blend, it's the (lack of) freshness. People's Daily is a blend that does not age well. To me, it acquires an ashiness to the aftertaste when it loses its freshness. I have never consumed it 20 days post-roast (not counting freezer time), and I don't plan to. Throw it out, and get a fresh stash.

You could also try dialing in your Vario a bit by getting out the Allen wrench that comes with the grinder and following the instructions on the Baratza site for tightening the burrs.

By the way, I like the Paople's Daily at a fairly high dose (I use 16.3gm on my Semiautomatica), at a fairly high temp, brewing at a ratio of 60% or higher. Lately I have been preferring the People's Liberation blend.

Mark

cafeina wrote:Roast date of beans 4/25 ( 20 days old ) package opened two days ago, although I started trying to dial this in about 3 days ago....

That is your problem. Stale coffee will flow fast. To compensate you have to grind coarser and dose up, a lot. You would need a bottomless and triple basket to get enough coffee in the basket. If you roaster is selling 20 day old coffee, find another roaster. Get somthing more along the lines of 4 days past roast.

That is your problem. Stale coffee will flow fast. To compensate you have to grind coarser and dose up, a lot. You would need a bottomless and triple basket to get enough coffee in the basket. If you roaster is selling 20 day old coffee, find another roaster. Get somthing more along the lines of 4 days past roast.
Dave Stephens

I purchased and received the coffee only 2 days after roasting. I kept it in the original vacuum pack
until about 4-5 days ago. I'm not sure how long the vacuum pack from the roaster will keep the coffee
fresh ...

cafeIKE wrote:A - if you haven't already done so, check grinder calibration, just so you know.

B - lighten up on the prep OCD. You're wasting your life away. Give the PF a gentle side to side shake to level and tamp. 30# is a myth. Ensure your tamp is level BEFORE you start, not after. DON'T TAP !! The Vario, by all accounts, doesn't need WDT.

C - perhaps this stalish coffee needs a coarser grind and higher dose. [This endless fascination with some arbitrary number of grams continues to baffle. If the espresso sucks : Change the dose, change the grind, change the coffee ]

D - ever had a professionally pulled shot of this blend? A fancy web site doth not a roaster make. From their website, looks like this coffee is designed for updosing : Dose: 18-22 grams... no mention of basket size

A
I checked the calibration of my new VARIO and found that I needed to turn the adjustment allen wrench
about 3/4 of a turn finer. After that, I set the VARIO Macro ESP (top) and Micro at the midpoint and the
grind was indeed much finer. The retailer mentioned that I might want to do this... guess I should have
taken their advice

B
I try and make sure the coffee in the PF is level prior to tamp. I have noticed that I have a tendency to
tamp un-level... i.e. the puck is not level after I tamp. I tried WDT as a way to ensure I got an even
distribution but I'll try the more simple approach thanx..

C
The coffee is ~20 days old but was kept in it's original vacuum pack and only opened about 4 days ago..
Is this ok ? Don't the vacuum packs keep it fresh enough ?

D
No... I have not. The roaster is not that close by. I saw this roaster listed on this site as one of the better
ones and thought I'd give their top blend a try....

cafeina wrote:C
The coffee is ~20 days old but was kept in it's original vacuum pack and only opened about 4 days ago..
Is this ok ? Don't the vacuum packs keep it fresh enough ?

Sadly, no. Only keep at room temp what you will use within a few days. For the rest:

Coffee: To Freeze or Not to Freeze
Freezing Espresso Coffee, Part Two

cafeina wrote:The coffee is ~20 days old but was kept in it's original vacuum pack and only opened about 4 days ago..
Is this ok ? Don't the vacuum packs keep it fresh enough ?

Was the coffee vacuum packed or packed in a package with a 1-way valve. The 1-way valve allows CO2 to escape and should prevent oxygen ingress, but does nothing for the chemical reactions that occur as coffee ages. Most here consider unfrozen three week old coffee as suitable for new burr break-in, little else.

It was vacuum packed using a package with a 1-way valve.

I have ordered some fresh beans today and will place them in the freezer as soon as I get
them (only keeping out enough to use for 1-2 days ) Once I get them, I'll let you know how
things turn out using the fresh beans (from Social) and my calibrated VARIO.

Thanks everyone for all your comments ....