OK I know i am new. First post even... But I have a blonding issue so here goes. Just got PID Alexia and Mazzer Mini. I have had a *$'s barista and their burr grinder for several years and thought I had things understood. Been reading your posts and thought I had it down to a science BUT now what?
Problem: with naked PF and double dose and good tamping, everything looking well going into cup but the color never COMPLETELY changes to blond. It does change mind you but still some darker striping continues to over 2 oz. I use 16-18 g of coffee which happens to be black cat (fresh). I did reduce OPV pressure a little from around 10 to 9 bar. Thats only thing.

Help for newB

Sam

It's entirely possible for good fresh coffee at the dose you mention to give you more than 2 oz. without blonding. You're probably reaping the benefits of your new upgraded kit (congrats!), and you're just not used to it yet.

That said, I think most people cut the shot when they start getting a significant amount of blonding in the flow, not when the flow is completely blond. How much is a 'significant amount' is going to be up to you and your taste buds.

Enjoy!

C

I totally agree with Chris. With fresh coffee you see a huge difference. I would suggest it's more because of your grinder. because..
Exactly the same happened to me when first upgraded from the Gaggia MDF to a Compak K10. The shot just wouldn't blond! The fact that the shot blonds later suggests that more visible 'coffee material' gets extracted - maybe it stems from the differences in particle size distribution and the produced surface area.
And this effect not only happened when I first changed grinders in combination with my Gaggia Classic: it also happens when changing between these two grinders on the Olympia Maximatic or Cremina.

Additionally the grinder is much more forgiving what concerns the grind setting. What concerns the taste - It seems that the K10 produces a more balanced cup where a lot of different aromas can be distinguished. The MDF also can't match the mouthfeel of the big conical. Nevertheless with some patient tweaking the MDF is still able to produce a good espresso.

It seems that there is also a wide span of what HBers consider as blonding: see the two blonding video's
ozzyymclaren's spouted PF extraction
HB's NPF extraction
I call it blonding when a sudden shift occurs - within a second or two - and the shot becomes brighter, less turbid and less foamy. and how distinct exactly this difference is, depends IMO on the grinder.

enjoy your setup

It takes a while to get a feel for when the shot is blonding.

First off, there is no absolute standard for too blond. Very good shot pullers differ on how far they will blond a shot on the same blend, and everyone agrees that some blends need to go blonder than others.

However, you do need to understand the signposts. If you are using a naked portafilter, the big milestone comes when the bulb of pouring coffee at the bottom of the basket becomes translucent. At the same time, if you look at the cup, the point where the flow enters will be distinctly lighter, a very pale color. If you are using a double spout, they look like fang marks from a vampire movie.

This is the blondest you ever want to go with a shot. As far as I know, Heather Perry is the only pro who regularly takes her shots this far; although for lighter, fruitier blends, it's a very good idea.

If you can't get the fang marks at all, you are doing something wrong. Either you're grinding too coarse, and stopping the shot at two ounces in under 25 seconds, or grinding too fine, and stopping the shot at 1 ounce or so at 30 seconds. Get your basic shot making in gear by grinding so you get the fangmarks at around 30 seconds and at around 2 ounces. Once you have that, you can vary the grind and dose by how it tastes.