Hi there.

I was wondering what is the motivation to always top off the portafilter when pulling a shot. It seems that this is done to have a good and level surface to tamp. That is, use your fingers or palm to broom and level the grounds on the basket. The only drawback is that you cannot chose a 'dose/bean type ratio.' That is, you are force to use the same dose no matter what. This works OK with some blends but in my experience it never works with single origins. The sweetness is loss and the concentration is so high that the bean flavor is also lost.

What's your opinion?

TX

I'm an avid fan of volume dosing, its fast and repeatable (for me +/- .5g) and I've not had any issues with SO espresso.

I just loathe long and extravagant basket rituals, but YMMV.

That's what I also do 90% of the time. I estimate a dose by eyesight and it works even if the top is not flat. But if I get a really good shot trying new beans then I may go the extra mile and prepare the basket carefully to see how far I can go in flavor. I also do topoff shots every now and then but usually I don't like the middle to last part of the shot.

Cheers

IMO, a standardized dosing ritual is nuts, be it volume or weight, unless one drinks only one [type of] coffee.

Depending on the coffee, its age and current conditions, a full basket can vary by as much as 2g.

Dosing to ~14g, for a standard shot volume / time requires a specific grinder setting that may be sub-optimal. Dosing to ~14g for optimum flavor will yield varying volume / time values, but is definitely preferred.

If you only use one dose, you are doing yourself a disservice. Different coffees perform best at different doses. That would be like using one temperature or extraction time for every coffee. I dose by sight and can come very close to my target dose. You can also change baskets to help with dosing. A LM ridgeless basket holds more coffee than a Faema style basket, which holds more coffee than a LM standard basket. You do not need to fill the basket to the top and some machines will simply not work if you take that approach. Try different doses just as you would vary temperature and extraction time to find the sweet spot for your espresso.

Dave you raise a good point with regard to basket selection. That's really the heart of my approach, I have several baskets that allow me different "ranges" with dosing. My preference is still just to fill, level and tamp though.

I agree that volume dosing into the same basket, regardless of coffee, won't let you optimize the dose, unless you are very experienced at eyeballing doses (I'm not.) Volume dosing is necessary in cafes where there isn't time to weigh the dose. But since only one coffee is generally in use, the basket can be selected ahead of time to achieve close to the target dose, assuming the same or similar distribution technique by the baristas.

A home barista has more options. You can select different baskets for different coffees, such as smaller baskets for SOs and larger baskets for big*ss blends, and continue to volume dose. As I'm still in the learning stages, I prefer to weigh my doses to the nearest .1g. This started out as an elaborate ritual for me that included weighing both the beans and the grounds (and sometimes the shot to get the brew ratio), but gradually I've pared it down to something much simpler. I've done that mainly by using the timer on my Baratza Vario. For any given session, the timer is pretty consistent at producing the same dose. But this can vary from day to day. So I tare the PF for the first shot of the day, run the timer and use the resulting dose weight to adjust the grinder timer. From that point on, the dose tends to be pretty accurate (though I will continue to weigh until I get enough experience with the grinder to be sure the doses aren't varying too much.) For most, if not all, grinders, I believe this technique requires keeping beans in the hopper or weighting the beans to get consistent output. When the weight is provided solely by beans in the hopper, the dose will probably vary towards the end of the batch, and weighing may be necessary. Much as I'd like to get the scale off my counter, I'm not quite ready to do that yet.

I should point out that using the timer has forced me to make one major change to my preferences: Instead of grinding only enough beans for one shot, and being able to switch coffees easily, I'm now keeping a few days worh of beans in the hopper. Much as I wanted the flexibility to switch coffees, I prefer the consistency and simpler routine. Since I only need to keep a few days worth of beans in the hopper, I still get to switch coffees fairly frequently. I'm pretty sure my eventual solution will be to get a second grinder, either another Vario or a Titan conical.

With lower SO doses, I'm finding that I don't have to do any distribution at all, and this eliminates much of the preparation ritual. So, even though the level of grounds is well below the edge of the basket, it doesn't matter. Others have made similar observations about using low doses. I think it's also working for me because the Baratza Vario produces very fluffy grounds with minimal clumping. I dose directly into the PF. The grounds form a cone in the middle of the PF, which I press down lightly with the tamper. Then I press my thumbs around the edge of the tamper to make sure the puck is level. Then I do a NESW tamp and/or nutating tamp at maybe 5-10 lbs to seal the edges, followed by a final 30 lb tamp. No polishing. I get an even pour, no brown halo, no channeling (assuming I sealed the edges well and didn't cant the puck.) I've been thinking that I may be able to get away without the NEWS and nutating tamp altogether, and just press a little harder with my thumbs when leveling the tamper.

This approach doesn't work when updosing big blends. I've found that I have to finger-level the dose and have to be much more careful about sealing the edges to avoid a brown halo at the start of the pour. I also have to use a special collar on the PF (from OrphasEspresso, click here) because the Vario throws grounds all over the place when the dose goes over the edge of the PF.

The Vario is pretty consistent (0.2 grams) for weighing the beans, then grinding.

The fast approach for dosing below the rim with a traditional doser-grinder is to use a curved scraper. Luca has mentioned some Australian and Scandinavian cafes do this. The tool can be made by cutting the curve into a plastic caulking or icing knife, or even the lids of deli containers or other plastic containers.

another_jim wrote:The fast approach for dosing below the rim with a traditional doser-grinder is to use a curved scraper. Luca has mentioned some Australian and Scandinavian cafes do this. The tool can be made by cutting the curve into a plastic caulking or icing knife, or even the lids of deli containers or other plastic containers.

Here's a picture on Scott Rao's website of using the doser lid as a curved scraper. The hopper lid is another alternative if a different curvature is needed. I think Rao mentions it somewhere in his book under grooming. Depends on the grinder, basket and dose, of course.

The lid is limited to 1 radius.
See Dosing less than level with the rim of the basket