Hi,

I'm new to espresso world and I'm still experiencing with the Andreja Premium and the Rocky grinder I bought 2 weeks ago. What I don't understand so far is how to get my dosing and distribution right. There are a lot of articles around on the internet, I read all of them, but there is one thing I still don't get.

In most of those articles, they recommend you overdose the basket and distribute the coffee by using special techniques with your fingers. The thing I don't understand is that if I completely fill the double basket coming with my machine, I get 18 grams of coffee. No matter how hard I tamp it, the coffee bed touches the dispersion screen. 15-16 grams give the right clearance but then, I'm having troubles distributing it evenly since those 15-16 grams don't fill the basket completely. I've tried doing it with my little finger but it's impossible to have a flat surface to tamp.

What's the reason for this? Is my basket to big? My grind too coarse or not fluffy enough?

Thanks for helping !

My experience with the Rocky (doserless) is about the same, to hit 14-16g in most baskets, you need to finish below the basket rim before tamping. I have been happy with my results by doing the WDT as follows:

Dose your 14-16g in the PF basket/handle
Stir in the basket without a yogurt cup (a cup would allow you to stir more vigorously however)
Clean off the portafilter ears/tabs with a finger sweep, or pop out the basket and invert the PF to dump the stray grounds
Jostle the PF a bit to level the grinds, a few gentle sideways taps on the PF ears works for me
(You could try to do something similar to a Stockfleth's move below the basket edge, but it is tricky IMO)
I then set my tamper in gently and ensure it is level
I follow with a single firm tamp if the tamper to basket fit is tight, or finish with a NSEW tamp if the basket to tamper fit isn't dead on

Is the Rocky Doserless, or not?

Distribute as you dose.. focus on the landing.

Post-dosing distribution is a fix for an error that need not exist.

Doing it this way will allow you to just sweep it level and tamp. No need to overstuff the basket or mess with unneeded accessories.

Thanks for helping

I'm using a doserless version and I've already try to stir the coffee inside the basket with a small wooden stick. Even when doing so, the coffee doesn't make it to the rim and I still cannot use a move to level it.

So far, I keep seeing little pinhole in the coffee puck when removing it.

Anything else I could try?

have you tried grinding finer and tamping lighter? my experience is that you get fluffier dosing with a finer grind (possible high enough to level), but when you tamp, it will compress lower.

Hi,
I know it doesn't say much but I'm already grinding at the 7-8 settings on the rocky. I though it would be fine enough. However, I'm gonna give it a try tonigh when I get home.

Thanks for helping !

Hi,

I've been doing some more experimenting with dosing over the last few days and I still don't understand how I could get the distribution to be right. I found that when using 16 gr, I can see a small impression (dispersion screen) on the coffee bed (lock in and remove the portafilter without activating the pump). although this could be related to an "uneven" tamping, 16-17 grams seem to be the biggest dose I can use. Once more, those dose doesn't fill the basket and it makes it impossible to distribute it properly. I'm trying to figure out what the problem could be and I can only think of two things:

1) Rocky isn't up to the task and cannot produce a fluffy enough grind.
2) The beans I'm using are too heavy so 16g doesn't gives enough volume.

I don't understand !
Help me

What coffee are you using?

I'm using the coffee I can buy from the shop where I bought the machine. It's roasted on site and usually quite fresh. I don't know what blend it is though...

lsf wrote:The thing I don't understand is that if I completely fill the double basket coming with my machine, I get 18 grams of coffee. No matter how hard I tamp it, the coffee bed touches the dispersion screen. 15-16 grams give the right clearance but then, I'm having troubles distributing it evenly since those 15-16 grams don't fill the basket completely.

Are you settling the grinds while dosing by tapping? The stock basket without settling should dose about 14 to 15 grams; the tamped puck surface will be below the ridge at that dosage. At 17 grams, the puck surface is near the middle of the ridge. Some coffees naturally grind more compactly; if you want to downdose with them, try removing the portafilter's retention spring and dosing in the basket outside of the portafilter. Curve your finger downward and redistribute the grinds in a circular motion, finishing with the surface slightly below the rim (final weight will be around 15 grams). If you have an accurate scale, double check the weight before gently dropping the basket into the portafilter.