Shot starts great, mouse tails, then gushing 12 seconds later - Page 2

by **draino** on Tue Oct 19, 2010 7:00 pm

I had a Silvia/Rocky combo for two years. I learned:

-A bottomless portafilter helps
-The Weiss Distribution technique is a must
-a dose of 14-14.5 gms for a 2 oz shot in ~25 secs is a good goal. Bigger dose seemed to get more channeling.
-an Espro #30 click tamper helps
-and yes, fresh roasted coffee. Buy good stuff to practice and remove another variable.
-the Rocky should get good shots, but I upgraded to a Super Jolly and got better consistency.

Good Luck and hang in there.
Dave

by **srossnz** on Tue Oct 19, 2010 7:47 pm

cafeIKE wrote:I've seen some Rocky grinders that can't grind fine enough for espresso. The symptoms are exactly as described

Have you checked burr zero?

I can definitely make the burrs touch and have ground just above that with not much luck either.. I used to have a mazzer mini a couple years ago and am thinking of going back to one of those.. feeling like cutting corners on the grinder is making life difficult for me.

by HB on Tue Oct 19, 2010 8:00 pm

It's cold comfort, but your story is not unique for this pair. Search on 'Rancilio Silvia and Rocky' in the FAQs and Favorites to read similar tales. After much weeping and gnashing of teeth, most of these stories end happily.

by **srossnz** on Wed Oct 20, 2010 1:16 am

Well re-adjusted the pressure so it was pouring 260ml a min. Tried a bigger basket, various grind settings.. threw about 300gms at it.. best result I got is something slightly better than you would find in a septic tank. I GIVE UP. Booking in with a barista to come here and train me.

by **cafeIKE** on Wed Oct 20, 2010 1:07 pm

Make sure trainer brings known good espresso coffee and a known good grinder.

'Fresh roasted coffee' does not guarantee the blend or roast is suitable for espresso.
If the beans don't fracture nicely, creating sufficient fines, it's next to hopeless.

by **darilon** on Thu Oct 21, 2010 6:31 pm

Ian is so right about the coffee. I had some Djimma Nigusie Lemma that wouldn't make espresso well at the roast level I started with (C+) - roasted it darker (vienna) and now it pours well, but I've lost a lot of the origin flavour. My brazilian based home blend, OTOH, works well at C+ and FC.


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