Smell your puck
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- Posts: 26
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Hi,
is there anything you can determine from the smell of the spent puck. Mine always smell a little smokey and the espresso tastes bitter, but always look great with tons of crema and deep brown with tiger flecks.
18 in 36 out, Mignon eureka + Rocket Cellini evo
Too fine or too much coffee? Looking for a sweeter extraction and (from what I have read) need more of the caramels to balance out the bitter, or is the water too hot?
is there anything you can determine from the smell of the spent puck. Mine always smell a little smokey and the espresso tastes bitter, but always look great with tons of crema and deep brown with tiger flecks.
18 in 36 out, Mignon eureka + Rocket Cellini evo
Too fine or too much coffee? Looking for a sweeter extraction and (from what I have read) need more of the caramels to balance out the bitter, or is the water too hot?
- Randy G.
- Posts: 5340
- Joined: 17 years ago
Other than to not smell the puck I cannot think of anything.Crackazz wrote:Hi,
...is there anything you can determine from the smell of the spent puck?
Smell the espresso and taste the espresso.
What coffee are you using? Blend? Roast? Age?
EspressoMyEspresso.com - 2000-2023 - a good run, its time is done
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- Posts: 26
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thought this might be an odd thing to ask
SO - El Salvador Finca Santa Petrona Washed Red Bourbon from Has Bean, 10 days rested.
was wondering if the puck smell would help unlock what I might be doing wrong to be unable to get a balanced espresso.
SO - El Salvador Finca Santa Petrona Washed Red Bourbon from Has Bean, 10 days rested.
was wondering if the puck smell would help unlock what I might be doing wrong to be unable to get a balanced espresso.
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I highly doubt it. You're better off IMO going with the standard grind/dose suggestions in the sticky in this forum:Crackazz wrote: was wondering if the puck smell would help unlock what I might be doing wrong to be unable to get a balanced espresso.
Espresso 101: How to Adjust Dose and Grind Setting by Taste
Too often I feel it's easy to get stuck with a single dose (say your stated 18g) and never see what the coffee has to offer at other extraction levels. My suggestion is to explore the extraction space, then explore lungo/normale/ristretto ratios. Eventually I think you should get something you prefer.
Relying on a visual perfection, or puckology is really after the fact examination, rather than using your taste buds and adjusting. Of course if a pour is visually terrible it usually tastes bad too.
- weebit_nutty
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I smell the puck occasionally and it always smells the same. Kind of a peppery smell, nothing like the resulting cup, the coffee or the grounds prior to brewing.
You're not always right, but when you're right, you're right, right?
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With Redbird my puck smells like dark chocolate and I want to eat it. But, I don't because that wouldn't be right.
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- Posts: 26
- Joined: 12 years ago
will re-read the link, sure it will come and as stated, its sometimes all to easy to get stuck in numbers routines etc... and forget about what it is we are all trying to do.... make great tasting coffee!
thanks all
thanks all