So I know there are a few minor problems. I just got a bottomless portafilter for Christmas, right after putting some new beans in the machine (Blue Bottle Opascope 5 days post roast), and it may just be that I'm not going to care for these beans, and it certainly could be a case of changing too much at once, but before I give up on them entirely, I thought I'd ask here, and maybe be able to get a little bit of help with fine tuning my shots.

From the first try with these beans they've always tasted sour, and were definitely coming out too fast, even before I switched to the botomless portafilter. I tried some yesterdsay with the 21gram basket that came with the portafilter, and decided to go back to the stock 14 gram portafilter, because I was wanting to remove some of the new variables. So this shot was maybe my 4th try with the 14 gram basket. I had to grind finer than usual, and I'm not sure if that might be due the bottomless portafilter, or if these beans just want to be finer. Do bottomless call for that kind of diffference in prep?

Anyway, with this shot I got down to an 11 setting on my grinder which is 1-3 finer than usual, the dose is about what I've found to be ideal, basically just shy of level before tamping. The distribution was pretty good, but I'm aware the tamp was a little off level as the video shows, but otherwise it looks pretty good, and the extraction time was about 34-35 seconds for 2 ounce. This should yield what I consider to be at least a decently pleasing shot, but it was still sour, and tasted what I consider to be under extracted. I'm aware a lot of folks would say I need a scale, but I don't have one, and up to now I've been able to get satisfactory consistency without one. I may get one at some point, but basically I'm just wondering with what I've got here, what I might be able to do to get a better tasting shot out of these beans.

FWIW, Blue bottle recommends a does of 18g 30-33 seconds at 200°F. While I don't know the exact temperature, I used the same does and finer grind on these than I did on 17' Ceiling which calls for a slightly larger dose, and longer extraction. So it seems to me like if anything this would be over extracted at the same time/temperature/volume.
I'm pretty much at the max dose for the stock basket. My wife hasn't cared for this in her lattes either complaining it tastes "thin, and not very rich". So what do you think? Should I go finer, and try for a longer extraction? Switch to the 21 gram basket, and go with a bigger dose, and maybe the same extraction? Or maybe "effervescent tropical" flavor profile is just not my thing?

At the risk of repeating what others advise... getting a scale is a good idea.

I've pulled this before. It's hard to tell without a scale, but I think you're pulling too fast in the video. Try grinding finer to get to the point where you're pulling about 1g of beverage per second, so that you get 30-32g of beverage in 30 seconds in an 18 gram dose in an 18g basket. You can also try reducing the pressure on your espresso machine.

When this is brewing right, it has a tropical fruit tang to it, hints of mango and sweet pineapple. I kind of liked Barefoot's Rwanda Espresso a little better. But Rwanda coffee is da-bomb.

Well I just choked it down to a 1 minute 1 ounce ristretto, and it still tastes sour and underextracted to my palate, though the mouth feel is nice and thick and creamy. I think it's safe to say this blend is just not my cup o tea.

Just switched back to my favorite local beans Bohemian #5, and got it dialed in in 2 shots, right back where I was with that blend before the bottomless portafilter arrived under the tree. Now it's time to dial it in for a triple. I tend to like longer pulls. Closer to 35 seconds than than 25 for a 2 ounce pull. Should I be shooting for the same time on a 3 ounce pull, or is it supposed to take a bit longer?

nuketopia wrote:I've pulled this before. It's hard to tell without a scale, but I think you're pulling too fast in the video. Try grinding finer to get to the point where you're pulling about 1g of beverage per second, so that you get 30-32g of beverage in 30 seconds in an 18 gram dose in an 18g basket. You can also try reducing the pressure on your espresso machine.

When this is brewing right, it has a tropical fruit tang to it, hints of mango and sweet pineapple. I kind of liked Barefoot's Rwanda Espresso a little better. But Rwanda coffee is da-bomb.

I don't think it was brewing too "fast" exactly. It was 37 seconds for a 2 ounce pull, but I do think the brew pressure was largely to blame for why I could not get an acceptable result. I adjusted the OPV down from the 12 bar stock setting to 10 bar static, and the difference in the next shot I pulled was huge in terms of complexity. That first test shot did happen to be a touch bright. To my taste it was lightly under-extracted, but I think some people might like it that way, but the complexity made it quite a pleasant shot in spite of a touch of sourness. This is with the beans I use most often, and I'm pulling very nice shots from them now. The Opascope is in the freezer for now. I think I'll give them another shot once I've got a scale, but they are trickier than darker roasted beans an I don't think I can get them dialed in without at least having some idea what volume I'm dosing. Basically at this point I'm using the stock 14 gram basket dosed level before the tamp, but I have no idea what that dose actually weighs. It could be anywhere from 15-20 grams, but I suspect it's closer to the 15 end.

Yeah, hard to say exactly. Measuring by volume is difficult, since there's so much fizz in an espresso. 2fl ounces is probably 57 grams, or something near that. This one is probably better at something around 32 grams (1.15 oz) in 30 seconds. Curiously, a slightly smaller dose may pull a more rounded espresso. It is a tangy, fruity one, at least the last bag of it I had a couple of months ago was.

Without a PID, I'm in "temp surfing" territory. I always do a group flush just prior to grinding. That kicks in the boiler for a few seconds, and it's done heating before I'm ready to brew. Short of flipping on the steam button for a sec before brewing that's as hot as it gets. I suppose I could try that next, but in terms of precision and repeatability, that feels like a pretty iffy practice. I feel like I'm better for the time being honing down on the variables I can control precisely first. Once I know the dose weight, and shot weight I guess I might play with temp surfing a bit more.

I'm pulling it currently at:
18g in
36g out
201.5F
Preinfuse at 3bars till first drops, about 13 secs
45 secs total time

Very tasty. Seems a touch darker than the last time I had it 6 mos. or so ago.

Without being willing or able to manage your shot temp you have little chance of dialing in many different coffees. Just a reality, shot temp is not a parameter to be ignored.