Videos of espresso extractions - Page 9

by HB on Thu Nov 23, 2006 10:10 pm

It's interesting to compare these two pours side-by-side. Advance the time to 31 seconds in both, which is about the point that beading has started. Notice the very dark striation in the first one and the cone remains flat throughout the pour. The lighting plays a part in the difference, but in the second pour it's easy to see the striping is more smoothly contrasting and the cone takes full shape 15 seconds after beading. The first shot tasted overextracted and the crema was flatter, probably because I upped the pressure thinking that the shot would stall. The second shot was fuller, the crema abundant and rich. I usually let the extractions run a few seconds longer for videos; in the second one, I should have cut it off a couple seconds earlier.

Also on youtube

Also on youtube

Excerpted from the Buyer's Guide to Gaggia Achille.

by DC on Fri Dec 01, 2006 6:49 am

I recently followed cannonfodder's instructions on how to denude portafilters and did the same to my own humble Briel. Wondered if you guys would critique the results for me?

This was from a double basket containing ~15g coffee (medium roast). This pour yielded about 45ml after 29 seconds.

Thanks for your thoughts

DC

by **another_jim** on Fri Dec 01, 2006 8:21 pm

DC wrote:Wondered if you guys would critique the results for me?

You've got the levelling and tamping down, since the pour is extra pretty.

However, it may be worth exploring dose, grind, and timing; perhaps looking at longer pours with less volume. The reason I say this is because the espresso appeared 2 seconds after the pump turned on, but the pump quieted down only after 8 seconds. This means for seconds 2 through 8, the espresso was flowing while the puck was still absorbing water (the pump is noisy when the flow is high, i.e. when the puck is absorbing water, and quiets down after the puck stops absorbing and the flow rate settles down). Ideally, the puck should have absorbed all the necessary water before you see any flow.

Again, what sort of shot develops the best taste will depend on your machine, not prescribed rules covering time and volume; my guess is that on this one a finer grind, and perhaps less coffee, may pay off.

by DC on Sat Dec 02, 2006 4:30 pm

Thanks for the reply, I'd been wondering why my pours start so quickly compared to some of the other videos on here.

another_jim wrote:However, it may be worth exploring dose, grind, and timing; perhaps looking at longer pours with less volume.

another_jim wrote:Again, what sort of shot develops the best taste will depend on your machine, not prescribed rules covering time and volume; my guess is that on this one a finer grind, and perhaps less coffee, may pay off.

I'll give it a try. So if I'm not looking for a specific time/volume combination am I right in thinking that I should judge when to stop the shot by flow colour (and then taste i guess) and adjust accordingly?

DC

by **another_jim** on Sat Dec 02, 2006 5:10 pm

The dwell time, that is, the time between turning on the pump and seeing the first drops, varies from machine to machine. **Do not** attempt to control this with tamp and grind, that won't lead to good shots. However, when using a vibe pump, by the time you see the coffee, you want the pump to have reached maximum operating pressure, which means that it runs quiet. In your pour, the pump stayed noisy for another six seconds. I would play a bit and see if the shots improve if you can get the visible flow to start at the same time the pump goes quiet.

by **LeoZ** on Sun Dec 03, 2006 11:09 am

another_jim wrote:The dwell time, that is, the time between turning on the pump and seeing the first drops, varies from machine to machine. **Do not** attempt to control this with tamp and grind, that won't lead to good shots. However, when using a vibe pump, by the time you see the coffee, you want the pump to have reached maximum operating pressure, which means that it runs quiet. In your pour, the pump stayed noisy for another six seconds. I would play a bit and see if the shots improve if you can get the visible flow to start at the same time the pump goes quiet.

this is interesting b/c it seems to be a more 'advanced' variable. it also seems even harder to control with ristrettos. is the key to adjust dosage? ie, for a ristretto, slightly overdose? sometimes, even the finest of grinds doesnt seem to help.

by DC on Sun Dec 03, 2006 12:09 pm

I was going to ask the same thing

If I don't adjust grind/tamp then dosage is the only real option left as my machine doesn't have pressure/temperature controls.

I tried a shot today in which I kept the same grind/tamp as in the video above but used more coffee and this gave a dwell time of about 6 seconds: the shot appeared just before the pump went quiet and the pour was weighted towards one side, but the colour looked good. Anyway, this gave me what I think was a double ristretto - just over an ounce in about 35 seconds. It tasted good to me, much sweeter than I'm used to. I know a lot of people drink their espresso as double ristretto, so am I in the right ballpark for that? I think I prefer the longer version but I'll keep trying these for a while because the pour is hypnotic..... :lol:

DC

by **cannonfodder** on Sun Dec 03, 2006 6:23 pm

One oz would be a very tight double ristretto. I usually pull 1.5-1.75 oz from a 17-18 gram dose in around 28 seconds depend on the blend. I would consider that a ristretto, one oz in 35 seconds is a bit extreme.

by **another_jim** on Sun Dec 03, 2006 10:27 pm

The rule is the shorter the pour, the longer the time required - 1 ounce in 35 seconds from 18 grams is actually on the fast pour side.

In terms of taste, I was only making suggestions. You can usually get a more normal time and volume with a proper dwell time if you go with a low dose at a very fine grind; this may be more to your taste. I'm pretty agnostic when it comes to espresso rules, but the pour you video-ed is a sort of reverse Americano - the six seconds of pour at the start would have been very watery, since the puck was not fully wetted. This is supposed to be a flaw, but it's your shot and your taste.

by **cannonfodder** on Sun Dec 03, 2006 10:40 pm

I knew the general idea of longer times for the lower volume but I did not realize that that much time was needed. I would have thought that bitterness from over extraction would be a problem.


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