Do you guys track your espresso shots?

Beginner and pro baristas share tips and tricks for making espresso.
badperson
Posts: 159
Joined: 13 years ago

#1: Post by badperson »

Just wondering what type of notes/tracking you guys do for your espresso shots and if you find it helpful. I'm actually writing a web app to do that now (only running locally at home) and I'm curious if there are standard methods for flavor categories, or what info in general you guys(gender neutral :mrgreen: ) find helpful in terms of learning from what you have done previously.

DanoM
Posts: 1375
Joined: 11 years ago

#2: Post by DanoM »

I do track my weight & grind settings between machines and bean varieties, jot that down on a small notebook taped inside a cupboard door. So a quick check and I can dial in the grinder quite quickly.

If a particular blend works better at higher or lower temps I jot that down on it's note page too.

Other than that I generally don't track anything other than to make adjustments based on the last shot. I'm still learning stable extractions on the La Pavoni though, so I probably should be taking better notes to hone my skills.
LMWDP #445

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Marshall
Posts: 3444
Joined: 19 years ago

#3: Post by Marshall »

I do the same, except:
I use my grinder timer setting as a proxy for weight
I also record temperature
And I keep the notes on my computer.
Marshall
Los Angeles

sqroot3
Posts: 87
Joined: 11 years ago

#4: Post by sqroot3 »

In a little notebook, I jot down blend, date roasted, date frozen and unfrozen if applicable, dose, grind setting, brew temperature, extraction time, extraction mass or volume, and taste. Helps a lot to get the ballpark when initially dialing in a grinder with a blend I haven't purchased in a few weeks!

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LaDan
Posts: 963
Joined: 13 years ago

#5: Post by LaDan »

I know I am suppose to log and track my shots, and I've done it in the beginning, when I started this "hobby".

But now I don't. I'm not sure I see the value in it. What I *DO* keep track of, (in my mind, but maybe I SHOULD write down notes, to make sure I don't forget) are the parameters and taste of the last couple of shots so that I can fine tune the next one if I need to. The most important ones are the last one and the one before it. Other than that, I don't really see the point except for maybe reading the log and going down memory lane similar to looking at pictures you took during past vacations and trips.

Maybe some here can tell me if and what I am missing?