Increase grind fineness until a 18.5g shot takes 25 secs?

Beginner and pro baristas share tips and tricks for making espresso.
badmajon
Posts: 18
Joined: 10 years ago

#1: Post by badmajon »

Hello everyone, I am a new home barista and I just got my first espresso setup- a strega and a mazzer mini.

The learning curve has been pretty steep! Wow, I had no idea this whole business took so much experience. Anyway, I was looking at the guides available on here and youtube and I am still having trouble pulling shots- they just gush out. It's getting better though. I guess it was gushing when I first started, and now they are taking 10-15 secs.

I was reading the strega experience thread and it seems 18.5g is a good weight for a double shot. So I have been slowly increasing the grind fineness until I get a 18.5g shot in 25 secs. Is this a good way to get where I need to go, or am I doing something wrong?

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LaDan
Posts: 963
Joined: 13 years ago

#2: Post by LaDan »

Don't forget to look at the "yield". You are getting how much drink in 25 seconds? Look at a ratio of 1.5 as a starting point. So 18.5g grounds will yield about 28g of drink, in 25 seconds.

As a beginner, you might want to look at WDT (Weiss Distribution Technique) to make sure your shots pull correctly.

Nice machine.

badmajon (original poster)
Posts: 18
Joined: 10 years ago

#3: Post by badmajon (original poster) »

Thanks! I will definitely keep an eye on that too.

2StrokeBloke
Posts: 218
Joined: 12 years ago

#4: Post by 2StrokeBloke »

Matt,
Just to clarify what you are actually doing: what is the weight of ground coffee you are putting in the portafilter basket? This I'm thinking is going to be in the 18.5 gram range..

From there, you adjust grind and likely pre-infusion time to get around to your desired espresso drink weight or volume, in the time you wish.

badmajon (original poster)
Posts: 18
Joined: 10 years ago

#5: Post by badmajon (original poster) »

Hello, yeah I am putting 18.5g of ground coffee in the portafilter for the double.

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bostonbuzz
Posts: 1256
Joined: 13 years ago

#6: Post by bostonbuzz »

For levers, the timing is not a strict formula as in pump machines. Search this forum for Jim's posts on how the strega needs to be overdosed and given up to 45s of time. I could be making those numbers up, so do the research, but in any case try experimenting with slower shots.
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