hercdeisel wrote:Hi Ali,
I've worked with the setup you've described (Starbucks beans, Barista Express, SGP) quite a bit when visiting family. I've noticed a few things:
First, with Starbucks beans the grind has to be very fine on the SGP. Especially the italian roast or older beans. Like, much finer than just about anything else I've ground.
Second, I've found that about 15-16g is a good range to shoot for rather than 18. However, even that amount of grounds that pile will be well above the height of the basket before tamping. So, I give the portafilter a decent tap on the counter (tamp mat or dish towel) before tamping.
Third, I like to use the manual control parameter. I hold down the single cup button to start preinfusion. I've noticed this can actually be a bit slow on the machine i've been using. Once I get a drip (10 seconds or so), I let the button go for the machine to get to full pressure. I try to get about 30-35g out by about 20-25 seconds after I let the button go.
Finally, before pulling any shots I let the machine warm up about 10 minutes and then run about 10 seconds of water through the portafilter.
Overall I've had that process get some quite tasty results. To me, though, the real limitation you're working with is the grinder. When I've brought my own hand grinder (Lido-E) on these visits, I've had much more consistent results with the Starbucks beans than with the SGP.
I ended up at 12 on the SGP. This has come out very good. I think I am overanalyzing my beans a bit and will wait for my medium roast to come in to see if I get a better vibe! These suggestions really helped me out thank you!
sirocco wrote:The shots seem very consistent and stable, it seems the grinder is at least doing its job and is create a consistent bed of tamped grinds. Most of the grind sizes (except extreme ends of the spectrum) have fallen between 10 and 2.
How much espresso are you actually making ( weight ) and over what time
