SSP MP vs Lab Sweet vs HU for milk drinks

[p4lxrich]

What's better for milk drinks? I have both mp and lab sweet that I've been experimenting with. Is hu better for milk drinks? Been reading up that hu might be better for milk drinks ? Not sure yet if I want to explore hu burrs or I just need to experiment more with mp or lab sweet v2. Faster rpm vs slower as I have p64 to play around with now. Still seasoning my lab sweet before I can try mp again as I just got the p64.

[Ad-85]

Standard burrs would be better for milk drinks.

[malling]

Definitely not MP, MP is all about clarity and flavour separation and there isn't enough punch or body in the shots to truly brake through milk the same way as other burrs, it becomes a little to watery imho. A cast has more body, more sweetness so dos a better job and it's also generally better at lower ratios.

I would not say traditional unless you drink medium to dark roast. A Cast is still better with milk with light then any traditional burrs for lighter roast, I simply don't like what traditional burrs do to light roast but for a more medium style these do well.

Also you can still do filter with cast, no such luck with traditional as it drastically reduces the quality in the cup.

[Jonk]

I haven't tried HU (only lots of traditional burrs), but I think the cast burrs do really well with milk. There's something that reminds me of the hybrid DRM set in a Cimbali Max when used with dark roasts, lots of sweetness even with beans I wouldn't normally like.

I mean I like light roasts as well with the cast burrs, but the pure shots have been less punchy compared to MP. Perhaps that is why darker roasts are fine with cast, but taste awful using MP*.

*well, I have V1 of both sets, if that matters..

[p4lxrich (original poster)]

yeah so far cast has been ok. finally got a hu to try and see how this works out .

[Entreri]

I have the MP's and do make very good cappuccino, but I:

- Grind quite fine
- Do preinfusion
- Pull 1:1 - 1:1.5 ristretto-style shots.

This result in a more blended and thicker shot.

If milky drinks are your main focus, I would go standard or HU, with cast next and MP last.

[iyayy]

+ on the MP.
grind fine yes.
pi - yes. helps a lot. but i find possible grind to borderline choking and pull straight. done right once it saturates it will flow well, since unimodals dont really keep puck resistance. also demands very good puck prep and level tamp to do this.
lower ratio - definitely. stop trying to stick to 1:2.. unimodals are high extraction burrs.. doing 1:2 = extreeeeeemely overextracted.. eyeball, taste, and adjust. also consider lesser if you use high extraction basket likr vst. (come ratio police!)

+ 9 bar. - u need to 'cook' the acids to make it work with milk. (6 bar police wont be happy).

also shots should taste well both hot and cold. dilute it a bit by 5~10g of water and taste test. if its too sour at cold, then the milked drink wont taste nice once temp drops and ur tongue starts to notice more flavors. if u r on overextracted, it'll lack complexity.

use HU. yes.. if you want it easy and normal way. or go for standard espresso / italmills / conicals too.. but is that why you got MP and cast?

[p4lxrich (original poster)]

Great info here. Thx for all this.
When you do shorter ratio shots the time frame is the same right ? 25-35 s?

[iyayy]

i include pi time as shot.
but with or without;
pi helps to saturate puck instead and allow much finer grind.. imagine lever shot.

with my avg 12~14g @ 16~22g yield (depends on beans, some can take more yields) usually at 18~23s. i use vst15g and underdose for thinner puck (more even puck top to bottom)

so for normal 18g it's likely to be similar 25~30s.

when you grind finer at some point u start hitting more bitterness since water flows through puck very slowly, thats a good point to back off and go faster flow/higher yield.

milk ratio i'd avg 1:5, up to 1:8, so avg 120~180ml.
some light roasts have strong punch with these pulls and can take more. also depends on your milk flavor strength.