I am brand new to home espresso making and am still getting used to my Ceado e37s. The one thing that is killing me is the amount of time and coffee beans wasted when trying to dial in the grinder for new beans. It probably took me over a pound to initially dial in my first beans, which were Verve Streetlevel. Once I burned through all of those, I switched to the Fattobene beans that came with my grinder from 1st-Line. These seem to be a darker roast and were slightly fresher, but I was shocked at how much finer I needed to grind the beans to get a good extraction speed. I probably burned through half of my 1 lb. bag just trying to get the speed right and I still don't think I have the espresso machine settings right for this roast to create a great espresso.

I don't plan to switch beans often and will likely stick to Black Cat or Counter Culture Big Trouble (or Hologram) because they are always available and fresh in my area. I know I need more experience and it will get better with time, but how much coffee do you guys typically burn through when you get new beans (even if the same roast, just different roast dates)? For now, I am likely going to have to buy 2 lbs. at a time until I get a little better at this process.

I try not to switch beans frequently because, as you mentioned, it can sometimes take a pound of beans before I find the sweet spot. I've been pulling shots at home for years so while I'm not a pro, I'm not new either.

I single dose with a motorized Voodoo Daddy modified Pharos, and get a pretty good idea of about how much to move the dial pointer from the pour time for a given output weight. If it's off, I can usually get it on the next dose. From there I just measure each time and make fine adjustments afterwards for the next cup if needed. I keep the beans in the freezer, so there's not much movement at all. If I'm switching between different beans back and forth, I just remember the relative difference between them which gets me in the ballpark if not on target.

This is all on a spring lever, so listening to the experiences of others gives me the impression that it's more difficult to get a given weight in a given time with a pump machine.

I should say that when I switched machines (and even baskets) it took me several tries to get in the ballpark.

Hang in there, it gets a lot better. After a while you will have a feel for your grinder settings and will be able to dial in much more quickly.

MB wrote:I single dose with a motorized Voodoo Daddy modified Pharos, and get a pretty good idea of about how much to move the dial pointer from the pour time for a given output weight. If it's off, I can usually get it on the next dose. From there I just measure each time and make fine adjustments afterwards for the next cup if needed. I keep the beans in the freezer, so there's not much movement at all. If I'm switching between different beans back and forth, I just remember the relative difference between them which gets me in the ballpark if not on target.

This is all on a spring lever, so listening to the experiences of others gives me the impression that it's more difficult to get a given weight in a given time with a pump machine.

I should say that when I switched machines (and even baskets) it took me several tries to get in the ballpark.

Quite interested in the motorized idea, can you share the photos?

dominico wrote:Hang in there, it gets a lot better. After a while you will have a feel for your grinder settings and will be able to dial in much more quickly.

Dominico's right. And don't forget that like nearly all grinders not designed for single dosing (e.g., Monoliths), you can retain about 4-5 grams from the last shot ground, so if you're not accounting for that, it will make dialing in more frustrating (but whatever you do, don't try cleaning out the throat unless you're taking the machine apart). I've had an E37S and have found it easier to dial in than Mazzers and Macaps I've had or tried. The adjustability is smooth and predictable, and it'll only be a matter of time before you'll be able to sight in a given bean's adjustment pretty closely and then refine over a couple more shots. Just remember to change only one variable at a time!

ado wrote:Quite interested in the motorized idea, can you share the photos?

See this thread: Single Dose, Low Retention Grinder Project

I don't like to waste coffee, and I'm relatively new to brewing with a non-pressurized portafilter, so when I change beans I try to make my best educated guess. I did go through a pound pretty quickly when I firstI got my grinder, and I did a fair number of sink shots. Now that I have a reasonable idea of where to start, it generally takes me 2 or 3 shots to get it in the ballpark, but the first shot is usually drinkable, just not great. Like I said I hate to waste coffee, so I'll usually drink that shot and then make another one right after. Not only helps me get it dialed in faster, I get to appreciate the difference.

As everyone has mentioned, it will take some time and knowledge of both your grinder and beans to eventually only need a couple of sink shots to get your grind adjustment fairly right. Just be sure to keep all other variables the same in the process (same input weight of beans, same output weight beans, and approx. 25-35 second pull in your early days).

One thing that should be noted, too, is that burr breaking is a real thing and has real effects on consistency. Brand new burrs will be fairly inconsistent until they hit their break-in period ... some people find much more consistency after 2 or 3 pounds of beans run through, while certain grinder + burr combos will require more. For my Mazzer Major I ran through 10lbs of coffee just to be sure I was hitting the mark, all of which I tossed in the green bin. Not only is my grinder extremely consistent and quite easy to dial in, it also saved me the headaches and frustration from fighting with new burrs.

chrisbodnarphoto wrote:One thing that should be noted, too, is that burr breaking is a real thing and has real effects on consistency. Brand new burrs will be fairly inconsistent until they hit their break-in period ... some people find much more consistency after 2 or 3 pounds of beans run through, while certain grinder + burr combos will require more.

Yes! Good point. I didn't know about that at first, but I've probably only put 5 or 6 pounds through my grinder so far, and just recently I noticed my grind times went down roughly a couple of seconds for the same volume. It crept up on me so I was overdosing for a little while until I figured it out. Again, no scale, so I have to go by time and volume, and when the volume/time equation changes you have to pay attention.