Jack:

You must have had a different basket than some of us. Filling mine to the rim takes 11 gm. I think there's a straight-walled basket and a curved one. Mine is curved. The spares available at OE also hold 11 gm.

I was wrong. My double basket takes up to 16 gm. I'm pleased!

Depending on the grind, yes I do have enough pressure, sometimes too much (when I have to stand on the lever as Peacecup was saying) At first, I was aiming at lots of pressure and slow drops, about 1 drop/sec. Now, I'm trying to grind a little coarser to try and get more crema and preserve the piston's o-ring. Depending on the beans, I can sometimes fill my curved basket with 16 grams also. Using the dosing funnel, I overfill the basket, tap it a couple of times, tamp very lightly just to bring the mound down, then remove the funnel and do the real tamp. With my new beans, I try to keep my dose at 14 grams to change the grind only.

I'm not only new to levers but to espresso as well. Well, making shots myself. I drank plenty during the last 15 years but having my own machine is new. The next step will be to see if I can reliably switch between drip and espresso grind on the Lido without wasting too many shots. I miss brewed coffee. I might eventually get a Pharos to match the Caravel but I'd rather try using the Lido for both right now.

The biggest difficulty right now is trying not to drink too many shots.

drgary wrote:You must have had a different basket than some of us. Filling mine to the rim takes 11 gm. I think there's a straight-walled basket and a curved one. Mine is curved. The spares available at OE also hold 11 gm.

There are three! Two curved (~11-12g, ~16-18g) and a straight-walled that is about the same height as the larger curved double (but I've only seen pictures in this thread).

FWIW, I follow the peacecup routine using the same grind fineness I do for my Londinium and then pull down hard for a lot more than 27 seconds!

This may be sacrilege to some, but if you miss brewed coffee...Americanos made from Caravel shots are heavenly. Not the same as brewed coffee, of course, but a full cup of deliciousness. Don't defile it with milk.

Well, I still have everything I need for a good cup of brewed coffee (even good Yirgacheffe beans) I just don't want to mess with my grind for now.

I'm enjoying the shots with the smaller basket. (Added: Mine takes 16 gm. Still a nice, small shot.) This gives me more chance to taste a variety of coffees without overcaffeinating. It's kind of like the Caravel is the temperature controlled sampler for the Prestina.

SimonPatrice wrote:Depending on the grind, yes I do have enough pressure, sometimes too much (when I have to stand on the lever as Peacecup was saying) At first, I was aiming at lots of pressure and slow drops, about 1 drop/sec. Now, I'm trying to grind a little coarser to try and get more crema and preserve the piston's o-ring.

1 drop per second is quite slow. I'm not saying you can't get a good shot that way -- I'm sometimes in that range and the results can be good. But as you probably know, you need a coarser grind if you want more crema.

Generally speaking, I prefer the shots I get when I get a nice steady mousetail stream (with considerable pressure still required on the lever -- no gushing here).

Also, with respect to basket sizes: there are certainly more than 2. I have a "single" which takes 9 ~ 9.5g. I like this basket quite a bit, partly because it seems perfectly tuned for a single pull of the lever: one pull gets me 19g of liquid in the cup, 50% brew ratio. My other basket is 12~13g, and with that one I'll do a Fellini.

Good to know a stream can lead to a good shot. When dialing in, I would automatically grind finer if i saw anything but drops. Even fast drops I was suspicious of.

Now, I noticed the shot is mostly dripping from the left hole of the portafilter. I checked and the counter it's on leans quite a bit to the left. I'll see if it makes any difference when I get it straight.

Quick follow up, the shots are starting to look better. I don't know if it's the new coffees (St-Henri Godshot and Ritual's Stickball) the fact that I'm using a shot glass this week and can better see the shot and the actual amount of crema or if I'm just getting better with the Caravel. I'm definitely getting more comfortable dialing the grind and can get more volume when I want to and still get a good shot. I feel like the coffee opens up sometimes when I get a larger shot. (15g in/ 22-26g out as opposed to 15g in / 16-18g out).

Now, I'll have to get me a more precise scale. The smallest increment on mine is 1g. right now. Thanks for all the help. I'm definitely enjoying the Caravel!

I have my Caravel on holidays with me in Bali, brought it with the LIDO grinder and we are enjoying proper coffee on holiday which is a bonus!

My blog about the bali trip has the details, http://balibliss.tumblr.com/post/52347692403/cafe-rick