samuellaw178 wrote:Alan, could you try dosing 8.5-9g in the funnel and see where it goes?? Interesting that your single is so much coarser than the double!

I thought the grinds in the basket seemed a little coarse. I wonder how a finer grind with a lighter tamp would work with Alan's coffee. Fun to experiment with the variables!

I just got a new LM Precision single basket from Almico (Thanks again, Alan!).

I pulled 12 shots using Faema Lambro and Monolith Flat. I used 7.5 grams in each dose with light tamp and 15 seconds preinfusion (constants). The only variable was grind coarseness. I started with a 7.5gr in and 15 - 16gr out single and ended up with 7.5gr in and 8 - 9gr out ristretto. All shots were drinkable, but due to my personal preference I strongly preferred ristrettos. I think I am going to use it in my rotation once in a while but I still prefer my 15gr VST basket since 8 - 9gr of liquid is just not enough for me.

Agree! For pulling ristretto, a double basket is really more suitable. Not that it can't be done but you literally get only 2 sips out of a single ristretto. If that's your fancy why not.

For a normale (1:2 brew ratio), a single basket pulls a fine amount of volume for me. Around 30 mL.

samuellaw178 wrote:Alan, could you try dosing 8.5-9g in the funnel and see where it goes?? Interesting that your single is so much coarser than the double!

Single is finer.

Dosing to 8g with the funnel leaves ground above the inner basket. I'm using a Euro curved tamper.

Almico wrote:Single is finer.

Ahh! Silly me.

Ah yes, then it makes sense. With 9g dose I am using a grind setting similar to the double basket (perhaps slightly coarser than a VST 15g) - still within 0.5-1 notch on the Monolith. I went 7g the other day I do have to tighten up about 2 notches. 9g seem to be the sweet spot.

JohnB. wrote:Yes I know but I'm sure the German Post/DHl offers different levels of package delivery just like the USPS. For what Tikada charged for shipping the funnels it should have been something similar to our Priority Mail International. Seems that it was closer to our Book Rate service.

Well, I'm happy to say the helium balloon that DHL launched in Frankfurt finally fell to earth in NYC. So should have my funnel in a few days.

Hi Sam, agreed! At 7 or 9gr in and 30ml out that's lungo territory.

samuellaw178 wrote:Agree! For pulling ristretto, a double basket is really more suitable. Not that it can't be done but you literally get only 2 sips out of a single ristretto. If that's your fancy why not.

For a normale (1:2 brew ratio), a single basket pulls a fine amount of volume for me. Around 30 mL.

vberch wrote:At 7 or 9gr in and 30ml out that's lungo territory.

With crema the 18g output (from 9g dose) seems like 30 ml but I can measure to be sure! Not that it matters (not stopping me from making one).

The Funnel Has Landed!

Well, this arrived...



It's the Tidaka funnel I ordered from Deutschland. This is the polished 30mm tall variant. It got stuck in customs for a while (seriously??).

If you watched the video about pulling singles starting at 4:17, you'll recall I kind of rued the fact I didn't have a handy single-optimized funnel like this to make distribution faster, easier, and better. I have in mind a little video demo to illustrate the difference this will make in my workflow. But to make a long story short, it'll be a few weeks before it's available here.

Sweet, looking forward to your impression!

p/s: Oh! Do try updosing to 9g. I found it gives consistently more creamy and heavier shots compared to using finer grind at 7g.

Conveniently, each 1 g dosage difference corresponds to 1 full notch adjustment on the Monolith Conical. i.e. with 9 g I am grinding at setting 3. 8 g would be setting 2. 7g would be setting 1.