caeffe wrote:I've always wondered about the relationship of dose, basket, headspace (aka grouphead geometry) and its impact on the puck. I'm sometimes befuddled or questioned the dose vs ratio recipe - roasters and folks here will talk about 18g in 36g out (1:2 or 2:1?) but somehow skip out on discussing the basket and how much headspace it has. There could probably be a whole separate thread on specifying dose - with machine geometry, basket size, headspace, coffee mass/height and I'd certainly like to hear more folks thoughts on this.

I would agree with you that headspace and puck thickness are really, really important variables in espresso. Roughly speaking, less headspace and thicker puck results in thicker shots, less channeling, but also less clarity and less in-the-mouth flavor complexity. "Very waisted" baskets make extremely reliable, easy to reproduce, thick chocolatey shots that are low acidity, and very easy to drink. There's nothing "3rd wave" about them, but they are awesome great in their own way.

As much interest in recent years has been on lighter roasts, the trend has been toward more headspace (Socratic's study of LM), less thick pucks (no waisting on VST baskets), and faster flow rates (less thick). All those things help lighter roasts taste better, but aren't the right approach for classic Italian dark roasted beans.

I note that cafes making successful light roasted espressos in a high paced setting, tend to go for larger doses (causing thicker pucks) and shorter extraction ratios. I think they do this because the thicker pucks reduces the chance of channeling.

-john

drH wrote:thick film heaters

Google will find you many results, this is as good a summary as any:
https://dateccoating.com/thick-film-heating-elements/

cibby wrote:It's great seeing you do so much more video content lately. I think a series of Decent 101, 201, 301 etc videos would be so helpful. Take new Decent users along a first time user experience up through more advanced topics to get to know their machines and slowly build their understanding of its capabilities. I've been cobbling together tutorials from YT, the Diaspora, etc. Usually it's a member I've met in the forums who really tells me the gems of info about how to best use the Decent. Some of your older videos are quite long, so getting to the tips can often take a while. Even this basket, grouphead and headspace discussion is something I'm still not sure how to best translate into my daily use of my machine. Maybe your upcoming videos will have all of the info, but I also wonder if they'll be more technical and detailed vs taking all of the pieces into something bite sizeable that will allow someone to more easily elevate their Decent experience. I could also see that helping to convert machine sales from consumers who might be intrigued by but also intimidated by the Decent.

In general, our videos are more oriented toward a "answer a specific question" than a curriculum. We recently taped a video on "making espresso with stale beans", for instance.

Years ago, I took part in a "build your own lute" https://www.vanedwards.co.uk/renlute.htm course, where there multi-month course, everyone goes through it together (virtually) and a forum where all the students (and teacher) trade photos and help.

I think that approach would be optimal for a "I want to learn about coffee and the Decent" course. It's a lot of work for us, but I do think it'd be valuable, for people who like to learn this way.

We'd likely need to charge something, not to make money off of it, but so that you have "skin in the game" and don't drop out. I've tinkered with the idea of charging $100, which you then get back as a $200 gift certificate with us, when you complete the course. Drop out early, you don't get that reward.

We do have about 6 month's worth of "answer a specific question" videos planned, which are our first priority, as we have a whole team here at Decent, that answers questions like that every day. Video answers would help us help you better.

-john

Bernaise sauce with my steam wand

Photographed above is a Béarnaise sauce I made on my espresso machine. It's lathered on top of a kind of eggs benedict that I just ate for breakfast. Bérnaise is a child of Hollandaise sauce, with tarragon, vinegar, and cooked shallots added.

It's a muffin, pata negra ham, pea sprouts (dòu miáo, an amazing Chinese vegetable that cooks like spinach but tastes like peas), poached egg and green onions.

Why the photo, here on an espresso forum?

Well: because I'm trying to develop a technique for making Hollandaise Sauce, and its child sauces, using the steam wand on my DE1.

I haven't quite nailed the technique yet.

A tricky bit is that as the sauces passes 80ºC it will thicken very, very quickly, and the steam agitation is not enough. I'm also unsure about the right egg/butter ratios, as I prefer to fully cook the eggs so that the sauce lasts a week in my fridge. The photo is from my reheating a sauce I made 3-days ago.

My next experiment will have me put the steam wand into the top of a blender, so that the mix is more thoroughly agitated. Think of it as a steam-heated, precision Thermomix.

Another trick I've used is the new "double tap steam stop" feature in the DE1. This slows the steam down to "almost but not quite stopped", and allows me to slowly reach my end temperature, just as I get near. It does lengthen the time to make the sauce, but it's more foolproof.

The swirling agitation and gentle heating, should be very similar to the traditional technique of whisking while heating with a bain-marie (double boiler), except that the steam wand is faster and easier (in theory).




Oddly, I haven't found anyone on Youtube or elsewhere, who has explored what's possible, cooking with an espresso steam wand.

I realize this isn't about coffee, but it is about espresso machines, and to me, it's interesting to see how far I can take this piece of expensive gear, in new directions.

-john