I usually use Nicoletti espresso roast which is a light roast, chocolatey and delicious
On average I do 18.5 in and 45 out and it is just the way I like it. Shots are usually around 25 seconds. When I get a new bag of course the freshness changes ( the roast date is usually only a few days before I get them delivered). The very fresh beans require a coarser grind as it pours way to slow.
Changing the grind on the Ceado E6Pv2 isn't horrible but it's not a joy either as it's stepless so I can't really count on a 'setting' per se like 'new beans arrived so I switch to number 4, after a week switch back to 8 etc. I have to manually turn the dial a little bit and try from there.

Is this just par for the course and the 'normal pains' of espresso? Or is there an easier way that people are using like longer pre-infusion, under-dosing a bit or something like that? I don't want to under-dose too much as I use the Asso The Jack Leveler tool which negates the need for a tamp which I love and the setting is perfect with 18.5 in.

I guess I"m wondering just how common it is to 'set it and forget it' as far as the grind setting goes if you use the same beans each time? Or if it's more common to have to adjust frequently.

Thanks

If your coffee is aging and you don't have a stepless grind adjustment, you'll have to just grind coarser, up-dose and ignore shot times because they'll be more erratic. Most often, the pours on older coffee isn't pretty anyway. So you'll have to just focus on flavors in the cup and ignore timing.

Terry, everything you describe is perfectly normal. I also no longer tamp with the recommended 30# (rarely did actually). I just level my grinds then press the puck until I have the proper head space--not quite what you're doing but close. At some point the beans begin to drop off and you just have to slightly tighten the grinder to compensate or up-dose a tiny bit. Another technique that works is soaking. Since you have an e61 group you can do this easily. Lif the lever to full on for about 5-seconds then move it to the mid position and wait about 30 seconds then pull the shot. I have done this with both my HX and my DB machines (all e61). When you get the timing right, in about 30-seconds a few drops of coffee will begin to emerge. This works because during the soak, all the air in the puck is displaced and the coffee blooms, expanding the puck. This greatly reduces channeling and other ills, even if the coffee isn't at its peak freshness. BTW, I also have flow profiling on my machine and can vary the pre-infusion time using the lever. In my experience, the slight difference between long pre-infusion and long soaking makes a big difference in what actually happens. I've no idea why. My machine has a brew pressure gauge and I can see the difference.

Grind changes with age, humidity, temperature, etc... That is normal. Now when your coffee is at the end of its life cycle in age it is best to open the grind a little and increase the dose to get what life is left in the beans. That is where a triple basket comes in handy.

Thanks for the replies.

I will experiment with the advice given. Usually the brand new beans are the ones that go very slow. I usually hit my 45 out in approx 25 seconds. But with fresh beans it could be 40 or so seconds. In milk drinks they still taste similar though

Terry,

You might want to watch the latest review video from Whole Latte Love on pressure profiling. I guess they are now selling kits that pressure profile (along with preinfusion) for the Profitec machines and others. Marc mentions about handling older beans using pressure profiling. Sounds interesting.

TomC wrote:If your coffee is aging and you don't have a stepless grind adjustment, you'll have to just grind coarser, up-dose and ignore shot times because they'll be more erratic. Most often, the pours on older coffee isn't pretty anyway. So you'll have to just focus on flavors in the cup and ignore timing.

Hi TomC

I find your suggestion very interesting and could you explain why it is better to grind coarser and updose

Thanks

I typically buy a bag of beans weekly, let it rest a week, and then use it over the course of the following week. In order to maintain the same extraction time per shot, I am usually adjusting my grinder one or two settings finer by the end of the week from where I started.

Rocky

JIMBOJOHN55 wrote:Hi TomC

I find your suggestion very interesting and could you explain why it is better to grind coarser and updose

Thanks

Speaking in generalities, more of the aromatics and volatile compounds have left the beans as they've staled. Trying to get as much of this as possible back into the cup requires a larger dose. A larger dose requires a coarser grind to achieve normal extraction times that still taste good.