Grind resting time - Page 3
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erik82
Stop overthinking it because it isn't hard and there's absolutely no reason to overthink it. Just let beans rest for a good amount after roasting and always just grind and pull the shot right away. You can't go wrong with this and letting grinds sit for a longer time can, in general, only give lesser results. Only rest the grinds when you where out of coffee and needed to roast/buy something at the last moment having way too fresh coffee but that should be the exception and not the rule.
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HB
- Admin
I've noticed that a few minute delay after locking in the portafilter before starting the extraction dries out the puck and leads to an excessively fast pour. But don't take my word for it, try it and let me know if you see the same effect.GDM528 wrote:Now I'm mulling over grinding, tamping and locking in the puck/portafilter before I even start preheating the espresso machine, so the grind is warmed up before the water hits it. Is that going too far?
Dan Kehn
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GDM528 (original poster)
Confirmed. Puck was definitely 'looser', which I typically associate with increased sourness... but there was none. *whew*.
"Over"thinking it, my theory is that tamps aren't 'forever'. Over time, even at room temperature, I suspect the tamped puck will relax in a manner that lowers its flow resistance. Really overthinking it, the initial solubility of heated grind might liquify the puck faster. (note: that last theory was purely for entertainment purposes
The key thing I noted: the reduction of sourness was the same between resting the grind (untamped) at room temperature and resting the tamped puck in the group head as it heats up. So, don't bother, gone is gone.
All the steps in my workflow are the same, but actually faster now: I grind while my espresso machine warms up and let the grind sit untamped for 5-10 minutes until ready. Once the machine has stabilized, I tamp/lock/pull. And to quote ChatGPT: I "shalt extract a small but mighty cup of espresso", two minutes sooner than I used to take. Woo-hoo!
The biggest benefit to me has been the reduced sourness. This will allow me to explore new roasting profiles that I've heretofore avoided because they required such an exacting technique to properly extract. YMMV warning: I may have an unusual dislike for acidic/sour notes, so you may not require such coping mechanisms, and this may only be relevant to espresso. And again, my thanks to the HB 'knowledge keepers" that patiently pointed me to the long-established canon.
"Over"thinking it, my theory is that tamps aren't 'forever'. Over time, even at room temperature, I suspect the tamped puck will relax in a manner that lowers its flow resistance. Really overthinking it, the initial solubility of heated grind might liquify the puck faster. (note: that last theory was purely for entertainment purposes
The key thing I noted: the reduction of sourness was the same between resting the grind (untamped) at room temperature and resting the tamped puck in the group head as it heats up. So, don't bother, gone is gone.
All the steps in my workflow are the same, but actually faster now: I grind while my espresso machine warms up and let the grind sit untamped for 5-10 minutes until ready. Once the machine has stabilized, I tamp/lock/pull. And to quote ChatGPT: I "shalt extract a small but mighty cup of espresso", two minutes sooner than I used to take. Woo-hoo!
The biggest benefit to me has been the reduced sourness. This will allow me to explore new roasting profiles that I've heretofore avoided because they required such an exacting technique to properly extract. YMMV warning: I may have an unusual dislike for acidic/sour notes, so you may not require such coping mechanisms, and this may only be relevant to espresso. And again, my thanks to the HB 'knowledge keepers" that patiently pointed me to the long-established canon.
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chanty 77
The biggest benefit to me has been the reduced sourness. Just curious, why do you think the grinds in the portafilter (untamped) for 5-10 until machine warmed up would reduce sourness?
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GDM528 (original poster)
In HB years, I'm only a one year old, so I'm looking forward to getting schooled here. That said, I suspect the primary mechanism is accelerated CO2 release (into the room rather than my coffee) when the coffee is ground. Ground coffee has significantly more surface area and a shorter path for the CO2 molecules to exit coffee structure. CO2 released during an espresso shot could end up in the cup, perhaps as carbonic acid.
My untrained palate can conflate acidity with sourness, especially when other flavors are present, so I wouldn't counter assertions that what I'm actually detecting is excessive acidity. This article describes a link between carbonation and our sour taste receptors:
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-re ... tion-taste
This shouldn't be a problem for a well-rested batch of roasted coffee, but sometimes my small-batch roaster gets me in trouble, and I need a way to mitigate it.
My untrained palate can conflate acidity with sourness, especially when other flavors are present, so I wouldn't counter assertions that what I'm actually detecting is excessive acidity. This article describes a link between carbonation and our sour taste receptors:
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-re ... tion-taste
This shouldn't be a problem for a well-rested batch of roasted coffee, but sometimes my small-batch roaster gets me in trouble, and I need a way to mitigate it.
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erik82
Yes degassing is really fast when coffee is ground. But too much CO2 can disrupt the flow and cause channeling creating underextraction which increases acidity. So for really acidic coffees being too fresh that can be the thing you're noticing here. On the other hand I've always found that too fresh coffee has muted flavours and thus less acidity because of that so that's the other side. Still not sure what you're experiencing here but it's nice to hear what others have to say and learn some more.
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cafeIKE
Yup. 'sperimented with that in the last century...HB wrote:I've noticed that a few minute delay after locking in the portafilter before starting the extraction dries out the puck and leads to an excessively fast pour. But don't take my word for it, try it and let me know if you see the same effect.
Ian's Coffee Stuff
http://www.ieLogical.com/coffee
http://www.ieLogical.com/coffee
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Pflunz
I let the freshly grounded grounded coffee sit for one or two minutes to make it easier to get easier all grounds out of the beverage.
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