Help diagnose this shot?

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matthewh133
Posts: 39
Joined: 2 years ago

#1: Post by matthewh133 »

Recently got a new bottomless portafilter so I can see my shots and I pulled this shot this morning. 18g in, 36g out, 35 seconds with an IPS 18g basket. Lelit Mara X and the JE-Plus grinder (waiting on Niche to arrive). I used the grinder, a WDT tool, and then tamped. Using an espresso blend from Sisters Coffee in Oregon.

Any recommendations? I noticed a lot of the bottom of the basket had nothing coming out of it, which looked different to the videos I see on here. What is typically the cause of this, and is there any other tips you have for me?

EDIT: Forgot to mention it has the Flow Paddle upgrade, but I don't currently use it and have it left at fully open.

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cafeIKE
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Joined: 18 years ago

#2: Post by cafeIKE »

The puck is channeling very badly.

Likely too much coffee and grind too coarse.

matthewh133 (original poster)
Posts: 39
Joined: 2 years ago

#3: Post by matthewh133 (original poster) replying to cafeIKE »

Thanks for the insight. When you say too much coffee, I used 18g for an 18g basket. Is this not correct? I'll try grind finer, though I was getting 36g out from 18g, in 30ish seconds. I thought this was about the spot to be aiming for? Or should it be 10 seconds longer because the preinfusion takes that long and I shouldn't count those seconds?

oliccino
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Joined: 3 years ago

#4: Post by oliccino »

Time doesn't matter if it's channeling which it is.

Can u elaborate further info on: roast date, puck preparation and how the puck looks afterwards?

matthewh133 (original poster)
Posts: 39
Joined: 2 years ago

#5: Post by matthewh133 (original poster) replying to oliccino »

January 10th roast date. Puck prep was 18g ground through the JE-Plus, put into portafilter (put portafilter on top of grind container and flip 180), WDT tool to even top portion of grounds, used a distributor, then tamped. Below is a picture of the puck I just dug out of the garbage, dried now obviously.


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Mad Scientist
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#6: Post by Mad Scientist »

matthewh133 wrote:...WDT tool to even top portion of grounds...
I would say to WDT the entire basket. Start at the bottom in circular motion, then raise it up a little for the middle section and finish near the top


Grounds dumped into basket from my Kinu M47 catch cup.


WDT tool, start at bottom, (also called deep WDT).


I level the top with a needle.


After leveling.


Tapped down on the work surface (before tamping).


Tamped.
“You haven't lived until you've lived with a cat.” Doris Day

Bluenoser
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#7: Post by Bluenoser »

^^. +1 .. when I switched to a VST basket, I got a lot of dead spots like in your shot video.. Doing much better WDT fixed most of my issues. The posts above is how I fixed my extraction.

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cafeIKE
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#8: Post by cafeIKE »

matthewh133 wrote:I used 18g for an 18g basket
Utterly meaningless. Dose is machine and coffee specific.

IMO, roasters who put such nonsense on their bags and websites do a great disservice to the community. :twisted:

I'm trying a new machine by the same manufacturer. Same pressure. Same portafilter, basket, coffee, grinder.
Screen is very close to same height, but I have to dose ¾g less to get the same shot vol/time.
It is a different brew and I will need to adjust parameters accordingly.

SOP here with a new coffee is brew temp 195°F, dose 17g, about 15 on MY Niche in an "18g" IMS basket.

Depending how much of an outlier the coffee is, it could take a full pound to achieve an enjoyable cup.
And several different baskets ranging from 14 to 21g!!!.

IMO, layered WDT is a WOT. Spread the coffee, WDT if nec, tamp, brew.

oliccino
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#9: Post by oliccino »

matthewh133 wrote:January 10th roast date. Puck prep was 18g ground through the JE-Plus, put into portafilter (put portafilter on top of grind container and flip 180), WDT tool to even top portion of grounds, used a distributor, then tamped. Below is a picture of the puck I just dug out of the garbage, dried now obviously.

Puck looks great imo. Watching the video back I would say it's blonding very early, but apart from that it doesn't look too bad. It's not splurting at all. I personally would increase dose and grind a little coarser. Another thing is that some beans are just not very fotogenic. I got a Arabia robusta 80/20 mix once that was just a beauty to watch. But taste was not great.

matthewh133 (original poster)
Posts: 39
Joined: 2 years ago

#10: Post by matthewh133 (original poster) »

Appreciate the assistance everyone. One thing I hadn't mentioned in the OP is that my Mara X came installed with the flow paddle upgrade. Right now I have it fully open and just leave it there as I'm still new to this and don't want to introduce more variables. Is having this fully open something that could be causing this issue?

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