cafeIKE wrote:I get really tired of people being told to forget singles and make doubles or that basket A is more forgiving than basket B.
Those statements may be true for a given coffee style [3rd wave ], dose, grinder and machine combination, but certainly are not gospel.

I've been making singles & doubles, with a half dozen different grinders, for as long as I've been making espresso.
Some coffees are more difficult to make singles, but that's a fault of the coffee, not singles per se....]

To clarify, I was referring to the specific single basket that the OP is using; I was not making a sweeping generalization of all single baskets.

Have you used the single basket with that Bezzera part number in a machine with the stock 11-ish bar OPV setting of the OP's machine? Of the dozen-or-so single basket designs that I've used, only the Rancilio shallow-style single is more of a PITA for side-channels, regardless of coffee or roast level.

HB wrote:Did you measure at the brew head? Because from what I've seen, if your espresso machine has a vibratory pump and you're pulling doubles (not ristrettos), it will end up around 9 bar because the brew pressure is inversely proportional to the flow rate. Of course, if it's a rotary pump, that's a completely different story as their output pressure is unaffected at espresso flow rates.

image

Hey wait, we've had this conversation before!

The right pressure when brewing with Bezzera Magica

I'm not surprised, there's a common misconception that you need to tweak the OPV for vibratory pump espresso machines. It's really not necessary unless you're pulling ristrettos or you want to experiment with brew pressures lower than 9 bar. But now that I think about it again, the same would apply for single espresso flow rates, which may explain the comments in the video you posted.

It's rare that me and my partner are home simultaneously which was the main reason I wanted to learn the single basket method.

Thank you for the adjustment video too! I hope to not need it but my latest attempt had me using setting 4 (which is the 4th lowest already). So maybe I just might have to

I am using a dark roast coffee (if I see this correctly) from Café Royal until I have the hang of things I didn't wanna buy anything extremely premium and figured this is a good start.

Thanks for your encouragement.

Hi and thank you very much for this video! I am still frustrated at how difficult it seems to be to get a single cup of espresso but all things considered you guys helped me see the path more clearly ahaha

I have experimented with another setting (see my edit) and gotten a less quick flow but still far from ideal. For future cups I will keep in mind that 11bar is nothing to be afraid of and aim for 10-11bar on the pressure. For reference, knowing that you have a BZ10 too, how fine of a grind do you use on your machine? Whats your extraction time, yield and general goal for your cups?

As others have said, you really should try with a double (say 17-18gm) basket. It is harder to extract well from the small basket. Also, your grinder is likely not able to grind fine enough. You say the pump pressure reaches 9bar quickly and then drops. What does the pressure gauge read when you run the machine against it (rather than against a puck of coffee)? Most pumps don't measure at the brew head, where you get a better idea of extraction pressure. The quick test if your grinder is capable is to grind as fine as possible and try to extract...you should be able to choke the machine and mimic the gauge pressure you get when you use a blind PF to backfush. If not, it's almost always a problem with the grinder.

Hey Pressino

Unfortunately I do not own an external pressure gauge to test the actual pressure of the machine. Using a blind PF, I reach 11 bar on the build in gauge and with my current grind setting I reach 10bar during the extraction time.
I've gone to the 4th lowest grind setting that I can set on my grinder and now reach a(still too high) ratio of 1:6. I will keep lowering the grind size up until the last setting if necessary and will then also see if puck will choke the machine as you mentioned. Will let you know about the results.

Thank you for the feedback:)

ClintFeedwood wrote:I am using a dark roast coffee (if I see this correctly) from Café Royal until I have the hang of things I didn't wanna buy anything extremely premium and figured this is a good start.

It's a broad generalization, but in my experience, dark roasted coffees sold in 1kg bags are unforgiving of any flaw in technique or precision of equipment. While it may seem like a "waste" of coffee, it's much easier to learn with coffee that's freshly roasted (i.e., around 7 to 10 days post roast) versus the types of coffees that have longer shelf life available at the grocery store. A good choice might be the coffee from one of your favorite cafes - with the caveat that they'll probably have commercial equipment that's easier to dial in than your home setup and they go through coffee more quickly.

I'm back to my original bet with modification:

HB wrote:My bet is on stale coffee and a grinder that's not espresso-capable known for handling demanding coffees well.

And, as several other posters have noted, singles are tricker than doubles, especially if you don't adjust the OPV to compensate for the higher brew pressure at single espresso flow rates.

That Café Royale will likely run like water unless ground to Turkish fineness.

Take a day and find all the nearby traditional Italian bars in Zurich. Call them up and ask them what coffee they use and if it is locally roasted. Visit the ones that are locally roasted, have a single, not a ½ double, and if you like it, buy some not more than a week from roast date and not more than you would use a couple of weeks.

Find the grind setting on your equipment that makes the approximate definition:

from Espresso - Wikipedia

Note: Shot definition is Volume, not weight. Use a small shot glass to dial in volume.

If you cannot grind fine enough, try increasing the dose in ½g increments up to 10 or so grams until you get good shots. Ideally you should be about ¼ turn of the movable carrier away from contact to allow sufficient room to adjust for staling and weather changes.

BTW, 11 bar on the gauge is about 9 bar on the puck. I set my machines for 10 bar, which gives ≈8 to 8.5 bar on the puck @ double espresso flow, a bit higher on singles.