When did this espresso extraction go blond? [another video]

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dsc
Posts: 1166
Joined: 17 years ago

#1: Post by dsc »

Hi everyone,

I'm struggling to get decent volume out of my double basket pretty much every time, so today I thought I would make a short clip and post it here to see when it actually went blond. Below are some details of the shot itself:

- dose would be somewhere around 14-15g, probably near the lower value

- modified WDT was used to get rid of clumps and BBQ was used to break bigger clumps during grinding

- light tamp with my fingers only, a force-less twist and lock

- a bit high temperature-wise as I wasted some time to turn on the camera. Indicator showed 96*C on the group (hex nut) which would mean somewhere around 94*C on the puck. Around 93.5*C on the group after the hump (so around 91*C on the puck for most of the extraction)

- I know that the shot was longer then it should be and it's a bit fast (although the beginning looks quite good), but it still only gave around 40ml in the cup. If I try grinding coarser it blonds even faster, if I grind finer it takes more time to produce a stream, but it still blonds pretty quickly, so in the end I get less than 50ml anyway (even though I can drag it a bit longer it pours slower).

- machine: Andreja Premium, grinder: Macap MC-4 Electronic (with a DIYed grinder controller and hopper half full of beans)

- coffee: a couple of days old (around a week) Brazil Fazenda Rodomunho. In the cup the coffee is usually quite fruity, a bit acidic with a smooth after taste and a bit of vanilla. Medium body I would say, but it really depends whether it's a tight ristretto (30ml from a double) or a longer one. The shot from the video was quite harsh and bitter as it was overextracted.

«missing video»

Any ideas what to do to get longer shots that don't blond so fast?

Regards,
dsc.

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TimEggers
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#2: Post by TimEggers »

Hi Tom,

Is this the only coffee you've tried recently? I'm curious if a different bean/blend would help. Also the bitterness was most likely due to the high temperature as you noted.

Really though the shot looks okay. I would maybe try a slightly higher dose and see if that improves the taste for you. If you dose too much more you may need to grind a little larger.

I hope others will chime in here and you keep us posted, best of luck.
Tim Eggers

LMWDP #202

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dsc (original poster)
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#3: Post by dsc (original poster) »

Hi Tim,

I've tried various things with this coffee and it pretty much looks the same everytime, even pour, centered cone and pretty fast blonding. I guess that's how the coffee behaves and there's nothing I can change about it, without drastically altering the ritual (a lot more coffee in the basket, heavy tamping). The only thing that kind of slowed down the blonding (without changing the grinder setting) was nutatting motion which forces me to think that water likes to run close to the sides of the basket (even though I get no donut extractions).

Will try a different SO this week and I will switch to some espresso blends, simply to compare and see what happens.

Regards,
Tom

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TimEggers
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#4: Post by TimEggers »

Tom have you tried to adjust the grind a bit finer?
Tim Eggers

LMWDP #202

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dsc (original poster)
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#5: Post by dsc (original poster) »

Hi Tim,

yup I did that and slighlty altered the ammount of coffee in the basket to compensate for the finer grind. It did not change a lot and when I tried it with the previous ammount it simply was slower so that I got even less coffee in the cup.

I will try to do a small experiment today and try various grind settings/coffee ammount (grinder timer setting), maybe I will hit the spot with one (taste-wise).

Regards,
dsc.

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Elbasso
Posts: 78
Joined: 16 years ago

#6: Post by Elbasso »

Hi dsc,

I am struggling with the same short shots. I've also tried all of the above to improve shot length but to no avail. I've even changed my grinder blades and pump pressure. Have you managed to find a way to squeeze more volume into the cup?

Cheers,

Bas
Creativity is the sudden cessation of stupidity.

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dsc (original poster)
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#7: Post by dsc (original poster) »

Hi Bas,

looking at the extraction now I don't think there's anything very wrong with it. I agree that the stream could be a bit more stable, but other than that it's actually quite good (ie. looks good as I don't remember how it tasted).

Comparing it to the Elektra I have now I have to say that this video shows that the bead-stream transition is quite fast, even though the shot started very slowly. I'm sure this is due to preinfusion which on the Andreja lasts for around 6s and is under higher pressure than on my Elektra (only 3 sec and 0.5bar of presure). Still I agree that it was hard to get volumes higher than 40-50ml from a double even when packing 16-17g in the basket. The shots would normally blond suddenly near the end, giving a rather harsh cup.

Maybe other Andreja owners can add something here.

Regards,
dsc.

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Phaelon56
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#8: Post by Phaelon56 »

Lately I've been playing with some Brazil Fazenda Cachoeira Screen Dried Yellow Bourbon acquired from Ecco Caffe. During a period of a several weeks when I was working alternately with Black Cat, Daterra Reserve, Vivace's Vita and Dolce blends and some Stumptown Hairbender .... I tried the Fazenda Cachoeira and had shots that blonded early and had a more crema. They weren't bitter but the shot pulling characteristics were radically different than the blends I was using and the flavor was fruity but somewhat muted. I tried adding 25% Ethiopian Limu to the Brazil and saw a significant improvement.

I'm not sure if your Brazil is similar to mine but they're both naturals and I suspect they work better as a base than as SO shots.