Quick Mill Achille 0996

galumay

As an experiment I just tried using the same grind setting as I have dialled in for the Izzo, and then tamped really gently with an upside down plastic beaker that was too small for the PF, basically just flattening the surface of the grinds, it did drip a bit in pre infusion and the shot was slightly fast, still very drinkable and flavoursome. Thats by comparison with my usual tamp with a 20lb tamp on my adjustable tamper which is a perfect fit. It reinforces my belief that the grind is far more important than the tamp.

Kelsey

All other things being equal, I'd say you're right. But each element is its own variable - mess with one and you can balance it out with another. Lacehim's vario is grinding extremely finely and the beans are bang on - 5 days post roast. But those shots were definitely gushers - I'm positive it was the dose and tamp that made the difference as there were no drops during pre-infusion on the good shots. Manual pressure profiling may have assisted, but in this case the tamp seemed to be the deciding factor!

Paolo5

I reckon that if you were getting gushers with a really fine grind then you were also getting channeling....

Kelsey

It's possible, but we couldn't detect it. It'll just come down to time practice, it's a stunning machine. That lever requires a bit of force until you're used to it enough to know what to expect.

GaryatGala

My mouth is salivating and my eyes are popping out like bugs bunny. 😛 In the grips of envy..looks really nice there in the pics and i'm sure it looks purrty in the flesh.

Kelsey

It does. Not as big as I expected, but still plenty big enough. There's a definite appeal to the lever, particularly knowing you have a certain amount of control over the shot. Didn't get to try the Fellini however. 😉

Lacehim

Kelsey wrote:

Didn't get to try the Fellini however. 😉

??? Maybe when we've mastered a decent shot of coffee I'll let you Fellini. It would just add far too many issues.

galumay

Fellini is pointless with a commercial lever, its only necessary with manual levers IMO. I use it on the Caravel, never on the Izzo.

galumay

Kelsey wrote:

All other things being equal, I'd say you're right. But each element is its own variable - mess with one and you can balance it out with another. Lacehim's vario is grinding extremely finely and the beans are bang on - 5 days post roast. But those shots were definitely gushers - I'm positive it was the dose and tamp that made the difference as there were no drops during pre-infusion on the good shots. Manual pressure profiling may have assisted, but in this case the tamp seemed to be the deciding factor!

Sorry, but i really doubt that the tamping would make that much difference, the dose yes, if there is more than 1/2g variation then you will see the effect, but gushers if the grind is right and the coffee is fresh, its either dose or channelling in my experience. Its really a matter of starting with consistent process, weighed dose, consistent grind, consistent tamp and then make changes in one thing at a time. Personally i would recommend trying a smaller dose once Lacehim has scales too, my experience is Levers dont like overdosing, and 14g is always a good starting point.

Lwowiak

Lacehim, congratulations on the purchase of your machine, and welcome to the Proper Lever Club. :thumb: Your issues are being caused by channeling. Try: Tap the portafilter halfway through the grinding process and again when you finish. Try and keep the dose to 16g, or less if the grind is coarse. Use a paper clip or needle and do the WDT. (My M4D clumps - but I am on the canals on the GC and have high humidity). After doing the WDT, tap again and level using a plastic knife. You cannot fill the basket level, as this results in a dose of about 18g, and the machine will not like it. You should be underfilling the basket. Using the plastic knife is a cheap version of Scottie's dosing tools. Tamp firmly to compress. This should get all the fines to the bottom and help form a solid puck. This is needed when grinding so fine. Distribution is very important until you get your technique spot on. The above is just something I tried and is more to combat the high humidity. If I do not do WDT, I will get a bad pour, especially if the weather is humid. The other issue could be the roast level of your coffee. I roasted eight different coffees and did a heap of experimentation with blends. I found that Sumatran and Yemen that were roasted darker, resulted in very quick pours, and needed a very fine grind and higher dose. They were brittle and light to the touch, with low moisture after roasting. Other beans like Brazil, Peru, Costa Rica that were roasted just into second crack, did not need as fine a grind and yielded lovely pours. They seemed to contain more moisture in the roasted bean (or should I say density?) This applies to beans roasted on the baby roaster, as commercially roasted coffee beans always feel lighter and drier (excuse my terminology); and need a different approach. Think outside the square and experiment. Do not get discouraged, follow the simple rules of espresso making, and you will find the sweet spot. If still frustrated, dose 16.5g, then 17g, 17.5g etc, until you choke the machine. Increase the grind, and reduce the dose accordingly, until you get a good pour. Using a triple basket is even more fun :tearhair: 5kg of mycuppas "experimental Joper" roasts would come in handy to get the mechanics of the pour correct. 😉 :stir

Kelsey

galumay wrote:

Sorry, but i really doubt that the tamping would make that much difference, the dose yes, if there is more than 1/2g variation then you will see the effect, but gushers if the grind is right and the coffee is fresh, its either dose or channelling in my experience. Its really a matter of starting with consistent process, weighed dose, consistent grind, consistent tamp and then make changes in one thing at a time. Personally i would recommend trying a smaller dose once Lacehim has scales too, my experience is Levers dont like overdosing, and 14g is always a good starting point.

You're probably right - but my own process is currently smooth, easy and I get consistently top notch results in the cup from my home setup - just ask Lacehim! So I can happily state that you're probably right because I don't seem to experience those problems much. I put it down to luck, a forgiving machine and my VST baskets.

Koffee_Kosmo

As a help I describe my dose technique Grind is finer that a pump style machine I dose 1 third of the basket and then tap the PF on a rubber mat to settle Dose again to 2 thirds of the basket and tap the PF again for a second settle Dose again to correct level by eye ( practice will give you a sixth sense ) Its important to tamp level - I repeat - its important to tamp level Tamp to correct depth level so its just under the water screen when PF is locked in That's about it and I always get great great pours See my videos on the Strega KK

dpiette

Hi Folks! I picked up an Achille back in June. (I am the "good looking" guy in the videos. Sorry about that) I have been corresponding with Michael and Paul (Paolo) over the past couple of weeks. I was using a Quick Mill Andreja Premium prior to the Achille. I had to loosen the grind a bit (I am using a Mahlkoning Pro-M grinder) to get a 25-30 second pour. I don't have any special tamping technique (grind, level tamp with a convex Reg Barber, lock and pull) and the only time I saw coffee coming through on the pre-fusion was the first time I used a bottomless portafilter. I have posted many movies and photos, some linked to here. That is the engineer in me coming out. I figure if I document my efforts, I can get better at it. I have linked to much of these over at HomeBarista. The chopped portafilter (mine is actually a chopped Astoria pf from 1st line in the us) helps you refine your tamping and distribution technique. It made me go back to the convex tamper from a flat (with ripple!) brass tamper. (too bad, too. The brass tamper was much better looking) Regarding the machine itself - mine looks a bit different than the ones that Paul and Michael are using, but I think that is mainly cosmetic. (cup warmer is different. Badging is different) Internally, I am pretty sure that mine in NOT a heat-exchanger machine, but the ones delivered to Oz are HX machines. But I cannot verify that. My pump is very quiet, I am not sure why the ones down there would be louder. Coriolis effect? I am thinking about plumbing my machine in as a part of a kitchen renovation. But the flexibility of the pour-over is hard to beat. It was great to see the photos pasted here. (I lived in Singapore for a couple of years, and visited Australia for business and work many times. Y'all have great beer down there, in addition to great coffee. I can't say I wasn't surprised the first time I heard someone order a "flat black", however)

BLrdFX

This 0996 does not appear to be sold in the USA, yet. Maybe I missed it somewhere, any thoughts? The 0996 does not appear to deflect the mounting panel when the lever is pulled and that really gets my attention. When things move that should not move it means that something is going to fail in the future.

Kelsey

Koffee Kosmo wrote:

As a help I describe my dose technique Grind is finer that a pump style machine I dose 1 third of the basket and then tap the PF on a rubber mat to settle Dose again to 2 thirds of the basket and tap the PF again for a second settle Dose again to correct level by eye ( practice will give you a sixth sense ) Its important to tamp level - I repeat - its important to tamp level Tamp to correct depth level so its just under the water screen when PF is locked in That's about it and I always get great great pours See my videos on the Strega KK

That matches (albeit accidentally) my first attempt - I didn't realise Lacehim had the Vario on a timer. I'm also particular about making sure my tamp is level.

SniffCoffee

I've got one of these sitting in my laundry waiting to be unpacked today... They aren't HX machines are they though? (as suggested by dpiette) They're like the Lusso, fed directly from the boiler and with a thermosiphon. Part of the attraction of the machine was that I wouldn't have to do cooling flushes...hopefully Paolo or Lacehim can confirm? James/Sniff

Paolo5

Well congratulations Sniff! It has later been confirmed by Dan (dpiette) and a few other sources that they are indeed thermosiphon machines. I have had my machine for just over a fortnight and haven't needed to (or felt the need to) do any sort of flush. It would, however, be interesting to run a Scace device under one to see what walk-up temps are delivered at any given time. It would also be interesting to know what temperature variance this grouphead delivers within the one shot. I have 2 of the lower range temperature strips on my Achille's massive group...one high and one low. I have had my machine going for up to 6 hours at a time and the strips do not alter much. They certainly do not creep up higher the longer the machine is turned on. Let us know how it all goes. Be prepared for (perhaps) a bit of a learning curve with basket preparation, levelling and tamping in order to achieve gold.

dpiette

The machine I bought was sent to a distributor in the US as a test machine. They will start selling them from their shop at the end of the November. They (Chris Coffee) said that the machines they will be selling will be HX machines, which is why I was speculating that the ones distributed in Australia may be the same. Paul (Paolo) would have a better idea that I do. They did say that my machine is NOT an HX machine. I don't do a cooling flush, but a quick cleaning flush between shots. As to the flex, well, you can see in the videos that it does move a bit. I don't think it is significant (only elastic deformation) but time will tell, I suppose. I will take a closer video if anyone is interested. The thing takes a lot of force. DON'T try to pull the lever down without coffee loaded unless you have a firm grip on the lever. Those two springs take a lot to get compressed.

SniffCoffee

Hmmmm.... If they were HX machines, presumably the pump activates every time you pull the lever down to the bottom to pump water from the tank through the heat exchanger...is this the case? If so, then I would agree it is an HX machine. This is how the Strega operates. Or does the pump only activate every now and then? In which case it is just topping up the boiler...I might ring Jack to confirm James

galumay

Koffee Kosmo wrote:

Tamp to correct depth level so its just under the water screen when PF is locked in

The distance from screen to puck is irrelevant in a lever machine, the obsession with trying to set the puck as high as possible in relation to the screen (5c techniques etc) is a reflection of the problem of having a pump driven machine, the puck gets disturbed by the instant stream of high pressure water hitting it as the pump comes on, with a lever machine the gentle introduction of low pressure water by pre-infusion ensures that the puck remains undisturbed. With my Izzo the tamped puck is probably 20mm below the shower screen using a dose of 14g - if I were to fill the PF and bring the puck up to the screen I would be massively overdosing and the quality of the coffee would suffer as a result.

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