Ponte Vecchio Lusso - advice please?

Moon

Sixty West beans weren't pouring well using my current grinder setting .. so I have bean adjusting it .. and finding that it either poured too slowly .. or too quickly .. so I've bean trying both a polish only and a light tamp to get it right. I think I may have finally cracked it with the setting .. after reverting back to a light tamp. Since I've received my digital scales, I have been weighing the shot .. as galumay suggested a while back. This has proved very difficult on my lever machine .. as it often takes a 2nd lever extraction to reach shot volume. As the 2nd extraction pours much more quickly .. the digital scales go haywire trying to keep up with the weight changes .. making it unreadable. It becomes a guessing game .. which is much the same as my previous method of guessing the shot by eye, and taking a stab at what all the crema will settle down to in the cup. It's kinda nice when you don't have to worry about all this stuff .. and just pull a shot .. steam the milk, drink it .. and think to yourself .... gee, that is a really yummy coffee. I've been living and preaching 'keep it simple' of late .. in all areas except coffee making .. and it has been working out well. It's all about to get complicated .. as I will have to go about rating Sixty West's 5 different coffee blends shortly. I had my fresh celery and carrot juice yesterday .. in preparation for the taste tests . so my kidneys are all flushed out .. and taste buds ready to go. :thumb: ps. I should be doing the celery & carrot over 2 days .. to do it properly, only 2 days is a bit of a stretch to go without a coffee. I know the folk on a coffee forum can understand this.

Moon

After spending the past week getting the grind setting right for the new batch of beans from Sixty West .. I figured it was time to get on with the reviews. My first impressions haven't bean that flash .. and wasn't sure whether the coffee was going to be up to standard to match it with the big boys (& girls) in a smackdown. Was thinking during the past week that these beans may score around the 9/10 mark at best.. which isn't that shabby anyway. 9s are very enjoyable high quality coffees. Well .. I was pleasantly surprised .. and pleased that I have finally managed to get the settings right to do justice to the offerings from Elvin at Sixty West over at St Albans, in the western suburbs of Melbourne. The photos didn't turn out that great .. so I will catch up with better ones at a later date. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Most Wanted blend - by Sixty West Although Elvin said that best results were achieved with a 30ml pour in 27-32 secs .. I've decided to stick with my preferred shot volume of 20ml in 20 secs (1st extraction) +3-5 secs for the 2nd.. which is about right, considering the shot volume is less. Roast date - 24th April - Day 22 (3 weeks+) Pour - 23 secs for 20ml. Tamp - Light/medium (more on the lighter side) Dose - 16.5g Rating - 9.2/10 Good crema Wasn't expecting a result this good - based on previous coffees made with this blend over the past week. Certainly pays to be patient with getting the process right. An excellent coffee which puts the 'Most Wanted' blend right up there with the elite 9.2/10 group .. and worthy of being included in a future smackdown with the best of 'em. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Next on the agenda -- Gunslinger - which is described as a stronger blend. *Had an interesting latte down on the banks of the Yarra the other day .. which was recommended. I was in Degraves street .. which is the coffee hub in the city of Melb .. and seeing there were so many Cafes to choose from .. decided to ask a guy walking along with a coffee in hand .. which Cafe has the best coffee around here? He pointed one out and said that one is ok .. when I replied .. I'm looking for better than 'ok' .. when he said, well, my favorite is down by the Yarra. Yep .. that sounds good to me .. and thanked him after giving me directions. Ended up being 'Genovese' brand from Coburg/Melb -- It was their signature 'Super Brazil' blend $40/kilo. Will have to pick some up and give them a try on my PV Lusso. Another candidate for a smackdown. Very yummy.. so much so .. I had 2 of them .. both double-shots in a std cup. Would've preferred a mug .. only it was a one size suits all. I remember asking a d00d in a Cafe in Brunswick street .. magnificent coffee .. why he didn't have coffee in mugs? He said .. with a smile - we're about 'quality' not 'quantity' ...... hmmm .. fair call. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I've got heaps of beans to get through over the next month or so .. meaning I won't be purchasing any more for the next smackdown anytime soon. Patience Grasshoppers 8)

Moon

Sixty West - Fair Trade Organic blend Roast date - 3rd May (2 weeks) Lots of crema .. and when poring the milk in .. could just tell that this was going to be good. Dose - 17g Tamp - light/medium Pour - 30 secs (1st) + 10s = 35 secs for 20ml. Drippy start .. then continuous pour. Rating - 9.3/10 Considered 9.25 .. then thought, nah .. this is an absolutely beautiful cup of coffee. i've been using Coles full-cream milk .. but adding Woolies Macro organic full-cream (70/30) to add a little richness. I've avoided 'organic' beans in the past .. due to ordinary results using an inferior machine. This blend has certainly restored my faith. Will have to back up this beauty with another cup a little later to see if I get the same result? It's a 'yum' from me. :thumb:

Moon

Sixty West - Fair Trade Organic Roast date - 3rd May (2 weeks) Dose - 17g Pour - Ample crema .. 25 secs + 5 = 30 secs for 22ml. Tamp - light/medium Rating - 9.3/10 Could have been even slightly better than the last .. this is a super blend, and deservedly up with the best I've had. Very impressive. It's no wonder Elvin was confident about their coffee beans. Yeah baby! ;D

Brett_H

Wow, there are some fine coffees being had at your place!!!

Moon

Brett H wrote:

Wow, there are some fine coffees being had at your place!!!

The Ponte Vecchio Lusso is certainly cranking out some beauties.. 😉 Initial impressions weren't that favorable for the first 2 Sixty West blends I tried .. and has taken a while to dial-in .. only it seems pretty spot on now. There are still 2 500g bags I haven't opened yet - due to resting. I'm hoping 'Gunslinger' will rise to the occasion .. as up until now .. it has fallen a little short, although I'm expecting that the new setting will suit it better .. and will give it a run tomorrow. The two I have yet to open are 'The Sheriff & 'The Chief' Gotta love the theme these blokes have got going.. and looks like their beans have the firepower to match. Scoring a 9.2 for one blend .. and a 9.3 for the other .. is a pretty impressive start to their range. I think the beans having rested for at least 2 weeks has helped. The next lot - including that Genovese 'Super Brazil' and some from St Ali in South Melbourne will keep the excitement going. I'm very happy with the bean options I have discovered already .. which guarantees the coffee journey into the future .. will be an enjoyable one. :thumb: With all those excellent beans out there ready for consumption .. it is no wonder getting a roaster to roast up my own green beans has bean put on the back burner .. for now. :coffee2:

Brett_H

Certainly I can appreciate why you've not gone the home-roast route. Even as a home roaster I try to buy roasted beans at least four times a year to measure my own efforts and to experience new tastes and styles.

Moon

Sixty West - The Sheriff Roast date - 5th May (12 days) Dose - 16.5g Tamp - light/medium Pour - 20 + 5 secs = 25 secs for 20ml Rating - 9.25/10 Although there isn't anything exotic in the flavour of this blend .. I bumped the rating up a tad because this is exactly what I always imagined a good quality coffee should taste like. There's no chocolate, honey or passionfruit flavours happening in this brew, although perhaps a slightly longer pour time may have introduced more layers into the flavour ... only it is just fine the way it presented this time around. A very very good clean distinctive full coffee flavour. It is quite different to the last organic blend I tried earlier .. which had a smoother . sweeter . caramel flavour. The boys at Sixty West appear to be catering very well to my personal taste in coffee. Yep .. another winner :thumb:

Moon

Sixty West - The Chief Dose - 17g Tamp - light/Medium Pour - 20 + 5 secs = 25 secs for 20ml Rating - 9.27/10 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Gunslinger Dose - 15.7g Tamp - Light/Medium Pour - 25 + 5 secs = 30 secs for 19ml Rating - 9.22/10 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Score card - first round 1. Fair Trade Organic - 9.3/10 2. The Chief - 9.27/10 3. The Sheriff - 9.25/10 4. Gunslinger - 9.22/10 5. Most Wanted - 9.2/10 That's a 5/5 from me. :thumb: All in the 9.2s .. and a 9.3 No kidding .. what an impressive range of blends they are .. with no weak links. I'm looking forward to the follow ups .. lots of excellent coffee drinking there :coffee2: Congrats to Elvin and the lads at Sixty West. Bravo!

Moon

Ground Control - Major Tom Thought I'd try a MT to see how it compared to the recent Sixty West blends. Roast date - 31st April (3 weeks-) Dose - 17g Tamp - light/Medium Pour - 25 + 5 = 30 secs for 20ml. Rating - 9.1/10 Good crema and poured well .. looked nice, only falling off the pace slightly. My guess is that a slightly finer grind is better for these beans .. as it was backed off a tad to better suit the Sixty West beans. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fun fact - i used to prefer drinking my coffee straight after pouring the milk .. while the milk was still aerated .. however, these days - I find that it is better to allow the coffee to settle for up to 5 minutes prior to drinking, which is what I always do when rating a coffee. Perhaps it is like resting meat .. or marinating curry spices - where it allows the freshly extracted coffee flavour time to properly infuse into the milk .. and settle. Fact .. or imagination? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

C-man

speaking of Milk, you might want to try Pauls Farmhouse Gold best one we found so far, light years ahead of Coles full cream could be what you need to break the 9.3 barrier?

Brett_H

5 minutes?? I'd drink it out of the PF if I Didn't keep burning my lips!!

Moon

C-man wrote:

speaking of Milk, you might want to try Pauls Farmhouse Gold best one we found so far, light years ahead of Coles full cream

Paul's Farmhouse (the original blue printed one, not Gold) was my old favorite years ago - and haven't gone back to try it since. Coles stopped supplying Paul's unhomogenized organic full-cream in the 1ltr carton - which was my fav .. but only stock the light now. I then checked to see what Woollies had .. and they introduced their own 'Macro' brand organic full-cream that I currently use in a milk blend. 100% Macro organic is nice .. only a tad too rich. Coles cheapy 70% and Macro 30% is working nicely. Yesterday, I poured in too much Coles and topped up with only about 10% Macro. As I drank the coffee .. I wondered why it didn't taste as nice - :lamp: Excellent idea C-man .. I'll get some next time. :thumb: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Brett H wrote:

5 minutes?? I'd drink it out of the PF if I Didn't keep burning my lips!!

Only for the ratings .. as that's how long it takes to clean the steam wand - roll a gasper .. and get downstairs into the garage. I don't get into that hot burning out my taste buds/lips thing .. and prefer mine around 60 deg. Years ago .. I liked my Indian curries sizzling hot .. I remember being in a Restaurant in Chapel St Prahran with a mate who lived over there. I ordered the Beef Vindaloo .. and they brought me out a mild chicken curry to go with it. Man .. that was the hottest curry ever .. and I loved it. My mate had a taste of my mild chicken curry .. and said .. gee that's hot. I then tried it .. and couldn't taste any heat at all. Naturally .. my taste buds had already been fried.. having screamed out 'crikey .. we're outa here' - well before that stage. For some years now .. I prefer a mild Indian curry, so that I am not overwhelmed by the heat of the chilli .. allowing me to be able to focus on the flavour of the spices. Same goes for my coffees.

C-man

Coles has Pauls Farmhouse gold, here anyway

Moon

C-man wrote:

Coles has Pauls Farmhouse gold, here anyway

I think I've seen it. Will check Woolies if Coles don't stock it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Last 4 coffees All are working with a 16.5g dose The Sheriff Rating - 9.1/10 ------------------------------------------- The Chief Rating - 9.25/10 ------------------------------------------- Major Tom Pour - 25 secs for 20ml Rating - 9.32/10 ------------------------------------------- Fair Trade Organic Pour - 20 secs for 20ml Rating - 9.3/10 Majot Tom had slightly better flavour .. but FT Organic was like drinking silk .. smooth as. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Last 2 using 16.5g dose has only required a single lever extraction .. ideal. Pull down lever .. hold for 8 secs .. slowly allow lever to raise until 1st drops .. pull down .. release until horizontal .. pull down again .. slowly release to horizontal position.. let go of lever. Allow to raise completely .. 20-25 secs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS FLASH Sending Brett a sample of each of the Sixty West blends (except possibly Fair Trade Organic) but adding star performer -- Major Tom - so that Brett can offer a second opinion .. with a different review and rating. Exciting stuff! They should arrive later next week. :coffee2: Go Brettmate <-- Givem your best shot. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Brett_H

Cheers Mooney!! I'm looking forward to them and looking forward to returning the favour! I'll extract on both the Double Boiler and the Pavoni and give you my scores for both.

Moon

Brett H wrote:

Cheers Mooney!! I'm looking forward to them and looking forward to returning the favour! I'll extract on both the Double Boiler and the Pavoni and give you my scores for both.

I'm looking forward to it as well. Will be interesting to hear how they go on a different lever .. I was seriously considering the Pavoni .. and came close to getting one. I was also also looking at the Diadema Junior .. so to cut to the chase here .. the beans .. and ratings better not be better on either of those 2 machines .. or 😢 <-- this will happen. Nah .. if I can crank out 9.2/10 coffees - or better with my Lusso .. which I am doing regularly .. I'm more than happy.

Brett_H

The Pavoni is finicky and idiosyncratic... A lot less so than the Lusso... Well, Lacheim's Lusso was when I saw him demo it. The Diadema is a dream but overkill if you're in the 9's and you don't need to make 8 cup-of chinos. I reckon your equipment choice for your needs is right in the (high end) best for dollar spent sweet spot frankly. When I pull a 9.96 with your beans though we may need to talk further.... :stir

C-man

My money is on the Brettman ----------go Brett..... Wollies does not carry Pauls farmhouse gold Coles does

Moon

Brett H wrote:

I reckon your equipment choice for your needs is right in the (high end) best for dollar spent sweet spot frankly.

I reckon so too .. especially when considering not long before that .. I thought purchasing a Rancilio Silvia and a Rocky grinder was the ultimate. :rofl: I had bean drooling at the thought of eventually getting that combo for years .. until I came onto Crema, HB & CS forums .. to read the reviews and look at other options. Lacehim's posts had a huge influence on being interested in the Ponte Vecchio lever machine. After having decided on the PV Lusso lever for a while .. I almost went for the Bezeera PID model .. only the lady at the shop in Italy where I had made an enquiry on purchasing a Lusso .. emailed me back at the last moment to confirm whether I still wanted a PV Lusso.. as the factory now had a red one available. I said yes. Leapfrogging over the Silvia/Rocky combo .. and stretching my budget to purchase the PV Lusso and Compak grinder .. ended up being a masterstroke .. when looking back over the journey. I used to drool at Jack from Sorrentinos photos on the forums showing his stunning pours full of crema from his Lusso .. using a naked Portafilter. It was the stuff of dreams back then .. and the amazing part .. is that it was only 6 months ago. Now I can do that from mine.. and it has become the 'norm' Anyone out there thinking of upgrading from their $500 Gaggia baby and $160 grinder, which is what I had - to a better machine .. and a bit worried about spending over $1.000 .. and another $550 for a good grinder .. then if you enjoy a very good coffee at home whenever you .. family & friends want to have one .. go for it. The return on your initial outlay .. is well worthwhile when you consider the enjoyment you (and others) receive every day for several years... and let's face it, high quality coffee is one of life's essentials. Anyone on this forum disagree? Didn't think so. lol ------------------------------------ Cheers C-man ... for the heads-up on the milk ... not the 'Go Brett' part. 😛

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