Minore (aka Brewtus)

Mad_Barun

Brought the Expobar Minore (brewtus)

You guess it, love it!! I've matched it with a heavenly Black Mini Mazzer
Every espresso I make, I'm starting at 88' move up untill I'll hit that sweet spot ;D (which has been different for different beans)
I 'm getting a wet puck? ???, dosn't seam to matter how much I dose it or the grind setting @ the right expression rate, thoughts?
I've Cut a naked P/F handle, by the way does a naked expression take less time than a normal handle, I'm doing the same things to both, getting 25-30 with a normal and 18-23sec with a naked? in the cup seams fine

had it a week gone through 3.25kg of coffe heart pounding all the time,I'm starting to slow down

Thanks to everyone for your your help making my choice

Cheers
Mark

mattyj

awesome! but shut up ... you're making me envious! When you say 'wet puck', do you mean there's a bit of water on top of the puck, or the puck is soggy and sludgy when you knock it out? If there's a bit of water on top - it happens. You can try dosing more - but don't go too high otherwise you won't be able to lock the portafilter in. If it's soggy and sloopy, like coffee mud ... meltdown!!! Dose higher, grind finer, tamp harder! Basically, in the first week or two of owning my expobar (not the minore, unfortunately) I tried getting a whole range of extractions - from blonde gushers that produce a 100ml double in 10 seconds, down to choking the mahcine so that nothing comes out for about 40 seconds. That taught me a lot - especially how small adjustments on the mazzer can make a huge difference to a shot!

nunu

I agree with Mattyj on the Mazzer. However, yesterday I was humbled by the atmospheric conditions. Didn't think anything of it when I ground some beans for a cup. I've dialed in the grinder for these beans over the last couple days. I though ok, I'm indoors, no big deal. Same tamp, grind size, and dose. No coffee...Completely choked off the machine. I smacked myself in the head. Completely forgot about humidity. I didn't think it would be that much of an issue, and boy was I wrong. Turned the Mazzer down one "notch" and instant results.

mattyj

Schomer tells a story about a coffee cart he was running near the beach once - they'd been working for a few hours, and had found a really nice grind setting - getting some really nice shots. He was grinding a shot when a gust wind blew up from the ocean, kinda picked up all of a sudden. What was a near-perfect grind preceeded to choke a 2 group commercial machine! It also explains why one day I was getting great shots, and the next day they all sucked, and the day after (now today) I'm getting good shots again! Oh, for a perfectly controllably humidity!!!

john_2

Mark Do you know if your Minore was bench tested prior to delivery?????? John

Mad_Barun

Guys I know expobar in MEL did some work, because there are only two water lines from the water tank to the pump (three in US), power changed, I think the heating emelents aswell

mattyj

As far as I know, J & M Slade (the importers in melbourne) do a pre sale service ... or at least they did on mine - I mentioned a few things to Forsyths' - where I got my expobar - and they obviously spoke to Slade about it ... just the pressurestat thing to shorten the cooling flushes etc. But also, when I picked mine up from Forsyths, it was on the bench, turned on. We brewed a few shots before packing it up, which I really appreciated!

Mad_Barun

I spoke to Rob forsyths, He sold me on the Minore Sounds like a great guy John Doyle's (aka pinot) fantastic book

john_2

Mark Thanks for the plug on my book, Barista Techniques. On the water on the puck: 1. Flush the group head before inserting the packed group handle. 2. Make sure that the filter basket is dry before dosing. 3. Try courser grind instead of finer grind. Always adjust the grinder in small increments at a time. 4. After dosing and tamping, insert the group handle, and then take it out again. See if there is a light impression of the shower screen on the dry packed coffee. If there is no impression then you might need to use more coffee. If the packed coffee is cracked then you have toooo much coffee in the basket. 5. Try another coffee blend. John

mattyj

I brought an 16 gram basket (didn't like the expobar one), Matt where did you get your 18gram basket (what part number)

I bought a double basket from allpress espresso - I just rang and asked about double baskets (they sell La Marzocco machines, and the LM baskets are shaped a bit differently to a normal double basket). I can actually get about 20-21g in them.

Mad_Barun

Thanks for that Matt Why does humidity make a difference, to the grind if its in a bean form?? coffeeon Mark

BeanCounter

Thanks for that Matt Why does humidity make a difference, to the grind if its in a bean form?? coffeeon Mark

Mark, Coffee is hydroscopic meaning it absorbs moisture from the atmosphere. Changes in humidity affect the moisture content and density of the bean and impact on the required grind. Regards, Gary