My Epiphany....

Cuir Beluga

Okies, I can hear you all laughing now and I haven't started.....

So, my coffee has been all over the place, sometimes good (but I knew it could be better), occasionally brilliant and sometimes out and out crap, that is putting it mildly at times.

Today something clicked and I worked out why. Now I know you will be going wtf and scratching your heads, thinking I am a lost cause and all the rest of it but believe me none of you will make me feel any dumber than I have made myself feel. Now that is out of the way.

I have been treating my 14-15gm basket as a single 7gm basket and pulling a 30ml/30second shot with it.
No doubt this will explain the "bottom heavy" coffees I have been consuming for the last 18 months.
I am now back to dialling in the grinder and hopefully finding the coffee I have been dreaming about.

Don't be too hard on me, it took everything I had to post this  :'(.

Dry_bean.

I'm sitting here trying to work out how to respond in a diplomatic manner. :rofl:

LeroyC

Silence speaks volumes in this case. I'd take it and run CB. ;-P

Cuir Beluga

on 1460280826:

I'm sitting here trying to work out how to respond in a diplomatic manner. :rofl:

Don't bother DB, I am pretty sure that is not an option  ::).

Cuir Beluga

on 1460282925:

Silence speaks volumes in this case. I'd take it and run CB. ;-P

I know, it's not looking good. I am still hanging my head in shame  ???.

Cuir Beluga

You know what is almost as dumb? I weigh the coffee from time to time and knew it held 14 gms but for some reason I just didn't click that 14gm is a double not a single  :-|.

LeroyC

on 1460283078:

I know, it's not looking good. I am still hanging my head in shame  ???.

To be fair, you can actually successfully 'under-dose' baskets. I don't think it's as common these days, but an old method of making a 'single' at cafes used to be to scoop the grinds with the lid off the (Mazzer) doser back into the doser. They'd use the very same basket to make a double by creating a mound of grinds in the PF. 7g in a 14g basket is a bit light on it though.

Cuir Beluga

on 1460283407:

To be fair, you can actually successfully 'under-dose' baskets. I don't think it's as common these days, but an old method of making a 'single' at cafes used to be to scoop the grinds with the lid off the (Mazzer) doser back into the doser. They'd use the very same basket to make a double by creating a mound of grinds in the PF. 7g in a 14g basket is a bit light on it though.

I actually tried that once and got a soggy mess :P. I was putting 14gms into the 14gm basket but then treating it as a single shot so pouring 30ml/30 secs. No wonder it was a bit erm...strong  :o.

Brett H

Risttettissimo  :stir

Cuir Beluga

on 1460284976:

Risttettissimo  :stir

That is it pretty much  :P.

kbilleter

on 1460284809:

I actually tried that once and got a soggy mess :P. I was putting 14gms into the 14gm basket but then treating it as a single shot so pouring 30ml/30 secs. No wonder it was a bit erm...strong  :o.

That's quite a valid choice intentionally though. Actually, I was mucking around with my cheap single boiler yesterday and discovered I can get a really smooth ristretto with 17g in ~20ml out and opening the water dispenser while brewing as a poor man's pressure profiling :-D.  Does affect the temperature a bit too though.

Cuir Beluga

on 1460346019:

That's quite a valid choice intentionally though. Actually, I was mucking around with my cheap single boiler yesterday and discovered I can get a really smooth ristretto with 17g in ~20ml out and opening the water dispenser while brewing as a poor man's pressure profiling :-D.  Does affect the temperature a bit too though.

Well, when you say it like that :D.

askthecoffeeguy

I have a confession to make too - only just finished installing "the beast" my modded rancilio epoca in the new place, have been using my sunbeam cafe series as a 'go to' machine for a couple of months prior to that, and,.along those lines,  ahem... I  still have the double walled pressurized basket in place for the sunbeam - it doesn't appear to impact upon shot quality so I left it in there, despite it really being a 'beginners tool' to aid in crema production!

Brett H

Goes to show you that a first-class pro can get a great coffee out of most things; and, the things you read on the interweb isn't always the whole truth.  Now no pressure Pat but if the Epoca doesn't consistently produce better coffee I'll be forced to moth-ball all my gear in favour of a camp fire, a Billy and a couple of rocks!

Cuir Beluga

on 1460432418:

I have a confession to make too - only just finished installing "the beast" my modded rancilio epoca in the new place, have been using my sunbeam cafe series as a 'go to' machine for a couple of months prior to that, and,.along those lines,  ahem... I  still have the double walled pressurized basket in place for the sunbeam - it doesn't appear to impact upon shot quality so I left it in there, despite it really being a 'beginners tool' to aid in crema production!

It's super easy to muddle things up, all it takes is something to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Well for me anyway :P.

askthecoffeeguy

I consistently get great results from the rancilio and its much  less sensitive to tamp and grind But the cafe series takes a much finer grind for a longer extraction time producing a completely different profile But for ease of use and great milk production (I've got a synesso tip on the end of the steam wand on the rancilio) I'll take the rancilio every time - plus it's much more forgiving over a wider range of conditions AND I've made 100 coffee in an hr using this machine - try doing that with a sunbeam! 

Cuir Beluga

100 coffees in an hour. Wowee  :coffee2:.

Brett H

I'm just doing the math on 100 in an hour and wow!  You must have been flying.  That must surely be the machine's limit.  I know it's got a big boiler and a rotary pump but those are impressive numbers.  I once did 5 coffees in an hour and I needed a little lie down.  Kudos Pat!

Dry_bean.

That's 1 coffee every 36 seconds.

GaryatGala

Did 160 at times an hour but thats with someone on shots and yours truly on milk. Have been called the "milkman" due to my strength on milk production.

askthecoffeeguy

OK mine included hot chocolates as well and was for a find raiser at the kid's school, which I've done a few  times - it's full on and harder than working in a busy cafe! I can do it on my own but I need someone taking orders and handling the money plus you need a dedicated power supply just for the coffee machine !

Dry_bean.

on 1460642292:

Did 160 at times an hour but thats with someone on shots and yours truly on milk. Have been called the "milkman" due to my strength on milk production.

That's one coffee every 22.5 seconds no breaks allowed.???

GaryatGala

No breaks til lunchtime but not before restocking, clean down portafilters and group heads, grinder adjustments and tasting together with rubbish bin runs during lulls of a few minutes. The 160 cups per hour applies during the magical 8 til 9.30 am crowd/zombie peak hour. Lunch and afternoons are leisurely.