7 grams or 17 grams ?

System

Hi All.

I recently purchased an ECM Giotto. Prior to that I had a Faema Family, and for a short time , a San Marino Lisa (you may remember my post about it). The Lisa was a fully commercial machine.

I am trying to find out how many grams of coffee are required to make the perfect single shot and it seems it varies from machine to machine. The Lisa had a very small single pf basket compared to the Faema and the Giotto which seem similar in size. I have read articles on coffeesnobs and coffeeeeks about people using up to 17 grams to make a single 'god shot'.

So what is the answer ? I guess it depends on the machine, beans, grind etc. I can imagine in a cafe that using as little as possible is important, but at home on the Giotto, I am not too fussed.

Thanks,
Frank.

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Actually on closer comparison between the single pf of the Giotto and the Faema, the pf from the Faema is significantly bigger than that of the Giotto. So it would seem to me that the size of the pf is inversely proportional to the 'power' of the machine. Thoughts ? For those unfamiliar with the Feama Family, it is a single boiler, domestic machine circa the 80s. A really great machine which cost $700 back in 1986. I think you could buy a Commodore back then for that money 😉 Cheers, Frank.

nzroaster

If you use the 17 gram basket for a "godshot" remember you are still after 25ml in 30 sec. so you will need to grind finer and it could put pressure on the machine. Apart from the increase in coffee it also has to do with the shape of the basket. Straighter sides = less chance of channelling

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Hi nzroaster. I am keeping the grind constant. But I did notice now that you mention it, that the 'medium' basket from the Giotto took about 20 secs and the larger basket from the Faema basket took bang on 25 secs. Both shots wer pulled from the Giotto of course. I am not sure exactly what the larger basket holds - is it 17 grams ? I would say the 2nd shot was nicer. Cheers, Frank.