hmmm theoretically with pressurized filter u still can get "crema" without proper tamp/not so fresh beans. But still i would recommend you to test with pressurized portafilter first with proper weight of the coffee bean then only depressurize it if u want to seek for more precise taste of the espresso.

hehe, alright ill weight it first before trying next step, thx yo😄

jz now i try to make another try and error, found out that i grind the coffee too fine, over extract and strain my machine which is not good . I would like to ask normally how fine/coarse do you guys grind the coffee? i just realised that very fine coffee is only suitable for depressurized portafilter..

That's the exact problem with pressurized baskets. You want the coffee to be the restrictor to generate the pressure but instead you have this quirky spring thingy in the portafilter that's doing this. So if you try to grind finer, the coffee grounds will resist the incoming pressure and the resulting output from the bottom end is a lower pressure liquid (but exactly the coffee you want!) which is unable to push thru the spring to exit to your cup and so you end up with a choked machine

Without the coffee being the restrictor however (grinding coarser) you're not going to be able to generate real sweet flavorful crema unfortunately

Again, you want the 9bar pressure pushing through your COFEE to generate ~60ml of coffee within 25-30sec for a double shot and not instead to push against a spring in the portafilter

Latte art however can be done without proper crema. You could get away with nescafe and a few shakes of cocoa powder on top before the milk too

A very good knowledge

is it depressurized basket confirm can make a think crema with fresh bean or it still depends on other factor as well? i had read some forum ppl did complaint not all depressurized basket can get such result too... so at this moment i think ill just stick to the default basket first, try to adjust the coffee to bit coarse than jz now.

I thought making a nice latte art will need to have a thick crema will only work? cause most of the video i watched their crema is so thick and nice .

It's the same concept as green tea latte and hot chocolate drinks. Crema is not necessary for good art. A good, thick properly extracted espresso is however important as a good base for a good tasting drink. A low crema shot is usually watery and makes really tasteless latte/capp

Video to try out
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-Hby0HmVCno

wow, thx for the info! really appreciate it! more to learn from you guys!

Not entirely true, at the "proper" grind coffee will still come/flow out nicely, will not choke the machine. I have done this with my friend's Poemia, using grinds tuned to my HX. The flow profile about the same as my HX, the latte tastes about the same. I didn't do much more tuning as I just wanted to see how it flows and taste. It flows very different to her store bought powder.

The crema is more oily emulsion slightly more "bitter". The sweetness of sugar is more in the water part of the coffee.

good...if you don't have a proper and consistent espresso grinder and tamper, forget about depressurizing your filter for now...

but pressurised basket also can make a nice and thick crema too?

pressurized basket destroys good crema...creates fake crema...

good crema is velvety smooth...bad fake crema is big bubbly mess

for now don't worry about it...with fresh coffee, proper grind, dose and tamp, the crema will not be too bad.

hahah, as a beginner i cant expect much, still in learning stage... just thought of trying my best to get a nice crema as i can~

2+ week old beans this morning...what nice colour still

This post has been edited by dwRK: Dec 7 2015, 10:24 AM


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is this from the pressurized basket? it look so awesome!

...still sucks at art



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nice art!

you should see the swan with the snake head

the whole family ROTFL

lol...haha

Interesting. I thought the Poemia is also using a spring loaded valve in the portafilter. Well, experience is more accurate anyways
You're right about the bitter/sweet part of crema though. Mixed it up haha

p/s Crema looks a little thin? Need that slightly rust color no?
Good art anyways!, better than what I've ever done

Have you ever heard Arissto cafe before? Now we are providing free coffee to the office, if you would like to have a try can leave a message to me. We do provide coffee in event too. Thank you.