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This post has been edited by Johnslow: Mar 25 2020, 09:33 AM

i thought the rule is always the amount of grind u use (means how many gm), extraction time vs the standard double shot 30 seconds as reference?
18gm espresso to yield 36gm output in 30 seconds. this is regardless of grind size

I am quite certain of the answer to this. Please see this pic which I captured from the book of my coffee course.



This post has been edited by MyHobby: Mar 25 2020, 06:41 PM

Adjusted the grinding (finer). Still dosage of 20g with 40g yield.
Brew time 25s (was 21s).
Here's the taste difference: stronger taste... Like 20% extra shot, also can feel like getting to the entrance to more dimension of taste but I can't tell more as its still vague. Less sour, but can still taste the slight sour taste.

Some readings to share here:
https://www.homegrounds.co/why-does-coffee-taste-sour/

And pic of the espresso and Latte from that brew.

Try up dosing instead of finer grind. Finer grind is more prone to channeling. I'm using 21g IMS basket and up dose to 23g. As long as the puck is not touching the shower screen that should not be an issue.

This post has been edited by pierreye: Mar 26 2020, 02:14 PM

Hi Pierreye, yes, you are so right about channeling problem. I put so much attention to taste till I overlooked that part.
I started to relate the soft Puck problem after changing basket to channeling after reading your message. I got carried away with the search of optimum taste.

OK, let me put some details here.
All sifus here please help to analyse and advise...

With old basket: dose 20g yield 40g brew 26s (baselinel
Taste: standard
Shower screen: 95% clean (I use brush with brew tap on, with a stainless steel pot to collect water instead of letting it drop into drip tray)
Puck: standard, knock out in 1 piece

With new basket: dose 20g yield 40g brew 21s, finer grinding
Taste: sour +4, stronger +2, I kinda like it as its giving a taste sensation that I can taste more about the bean, but am not good at detailed of taste yet though I know about SCAA Coffee Taster's Flavor Wheel.
Shower screen: 90% clean
Puck: Soggy, knock out not in 1 piece

This morning (new basket) , dose 22g, yield 40g, 24s, coarser grinding
Taste: very close to baseline
Shower screen: 98%, yes very clean
Puck: Soggy, soupy when removed from group head, knock out in 1 piece (soft) and broken into pieces

Remark - the intention of changing basket: cleaner brewing (old basket has less room to hold coffee group before tamping) and hopefully level up the taste extraction from beans. Want to explore more with what I already have than getting to the path to upgrade grinder (current target is e65s or Ek43, but they are not cheap).
Also, it doesn't make economical sense to get about the same taste with higher dose. Can't deny that's larger basket is easier and cleaner, but I can do it cleanly with old basket too, just need to be more delicate though...

This post has been edited by MyHobby: Mar 27 2020, 10:43 AM

Which basket did you get? Is it a IMS/VST precision type basket?

Hi Ymeng :-)
It's IMS.

Don't worry too much on wet puck. My IMS basket also produce wetter puck compare to original basket. Not sure it's due to straight basket design. Once you take out your portafilter, leave it in the basin for 10 secs. The puck would be dryer and look at the surface. If you have small hole then you have channeling problem. I do have the same problem initially when switch to IMS basket. Change my technique by tapping the portafilter on the silicone mat to compact the grind first before using distribution wedges. This help to eliminate the channeling issue.

This post has been edited by pierreye: Mar 27 2020, 07:43 PM

Anyone with experience with Akirakoki grinders? I saw the name Akira floating about together with Feima etc. So wondering if it's the same Akira?

Thanks man for the advices. I will try it with silicon base in my next brew to see the difference.

My current method is tapping around portafilter head to distribute evenly, then gently spin the tamper to further level the distribution before tamping it down till it touched the tamper base (mine is a calibrated tamper). The tamper itself weights 455.5g.
The tamping is done on the tamping base (in pic) which is made of rubber (not soft but still flexible).

This place became my brew log while getting sifus to guide me


28/3 IMS, dose 22g, yield 40g, 26s, didn't adjust grinder
Taste: a bit bitter
(btw, I haven't mentioned this.. Am using Brazil beans, which is mild bodied and nutty since wife can't take strong taste)
Shower screen: 93%
Puck: looked ok, with sign of channeling (picl, knock out with 5 knocks and broken into pieces

27/3 IMS, dose 22g, yield 40g, 24s, coarser grinding
Taste: very close to baseline
Shower screen: 98%, yes very clean
Puck: Soggy with sign of channeling soupy when removed from group head, knock out in 1 piece (soft) and broken into pieces

25/3 IMS, dose 20g, yield 40g, 25s, finer grinding
Taste: stronger taste, like 20% extra shot, less sour but can still tasted sourness, felt like touching on more details of beans but still vague
Shower screen: 90% clean
Puck: Soggy, soupy when removed from group head, got out with 4~5 knocks.

24/3 IMS basket: dose 20g yield 40g brew 21s, finer grinding
Taste: sour +4, stronger +2, I kinda like it as its giving a taste sensation that I can taste more about the bean, but am not good at detailed of taste yet though I know about SCAA Coffee Taster's Flavor Wheel.
Shower screen: 90% clean
Puck: Soggy, knock out not in 1 piece

Baseline
Oscar original basket: dose 20g yield 40g brew 26s
Taste: standard
Shower screen: 95% clean (I use brush with brew tap on, with a stainless steel pot to collect water instead of letting it drop into drip tray)
Puck: standard, knock out in 1 piece

Quite free to do more post today...

Why big small cups?

Thought to share about this as it actually took me more than a month to source small cups.
Why do I need one anyway?
Well, maybe some of you are measuring shot with say 1oz. I however been taught to measure yield with scale. Try it out yourself. Fill up the same 1oz cup with different liquid like juice, water, coffee etc and then measure them. Even coffee with different brewing or grinding.. they weight differently.

Getting small cup is not hard but getting a cup that fits the small space between sprout and scale is not easy. Look at pics.(mine is Oscar 1)
I have a few 1 and 2 Oz glasses with measurement but they are still too tall. I can still put them in but that will mess things up moment I removed either cup / espresso shot glass or scale.
Am a happy man with these small cups

Yep. Those tiny holes are sign of channeling. Also using 22g grind, try to extract 44g espresso. I change to bottomless portafilter to check for channeling during extraction. Another plus is you can use taller cup.






This post has been edited by pierreye: Mar 28 2020, 03:46 PM

Hi friends, posting this because am so excited with the last brew less than 30 mins ago...
Of all the coffee taken to date (less than 5 years though), this brew gave the strongest aftertaste. Even my wife who had Latte from the same brew could feel it.

IMS dose 22g, yield 44g, 26s, coarser than the last grinding (not able to get a suitable silicon base yet)
Taste: slight bitterness, stronger taste of body
Shower screen: 96%
Puck: looked ok, still with slight channeling, knock out with 5 knocks and broken into pieces

Looks much better. Try this tweak. Flush some hot water out first before you put in the portafilter. This will warm up the pipe and group head.

This post has been edited by pierreye: Mar 29 2020, 12:44 AM

Hi Pierreye,
Thanks for the advices.
Flushing out for a few seconds before brewing is my common practice.
Another practice - I will usually fasten the group head handle with portafilter basket when I switch on the espresso maker. It will be heated by the time I remove it for dosing.

This post has been edited by MyHobby: Mar 30 2020, 12:00 AM

Last brew with 11g Brazil + 11g Columbia.
Time to clean up the grinder. This time done with just "dry cleaning".

Cleanliness is 1 of the many reasons why we want to brew coffee at home. Please don't get me wrong, am sure that they are some that are doing good at that part...

Just some simple cleaning that would take less than 2 mins, plus 3 mins for washing portafilter basket, milk pitcher, espresso and coffee cups.

I am doing all these chores myself than leaving to maid. If the coffee session is long, I will still wash portafilter and milk pitcher myself and leave cups and other plates to maid to settle.

Attached pics of brushing and wiping shower screen and last step is to release steam.
First brush the shower screen with brew tap running.
Then wipe the shows screen with a cloth. Am using cloth for milk. It's clean most of the time.
Then release steam.





This post has been edited by MyHobby: Mar 30 2020, 12:08 PM

hi guys,

planning to get 1 espresso machine for beginner..any1 got experience using gemilai crm3601? i see taobao quite cheap..not sure how it compares with delonghi and other brands...