slofox Senior Member Joined: 28 Nov 2012 Posts: 31 Location: Hamilton, New Zealand Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Thu Jan 10, 2013, 10:36pm Subject: Just When You Think You are Getting It...
I've had the Gaggia Classic for five days now - five days of trial and error and enough coffee intake to cause the bones to rattle...IYKWIM.
This morning, I pulled three shots in a row that were pretty good really - I thought I must be getting it sorted. So just before I left for work I thought to have one more go...haha.
Completely turn to custard. Even though I thought I had done all things the same, this one was a disaster. 3 seconds to start, all over in 12, no crema at all.
NobbyR Senior Member Joined: 10 Jul 2011 Posts: 1,604 Location: Germany Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Poccino Opus One, Ariete Grinder: Eureka Mignon Istantaneo,... Vac Pot: N/A Drip: Melitta Linea Unica de Luxe Roaster: N/A
Posted Thu Jan 10, 2013, 11:57pm Subject: Re: Just When You Think You are Getting It...
Well, just because you dialed in your grinder once doesn't mean it's set for eternity. With aging of the beans and changes in humidity the correct fineness of grounds also changes, so the grinder has to be adjusted. Most of the time on a daily basis, sometimes even more than once. That's perfectly normal.
*** "This drink of the Satan is so delicious that it would be a shame to leave it to the infidels." (Pope Clement VIII on coffee)
slofox Senior Member Joined: 28 Nov 2012 Posts: 31 Location: Hamilton, New Zealand Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Mon Jan 14, 2013, 2:18pm Subject: Re: Just When You Think You are Getting It...
Ascaso i-steel grinder arrived yesterday. This is the flat burr version with the i-1 burr set. Stonking heavy beast but quite compact in form. Very noisy though. But then I don't give a rat's about that since there's only me living here. Apart from the cat that is and she doesn't seem to mind too much...
So it's a new ball game dialling this one in. Such fine adjustment available (stepless). It's not too far away about now but still not exactly as I want it. Trouble is, I can only test so much coffee in one sitting before the tremor immobilises me completely.
Overall, the Gaggia Classic is producing a pretty good product, even when things are not perfect. And when it does go right, it's great. Better than my local coffee shop actually but then I'm not about to go tell the barista his product is worse than my home stuff...
emradguy Senior Member Joined: 31 Mar 2011 Posts: 1,692 Location: Houston Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Izzo Alex Duetto II Grinder: MacapM4T, Macap M4, OE Lido,... Drip: Espro press; Aeropress Roaster: internet
Posted Tue Jan 15, 2013, 10:15am Subject: Re: Just When You Think You are Getting It...
sounds like you're getting a handle on it. This grinder should provide you much better consistency. Sure great variances in tamp will cause some inconsistency, but considering that even if you tamp as hard as you can, you won't even approach the 135psi pressure the water hits the puck at during a shot, it won't make that much of a difference if you vary the pressure. A bigger issue in shot prep will be distribution and anything else that makes your puck prone to channeling.
slofox Senior Member Joined: 28 Nov 2012 Posts: 31 Location: Hamilton, New Zealand Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Tue Jan 15, 2013, 10:54am Subject: Re: Just When You Think You are Getting It...
emradguy Said:
sounds like you're getting a handle on it. This grinder should provide you much better consistency. Sure great variances in tamp will cause some inconsistency, but considering that even if you tamp as hard as you can, you won't even approach the 135psi pressure the water hits the puck at during a shot, it won't make that much of a difference if you vary the pressure. A bigger issue in shot prep will be distribution and anything else that makes your puck prone to channeling.
There is a bit of a difference in the flavour of the same batch of beans, grinding with the flat burr as opposed to the conical burr in the Sunbeam. But then I read all about that so maybe I am looking for a difference anyway...
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