xxguitarist Junior Member Joined: 9 Oct 2009 Posts: 44 Location: RI- USA Expertise: Just starting
Posted Fri Nov 6, 2009, 7:46am Subject: Help! What am I doing wrong?
I have been getting slowly better at my extractions, and have a consistent grinder setting that allows for a firm tamp, and a 25-30 second 2oz shot. When the 2oz finishes, i've got probably about 1.5oz crema, .5 oz very very dark liquid coffee. Problem is, thin mouthfeel, slightly bitter, and the crema is gone completely inside 2 minutes, and already down to .5 oz or less after 30 seconds.
I'm using a delonghi that has been modified to take a 53mm double (non-pressurized) basket. The grinder is a zassenhaus, and I'm using coffee from a local roaster- new harvest in RI. Convenient location, i'm just wondering if I should try something that's a better known option to see if that's my issue. The last batch of coffee I got from them is quite oily on the surface, which I didn't think was "correct" The last ones weren't quite so dark roasted (diff blend) and I wasn't getting much better results regarding the mouthfeel. They also sent me a light roast sample, and I got better (bitterness wise) results out of that.
Regardless, I'm getting very enjoyable cappuccinos/ lattes with ~ 6oz milk, so I'm happy, I'd just like to be able to enjoy some great espresso at home too.
Posted Fri Nov 6, 2009, 11:35am Subject: Re: Help! What am I doing wrong?
I believe crema is proportional to heat. As I'm currently suffering from the same thing but from a Expobar that I backed the heat down on so I could have time to prep before lock & pull. I'm now leaning tword turning the heat up and not waiting 30 seconds before the pull.
With my Cuisenart modified the same way what i actually found was down dosing helped me a lot, more so with the uneven extraction. I had been jambing in 16g's but actually worked it down to 13.0 to 12.5 with the same times. flow was better from the machine (evenness) and the taste even improved. I know the basket your working with will fit 16g's but with the termoblock doing a goofyfoot pre-infusion (if yours does that) it usually hits the puck full force while filling up the empty area above the puck. Quite possibly the extra space given from the down dose might have let the preinfusion work better.
As a side note, I noticed my crema go to crap on the Expobar about the time it started taking much longer to get water out of the pf (my flow had been cut down due to plumbing in the pump with a soft line, it folded over, I have to take the machine appart again this weekend to fix.) My pressure ramp up time is now terrible, I get water at 14 seconds into the pull, but it pulls to about 40 seconds before blond, it's not the best, or correct for that matter but I'm still able to drink my lattes :)
xxguitarist Junior Member Joined: 9 Oct 2009 Posts: 44 Location: RI- USA Expertise: Just starting
Posted Fri Nov 6, 2009, 12:03pm Subject: Re: Help! What am I doing wrong?
Ugh. Whatever happened to "the espresso machine just delivers the water" lol
Alright I'll try some lower doses, I've been tapping the PF on the counter then finishing my fill so its quite full. I imagine I should be shooting for a lower shot size, then?
Well, I guess I'll see if I can come up with anything, or just deal with it for another year or so.. I'm a college student so the budget isn't big enough to upgrade soon.
The coffee I have is fresh, I just don't have many direct references that say that its good, though the guys that I've talked to there really seem to know their stuff.
Well, the whole of that part of the quote reads; "The machine just gets the water hot and pushes it through the puck". Now, how hot it gets the water and how hard it pushes it aren't trivial things, they're just trivial things compared to making espresso grounds out of beans! ; >
xxguitarist Junior Member Joined: 9 Oct 2009 Posts: 44 Location: RI- USA Expertise: Just starting
Posted Sat Nov 7, 2009, 6:10pm Subject: Re: Help! What am I doing wrong?
Fair enough. Is it likely that i'd be able to adjust temperature and/or pressure on this machine? If so, which direction should I be trying to go based on my symptoms?
Psyd Senior Member Joined: 31 Jan 2006 Posts: 1,178 Location: MON AZ Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Sylvia and Astoria Argenta... Grinder: Rocky and Astoria (Mazzer)...
Posted Sun Nov 8, 2009, 10:20am Subject: Re: Help! What am I doing wrong?
Bitter is usually hot, so finding out how to cool your shots may help. It's also a sign of possibly over-pressure, but how to adjust that on your machine is a mystery to me as well. I'm guessing that those machines have a tendency to set at the factory by manufacturing technique, and that's that. But I could be wrong.
The thin-ness would probably be attributed to a combination of over-roasted beans, hot water, and possibly high pressures. Most of those machines boast about their eleven to fifteen Bar pumps...
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