mamabean Senior Member Joined: 14 Feb 2013 Posts: 12 Location: Gaithersburg MD Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Tue Feb 26, 2013, 9:24am Subject: Preciso espresso settings
Just got my brand new Preciso the other day and trying to work out the best grind settings for a double shot on my Silvia. I dialed in at 6A (maybe 5A?) randomly and have been getting okay shots. I haven't found my source for great coffee beans yet (living in Rockville Maryland if anyone has any recommendations or online suggestions) so not sure how drastically this may change the setting.
Overall I'm feeling a bit lost and not sure what to look for. If you're loving your Preciso shots can you please tell me:
What settings you are at
How much grind in grams if you are weighing it
How long in seconds your shots are
What coffee beans you are using (and if I can order them on line!)
Any other tips and things to consider greatly appreciated!
Just got my brand new Preciso the other day and trying to work out the best grind settings for a double shot on my Silvia. I dialed in at 6A (maybe 5A?) randomly and have been getting okay shots. I haven't found my source for great coffee beans yet (living in Rockville Maryland if anyone has any recommendations or online suggestions) so not sure how drastically this may change the setting.
Overall I'm feeling a bit lost and not sure what to look for. If you're loving your Preciso shots can you please tell me:
What settings you are at How much grind in grams if you are weighing it How long in seconds your shots are What coffee beans you are using (and if I can order them on line!)
Any other tips and things to consider greatly appreciated!
I also recently purchased a preciso. Mine runs around 8G for espresso, significantly higher than most other folks from what I've read. The grinders are assembled by hand, and they all have a range set screw, the set point of which varies from grinder to grinder... what I'm saying is that the exact reading on your grinder won't necessarily match up with the same setting on mine. So, don't stress about the actual number, really it's meaningless to anyone but you and is specific only to YOUR grinder.
The dose depends on your portafilter basket. Mine (Gaggia Classic PF with double basket) holds about 15g comfortably... any more and I hit the shower screen with the coffee, which is bad. Someday I am going to buy an 18g VST basket.
Your target should be 60ml (2.5oz) in 25-ish seconds. Start by finding a good dose for your basket... on mine the level of ground coffee is 2-3mm below the top before I tamp. Then just vary the grind to hit your 25 seconds or so. I tend to adjust dose rather than grinder setting, but YMMV... different beans may require slightly less or slightly more or, if you choose to adjust the grinder, maybe 1 or 2 clicks of the micro adjustment, no more. The macro settings overlap, or so say the folks at Baratza.
If you don't have one already, get a scale that measures to 0.1g and use it... until you pull a couple hundred shots the scale eliminates the variable of dose and aids GREATLY to achieving consistency.
Taste your shots, that is the one and only measurement of success. Here's a really simplified starter guide to taste, there are about a billion more on the trusty internet: adjusting dose and volume by taste
As for beans, I like Redbird (redbird.com). Intelligentsia, Counter Culture, Verve, all are good as well. I've just started roasting my own which is turning out amazingly well using a hot-air popcorn popper. Also try your local roasters... I live in a town with limited options but have found I can get good fresh coffee if I look for it... some folks are in it for love of the art of coffee, some are idiots trying to turn a buck who haven't a clue about the subtleties of beans, roast and grind.
If you don't weigh use something where you can clearly see that you have the same amount of beans. Not entirely accurate and some density can vary, but closer than guessing. Adjust the dose in a double basket until the wet puck puck just touches the screen center screw. You can see the minimal imprint when you remove the PF. If you lock the PF and remove it dry and see an indent, you have too much coffee. I get about 17 -17.5 gms in Gaggia.
Shots are about 25 seconds, some time from turn on of the switch and some from first drip and 40 - 60 ml to suit your taste.
Redbird Espresso and Redbird Blue Jaguar are hard to beat. Great price and delivered most of US in 2-3 days USPS.
One further point is that the density of beans varies (mostly with roast), so the correct dose varies with the beans. I have to run 18g for the naked portafilter and triple basekt on my BZ07 for dark roasts, and 19-20g for light roasts. Redbird comes in at 19g at the moment.
The grind setting on my Preciso has to be altered with the bean age as well as the dose, bean type and roast level. No one else's settings will hit the spot on your machine with your beans on a particular day, even if the grinders were identical, which they aren't, due to the calibration issue mentioned above.
I do have a Silvia and the Preciso also. I don't weigh my shots but will try to this weekend and will report it.
Basically, I dialed it in by going so fine I choked the Silvia. Backed off (coarser) until I got a double shot in the 20 - 30 second range, then used the micro adjustment from there to get to around 24 seconds. I use espresso cups from Sweet Maria's that I bought last year.
I believe (since I am not home) I am around 6 - 8 on the coarse adjust. It can vary depending on the bean's age, degree of roast and type.
I grind into the PF, level with the back of a knife, then tamp. I do get an impression from the screw but have had no issues in a year now.
I generally order from Sweet Maria's in CA (very reasonable cost). I roast my own beans though. They do sell some roasted but I have not purchased roasted beans from them. I would suggest seeing if a roaster is anywhere close to you so you could try different beans at first.
Eventually, try roasting yourself! Popcorn popper to start is what I used. Now I have a HotTop B.
Enjoy!
Dave
PS - Just looked up online for your area: Mayorga Coffee Roasters and Quartermaine Coffee Roasters in Rockville MD. Looks like decent reviews.
Dave Harley rider, Espresso drinker, Primo XL grill
Thank you thank you thank you! You have all provided me with excellent information to move forward.
I had no idea each grinder would dial in so differently, but now that does make perfect sense given the calibration.
I do have a scale but it doesn't weigh to 0.1g. I tried putting 14g in my double but it was way too full and the screw was leaving a huge impression. I'll try choking the machine first as you suggested then will cut back on weight if it's still too much.
Great coffee suggestions. Dave - thanks for the local roasters info. I will probably go check them out today. I am intrigued by Redbird now since most of you mentioned it. Will definitely have to try that out. And a roasting by popcorn popper?? I didn't realize you could roast that way. All of the roasting machines I saw started at $200. This I will definitely have to experiment with.
Chiming in to say what's already been stated - it looks like everyone's Preciso are calibrated differently.
I did some searches when I got mine and found that ~8 was average, so I used it with that for two weeks. I getting a lot of hay/tan colored shots and decided to lower it.
I'm now using it at 3A for a fresh beans. ~20g, 28 seconds (per my roast's unique suggestions).
Laslty, I definitely experienced what people mentioned regarding having to increase the grind size as the coffee ages. I began my last bag at about 7 days post-roast at 3A. Within a week it was choking the machine at 3A, when at the start it was just fine.
I do have a Silvia and the Preciso also. I don't weigh my shots but will try to this weekend and will report it.
Basically, I dialed it in by going so fine I choked the Silvia. Backed off (coarser) until I got a double shot in the 20 - 30 second range, then used the micro adjustment from there to get to around 24 seconds. I use espresso cups from Sweet Maria's that I bought last year.
I believe (since I am not home) I am around 6 - 8 on the coarse adjust. It can vary depending on the bean's age, degree of roast and type.
I grind into the PF, level with the back of a knife, then tamp. I do get an impression from the screw but have had no issues in a year now.
I generally order from Sweet Maria's in CA (very reasonable cost). I roast my own beans though. They do sell some roasted but I have not purchased roasted beans from them. I would suggest seeing if a roaster is anywhere close to you so you could try different beans at first.
Eventually, try roasting yourself! Popcorn popper to start is what I used. Now I have a HotTop B.
Enjoy!
Dave
PS - Just looked up online for your area: Mayorga Coffee Roasters and Quartermaine Coffee Roasters in Rockville MD. Looks like decent reviews.
I am in the area (annapolis, MD) - cant beat Ceremony Coffee. they roast all their beans onsite and they have won a lot of awards. incredible coffee, they sell two different espresso blends, both excellent.
Laslty, I definitely experienced what people mentioned regarding having to increase the grind size as the coffee ages. I began my last bag at about 7 days post-roast at 3A. Within a week it was choking the machine at 3A, when at the start it was just fine.
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post
Forum Rules: No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards. No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum. No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum. Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards. Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics. Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies. Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies. Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts. Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.
= No New Posts since last visit 