delta Senior Member Joined: 7 Aug 2008 Posts: 20 Location: Olympia, Washington Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: La Pavoni Europiccola (1975) Grinder: Rancillio Rocky
Posted Tue Sep 2, 2008, 11:49am Subject: Re: Recommended setting on a Rancillio Rocky for La Pavoni Europicolla
Sam, The Rocky is so much better than what I had before simply because it can grind fine enough to make espresso. So I will deal with it's quirks.
Here's my latest revelation on a related subject. I notice big differences on the Pavoni using different espresso blends. Of the three artisan roasters in Olympia, WA., one has a blend that gets the best results on my machine. This company just happens to use a lever machine in their cafe.
I notice that as the beans age, I need to grind them finer to get the same resistance to the lever pull. And if the beans get too old, say 2 weeks or more, I can't grind fine enough or tamp firmly enough to get the extreme resisitance that I mentioned before. The coffee flows too easily with only moderate pressure. Less resistance to the lever pull seems to mean less crema, and a duller flavor.
I was told that beans should age for a couple of days before making espresso. But after that it seems that fresher beans are critical for me to get enough pressure for a good extraction on the Pavoni.
I am sure this is common knowledge to the initiated Coffee Geek. And I might be drawing incorrect conlusions here. But pulling a lever gives you feed back that I don't think you can get from flipping a switch.
samgiles Senior Member Joined: 1 Oct 2007 Posts: 44 Location: New Zealand Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: La Pavoni Europiccola Grinder: Rocky DL / Zassenhaus 238...
Posted Tue Sep 2, 2008, 5:02pm Subject: Re: Recommended setting on a Rancillio Rocky for La Pavoni Europicolla
All of your conclusions are right on the money from my experience. I found that the Pavoni is far more fussy about grind and bean freshness than my old semi-auto. In terms of freshness the conventional wisdom says that 7-10 days past roast is as old as you want to go. It's amazing, to me, the difference in flow rate between old and new beans. I too have found a blend that seems to work best for me although I am currently experimenting with another roaster's house blend. This blend does appear to behave differently from my usual one.
delta Said:
And I might be drawing incorrect conclusions here. But pulling a lever gives you feed back that I don't think you can get from flipping a switch.
Absolutely. I thought I knew about espresso until I bought my lever machine. For me, part of the learning curve on the machine consisted of gaining a much better understanding of what is happening in the process.
delta Senior Member Joined: 7 Aug 2008 Posts: 20 Location: Olympia, Washington Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: La Pavoni Europiccola (1975) Grinder: Rancillio Rocky
Posted Tue Sep 2, 2008, 5:51pm Subject: Re: Recommended setting on a Rancillio Rocky for La Pavoni Europicolla
Thanks again Sam. Some of my observations may seem obvious but it's good to get a confirmation from someone who uses the same equipment.
The best info you have given me is the WDT trick. I cut the bottom off a plastic cup so that it just fits into the filter basket like a funnel. I removed the PF bracket from the grinder so there is room to sit the filter basket with the cup under the grinder spout. I am grinding at 4 to 5 marks above my zero point. It's pretty clumpy.
The grinds fall through the plastic cup and funnel into the basket. I use a pointy bamboo skewer to really stir up the grinds and break up the lumps. I tap the cup and filter basket on the counter to settle the grounds. Then I carefully remove the cup and place the tamper on the grounds lightly to level.
I am now tamping the grounds in the basket as it sits on the counter before I place it back in the holder. I turn the basket over to let any stray particles fall out but I don't tap the basket after it has been tamped. The surface of the tamped coffee looks clean, flat and shiny.
Before using the WDT I couldn't get this result. And the shots are consistently the best yet. When I examine the pucks I see no cracks or evidence of channeling. WDT is a hassle but it seems to be worth doing, at least when using the Rocky.
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