I just purchased a new Oscar on friday 4/22. Over the weekend I had the opportunity to play with it and went thru 2lbs of Costco espresso blend. With all my initial trials I went from perfect to soupy pucks back to perfect. All the espresso being acceptable to me.
What I couldnt seem to control is timing. Espresso began 5 sec into brewing a shot and was done by 11 to 20 seconds. I varied grind and tamp, but no variance of any kind seemed to change the fast timing. I got nice crema and an occasional g-shot.
I did the teflon tape mod this weekend on the Rocky and Im grinding 10 to 12 clicks up from the point where the blades just touch when empty. I tried 3 clicks up from nil and tamped hard to have the water just run out of the portafilter barely colored. With the setting up to 11 the water hesitates and the shots acceptable.
Im not sure what else to vary, othere than coffee beans in order to zero in a longer timing. Or, is this a characteristic of this machine? Any sensible tips will be appreciated.
I purchased this machine from NS who just happened to have a demo for sale here in NW Washington. They had it set for ground coffee, not pods. What a wonderful machine otherwise, I am tickled with all other machine functions. My previous machine was a SB Estro Vapore that was not easy to get a good shot from. Low water temp being its problem.
proximityzero Senior Member Joined: 12 Apr 2005 Posts: 184 Location: Dallas/Denton TX Expertise: Pro Barista
Espresso: Wega Mini Nova Grinder: Mazzer Super Jolly Vac Pot: vac pots are for pretentious... Drip: Capresso ST600 Roaster: Behmor 1600, homebuilt fluid...
What kind of tamping technique are you using? 11 is pretty fine for that grinder and even with beans that aren't the freshest you shouldn't be getting short shots. I guess you could try a few other kinds of coffee, but tamp technique sounds like the most likely culprit (not to sound condescending). The Oscar has a strong pump, and should be able to pull good shots, especially compared to the vapore. Under 20 seconds, and you are missing out on a lot of the sweetness that your coffee has to offer.
I did the teflon tape mod this weekend on the Rocky and Im grinding 10 to 12 clicks up from the point where the blades just touch when empty. I tried 3 clicks up from nil and tamped hard to have the water just run out of the portafilter barely colored. With the setting up to 11 the water hesitates and the shots acceptable.
I'm confused.. 3 clicks above zero and it gushed out?? I'm just learning my Silvia/Rocky combination with my new Rocky grinder (old one had a problem with the center shaft) and am getting ristrettos at around 8-9 clicks above my zero point for doubles and 10-11 clicks for triples.
While it seems converse to common sense, that is exactly what happened. I did it twice before going to click #11 from nil. The texture of the ground coffee at #3 was very fine and came out of the shoot in a nearly solid clump shaped as you would think an extrusion would look. As it exited the shoot it was about 3/4" long before dropping to the bottom of the doser. The grind at #11 held together after tamping and apparently presented more resistance to the water being forced through it. Not being experienced with the Oscar, I can only report what I observed. So, this morning I raised it to #13 to see if there was even more resistance to pressure. There was not. Still a good looking pour, nice crema, nice flavor, but only took 12 seconds.
Solved: This morning I changed coffee. Now things are working as normal. I called the friendly people at NS and gave me the "ground rules" and so it could only have been the coffee beans. Live and learn. Trial and error. I look forward to a long and happy coffee life with my new Oscar. It sure is a herky machine especially compared with the Vapore. I am now making Americanos in the morning instead of brewing coffee in the E-Santos, Chemex and Press Pot alternately. On the weekends Ill be enjoying Cappas and Lattes instead of brewed coffee. Ill be playing with various espresso ingredients and practising my skills.
I now understand why my shots were so different in the Vapore.
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