hakkr Senior Member Joined: 9 Apr 2004 Posts: 26 Location: Menlo Park, CA Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Rancilio Silvia Grinder: Innova i2, Modded Bodum... Vac Pot: Several moka pots Roaster: Poppery II
Posted Sun Jun 5, 2005, 11:49pm Subject: Grind into separate container before dosing: seeing lumps now
Hi all,
I own an Innova i2 doserless which grinds really well for espresso. However, I don't particularly like the way the chute works, and have never been happy dosing directly into the pf. So for the longest time I have been grinding into a separate container (it's actually the receptacle for a bodum antiqua grinder) and carefully pouring the grinds into the pf from it.
Since I have been doing more home roasting and trying other mail-order espresso blends of late, I am seeing more variation of results with this approach. In particular, I sometimes see lumps of grinds in my receptacle. Serious shaking of the receptacle often does not 'unlump' and sometimes makes things worse. Sometimes the lumps' presence will lead to bad tamps if I am not careful.
Here are my two questions:
Who else does the "collect-then-dose" method, and what kind of receptacles have worked best for you?
Is dosing into the pf directly meant to prevent such lumping? In other words, will dosing into the pf help build up the grinds in a finer and more layered fashion than I what I doing right now?
Posted Mon Jun 6, 2005, 12:02am Subject: Re: Grind into separate container before dosing: seeing lumps now
I grind from Rocky into a 4-oz Bodum cylindrical teacup. For Silvia, I'd pour the grinds into the PF; Livia seems to prefer her grinds measured precisely and scooped. (Grinding directly is a crapshoot--I could never properly overdose Silvia without wasting grounds, and Livia hates to be overdosed. I am using the scoop Pasquini provided---something I'd poo-poohed with other machines. I also use the flat bottom of the scoop to do a light distro and preliminary tamp.
From the SMP, I grind into the PF sometimes but mostly into the container, and then pour. I get boulders more often when grinding into the PF on both machines.
Sandy www.sandyandina.com ------------------- Life's too short to drink lousy coffee, play crummy guitars and write with ballpoint pens.
Posted Mon Jun 6, 2005, 12:09am Subject: Re: Grind into separate container before dosing: seeing lumps now
This is a question I've had too. I have a Rocky Doserless grinder and have been grinding directly into the pf. It takes a little time for it to fill the pf, so there is inevitably some cool-off. Oh well, such is life, has been my usual response. I usually bump the pf vertically if I want to dose more. I do periodically get clumping as you describe, but it often breaks apart when gently wacking the pf on the counter to dose up the shot.
If I was going to use a secondary container, I would have bought a dosing grinder I suppose.
hakkr Senior Member Joined: 9 Apr 2004 Posts: 26 Location: Menlo Park, CA Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Rancilio Silvia Grinder: Innova i2, Modded Bodum... Vac Pot: Several moka pots Roaster: Poppery II
Posted Mon Jun 6, 2005, 9:14am Subject: Re: Grind into separate container before dosing: seeing lumps now
ChicagoSandy Said:
I grind from Rocky into a 4-oz Bodum cylindrical teacup. ... From the SMP, I grind into the PF sometimes but mostly into the container, and then pour. I get boulders more often when grinding into the PF on both machines.
Is there anyone actually using Bodum parts for their intended purpose :-) ? My Bodum Pavina glass is doubling as a short vase right now.
And "boulders" crack me up. My experience so far is that their appearance seem to depend on blend/roast type.
I just found a review on the Innova grinder by Jim in which he described first grinding into an espresso cup as well. I think this procedure is going to remain a necessary evil for me as long as I continue to use this grinder. I try to compensate the pf heat loss by flushing it with really hot water, then drying thoroughly.
Now if only I have a good boulder-eradication solution... (tried the knock-to-breakup approach that abraxas described, and it only works to some extent)
Posted Mon Jun 6, 2005, 10:56am Subject: Re: Grind into separate container before dosing: seeing lumps now
I dose by scoop into a small, spherical jar, eyeballing the level in the jar to double check. I use a chop stick to quickly stir and de-clump the grounds for a more even distribution.*
The mouth of the jar fits into the basket with some clearance; with a quick, circular motion my basket is dosed and visually well distributed. I then apply what I -think- is a Stockfleth distribution, several iterations, then tamp. The level at which my tamp rests in the basket is a final benchmark for my dose.
Dave
(*) In my case, the oxidation impact of stirring is fairly moot, but I'd vote for distribution over exposure worries. I might not bother stirring freshly ground unless I had visual clumps.
Posted Tue Jun 7, 2005, 7:08pm Subject: Re: Grind into separate container before dosing: seeing lumps now
My procedure is grind into the pf, tap on counter three times to level and break up major clumps, top off the pf, Stockfleth and Staub tamp. It's gotten to the point I can tweak the grind based on the chute output. It helps that I usually rotate between three favorite blends, but even with a new S.O. I can generally dial the MCI in by a half pf full. YMMV.
"Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most." A. Brilliant
Posted Tue Jun 7, 2005, 10:30pm Subject: Re: Grind into separate container before dosing: seeing lumps now
I went out to get a Click-Clack lid for Rocky, and also picked up a small squat 4-oz. container to rest on the PF holder to grind into. But on a hunch, I took one of those little half-dome acrylic condiment/coleslaw dishes that you can get by the dozen at restaurant supply places and ground into it instead. It's short enough to fit on the PF holder but wide and deep enough to prevent much of the spewing that occurs when grinding into the PF.
Oh, and I figured out how to convert my electronic scale to read grams instead, so the dose was more precise.
Sandy www.sandyandina.com ------------------- Life's too short to drink lousy coffee, play crummy guitars and write with ballpoint pens.
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