laythss Senior Member Joined: 19 Feb 2005 Posts: 33 Location: California Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: La Cimbali M23 Grinder: La Cimbali junior
Posted Sun Jul 1, 2012, 4:07am Subject: Single Basket 14g !!! is it me?!
I am confused. I have a commercial La cimbali M27 machine, and it came with two portafilters, one with a single spout, and another with a double spout. also it came with a supposedly single, double and a blind basket. As i was discovering the machine and a new roasted coffee, i noticed that i have to put quite a bit of ground coffee into the single basket to be able to distribute it and then tamp it. So i decided to double check this. my finding is that the single basket takes between 14-16g of ground coffee!! i thought singles take between 6-9g . my double takes 18-20g which i guess is the right amount. am i measuring this wrong? is this not a single basket(somewhere between a single and a double)? is it a extra capacity single basket?
Note, i am able to pull a proper shot with the basket (or so i think)... around 1oz is 26-28 seconds, sometimes with tiger stripes.
emradguy Senior Member Joined: 31 Mar 2011 Posts: 1,698 Location: Houston Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Izzo Alex Duetto II Grinder: MacapM4T, Macap M4, OE Lido,... Drip: Espro press; Aeropress Roaster: internet
Posted Sun Jul 1, 2012, 7:29am Subject: Re: Single Basket 14g !!! is it me?!
Yeah, that looks like a single basket. You are correct it should hold about 6-9 g per shot (as a general guideline). Are you sure you remembered to tare the scale with the basket empty before adding the beans? Most of us here don't use our single baskets. One reason is, as you've stated, with appropriate dosing it's very difficult to distribute and tamp properly. Another reason is, the grind disparity between single and double, is very high, much higher than between double and triple, and we don't want to have to readjust our grinder for every shot once we get it right where we want it. If we ever need a single, we just extract a double and use only what we need for the drink.
Many people use 16-18 g in their doubles, so you're not off at all there.
Remember that the guidelines you've read are simply starting points, and you will adjust your dose and extraction rates to suit your taste, so what really matters is if you're getting shots you like to drink with your method.
Posted Sun Jul 1, 2012, 8:17am Subject: Re: Single Basket 14g !!! is it me?!
I have a bunch of different single baskets that came with various machines I've owned over the years. Most of them will hold 12-14 grams easily and 7 grams is just not enough in them and leaves way too much space between the top of the coffee and the shower screen.
I special ordered a 7 gram basket and although it looks very similar to the others, the wide top section is not nearly as tall ... I can dose 7 grams in that basket and get very good singles.
laythss Senior Member Joined: 19 Feb 2005 Posts: 33 Location: California Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: La Cimbali M23 Grinder: La Cimbali junior
Posted Sun Jul 1, 2012, 11:18am Subject: Re: Single Basket 14g !!! is it me?!
thank you all for your reply, i suspected that a 7g single basket that comes with machine is not truly a 7g. I did contact espresso parts to see how their basket measures up and waiting for their reply.
Funny enough La cimbali distributor here in Saudi Arabia after hours of talking to them on phone and sending them pictures they comeup with the following: - adjust dosage of grinder to dispense 7g - dispense 7g into basket -shake to make even - tamp
i told them to send the pic to the mother company and tell me if the company approves me making a single shot as such. oh yes, and they also said that the time it takes a machine to pour an oz of espresso depends on how 'strong' the machine is, and La Cimbali M27 is a very strong machine and could do it in 1-2 seconds!!!
I understand now why espresso in this country is pretty bad for the exception of a few.
Posted Sun Jul 1, 2012, 11:38am Subject: Re: Single Basket 14g !!! is it me?!
laythss Said:
oh yes, and they also said that the time it takes a machine to pour an oz of espresso depends on how 'strong' the machine is, and La Cimbali M27 is a very strong machine and could do it in 1-2 seconds!!!
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