pilot25 Senior Member Joined: 7 Jan 2012 Posts: 93 Location: MD
Espresso: Rancilio Silvia Grinder: Preciso
Posted Sun Apr 29, 2012, 5:37pm Subject: Espresso pour video?
Anyone have a link to a good video of a proper espresso pour? I have seen a ton on youtube but many of the comments discount if it's a good pour or not. As a noob at this I'm still unsure what it should look like all the way to the end of the pour.
pilot25 Senior Member Joined: 7 Jan 2012 Posts: 93 Location: MD
Espresso: Rancilio Silvia Grinder: Preciso
Posted Sun Apr 29, 2012, 5:59pm Subject: Re: Espresso pour video?
Thanks. Some good videos.
Do most people use their fingers to level the grounds in the portafilter? I see that a lot in the videos. I personally think thats pretty disgusting. I use the back side of a clean knife to push the grounds around and level. Why use your fingers and hand?
Posted Sun Apr 29, 2012, 6:07pm Subject: Re: Espresso pour video?
umm...i guess it depends on the person. it seems like the most efficient way to do it.
i have no problem with someone using clean hands to handle beans/grinds. most cooks/chefs also use hands when they make your food too. i've never found it abnormal.
Do most people use their fingers to level the grounds in the portafilter? I see that a lot in the videos. I personally think thats pretty disgusting. I use the back side of a clean knife to push the grounds around and level. Why use your fingers and hand?
Disgusting in what way? I think the answer to that probably provides some interesting psychological analysis. Would one be disgusted about A) The mess on one's fingers, B) Potential transfer of germs, or C) Possibly ruining the coffee.
I don't think it is disgusting to move the grinds with your hands but I do use a small cheese spread knife that doesn't have any other function accept take up space in my silverware drawer. If I worked in a shop what I do would take way to long I am sure. I use it because my grounds are preweighed and I am just really flattening it off for the tamp and I feel like the knife is easier to move the ground and not lose any. Also, I feel like my fat fingers will press if I try not to lose any grinds. I also used the curved tip to tuck the edges of the grounds in a bit before tamp. Probably over kill but my pours are neater when I do that. (I have a naked portafilter so I can see any sprites or squirts.)
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I use my finger. I wash my hands first before starting to make drinks for myself, my family or any guests. I've thought about using a stick of some sort. I think for my method, it wouldn't change anything. I don't pre-weigh, I just fill the basket and then spread back and forth a couple of times to allow the grounds to fill any holes, and then push the excess off. There's not a lot of waste, but yeah, there's some. I weigh my pf basket occasionally and it's always within 0.2 gm of my average, so I'm not concerned about that little inconsistency. I also use a bottomless almost all the time and my shots look very nice, usually without sprits. Whenever I do get sprits a microadjust to my grinder makes them go away.
If the finger swipe disgusts you, I highly recommend never, ever, ever looking in a commercial kitchen when it's in action.
Yeah, I used to work in a Lipton factory when I was a kid 20 years ago and I still haven't eaten one of their packaged products. I know all factories are the same and it wigs me out how gross they are and the things that fall into those packages. I know restaurants are nasty too.
I digress, I'll stick to leveling with a knife.
As far as weighing, are you weighing the beans or the grounds? I have a scale coming and I notice in the videos people weighing the beans before grinding. However, I'm sure there is a bit lost in the grinding process so wouldn't weighing the grounds be more accurate and consistent?
You only need to weigh prior to grinding if you're single dosing or using a manual grinder. Otherwise, all you have to do is weigh after you grind. You can weigh after single dosing as well, but you don't really need to once you have a general idea of how much coffee your grinder retains. I do it every time I grind, but I think it's more habit than anything else.
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