Rate my crema

[Rhys W]

So, Flatus, Tewdric and anybody else...



And it tastes as good as it looks. 

[dasmoth]

Mmmm, coffee!  Maybe I shouldn't have turned the machine off after my last one  .

I'm not that great at assessing these from photos, but since you asked...  It looks like there are a few pale streaks, which tend to mean channeling (water going down the side of the basket rather than through the coffee).  The only solution to this seems to be practice your dosing and tamping, practice, and practice some more (then take a few hours off to get the caffeine out of your system before practising again!).

If you don't have one, a bottomless portafilter can be helpful in seeing exactly what's going on -- you want a nice steady stream all the way through the extraction.

Also, make sure you're not overfilling your basket.  That tended to be my biggest problem in the past.

But mostly, I just think "mmm coffee"  .  Hope you enjoyed that shot.

[Tewdric]

What a great excuse to make a coffee!

Here's one I just knocked out..









It was yummy!

[dasmoth]

Om nom nom!

How did you arrange the lighting for those shots Tewdric?  I'm tempted to go but my machine Lurks Amid Pure Gloom^TM and will likely remain that way 'til next summer now, so I suspect I'll need some flash.

Hmmm....

[Tewdric]

Just direct TTL flash with the supplied plastic diffuser!  

[Rhys W]

I'm not that great at assessing these from photos, but since you asked...  It looks like there are a few pale streaks, which tend to mean channeling (water going down the side of the basket rather than through the coffee).  The only solution to this seems to be practice your dosing and tamping, practice, and practice some more (then take a few hours off to get the caffeine out of your system before practising again!).

Wow. I've noticed that recently, but I put it down to wear at the top of the portafilter and/or group head. It's not going down the side of the basket, but over the top of the portafilter and down the outside. Also, I suspect I need a new basket, it may be getting a bit clogged up. The shots seem to come about a bit too quick as well, however changing the grind to a finer setting seems to make the chanelling worse, so I kept it at "6" (see below). 20s seems to be the figure to aim for, I'm getting about half that (I'll time the next one).

Dosing comes from two pulls from a Gaggia MDF grinder into a double basket, although I suspect the amount that comes out varies depending on how much ground coffee is above the doser.

Anyway, it looks good, the crema lasts and it tastes good - all consistently.

[dasmoth]

Sorry, I'm going to disagree with Flatus.  A shot in 10s is much too fast for any espresso.  Don't get me wrong, with decent beans it'll be better than many -- perhaps even most -- cafes in the UK, but there's still some room for improvement (and home espresso is nothing if not a never-ending journey  ).  Aim for 20-25s and I'm pretty sure you'll have a pleasant surprise.

The symtoms you describe -- especially if channeling is getting worse with a finer grind -- sound exactly like how my machine behaves if I overfill the basket (and if I remember my days of lurking on home-barista correctly, I don't think this is an uncommon problem).  I'd advise against putting too much faith in the doser on your grinder.  For many machines, a dose of loose coffee that's just level with the top of the basket before tamping (just run a finger along the top to level it) works.  For my current setup, I actually use a little less than this.  More practise and experimentation, I'm afraid.

I've never seen a basket wear significantly in domestic use -- and I drink a fair amount of coffee...

It's possible that clogged holes in the shower screen might make channeling issues worse (high pressure jets from the few unblocked holes == eroding the top of the coffee puck).  Certainly, taking this off and giving everything a good clean can't hurt.

Most importantly, enjoy your coffee  .

[Hot Flatus]

Sorry, I'm going to disagree with Flatus.  A shot in 10s is much too fast for any espresso.

 

Look a little closer at what I said

I suggested a finer grind. I didn't say anything about a 10 second extraction.  Grind and dosage are the two variables he can play with, and he should play with them until a 25-30 second extraction gives him a really good shot.

It looks like there are a few pale streaks, which tend to mean channeling (water going down the side of the basket rather than through the coffee

Or he's just let it run on too long for the grind and dosage he has chosen.

His photo looks to me to be underextracted. That isn't so much a question of shot time, but of dosage and grind.  What he has there looks like what you would be served if you ordered a coffee in France.  Tewdric's is more akin to Italian.

Of course, he may well prefer French style coffee, in which case what he has is exactly right for him. 

to be practice your dosing and tamping, practice, and practice some more (then take a few hours off to get the caffeine out of your system before practising again!).

Tamping is a red-herring. It will be dosage, grind, and possibly not winding the portafilter handle in tight enough.
Don't believe me?  Watch what they do in Italy.  Not a hand tamper in sight, but a fine grind and the lightest of tamps on the grinder tamping pad.

If you don't have one, a bottomless portafilter can be helpful in seeing exactly what's going on -- you want a nice steady stream all the way through the extraction.

You may want that, he may want that... but I certainly don't.

What I want is a delay of about 5 seconds then a about 3 or 4 huge dark gloops  blobbing down before a steady trickle of gloopy drops, then a comparatively short run of 'steady stream' before I switch off the pump.

[Rhys W]

What do you mean by overextracted? Mine never taste "too strong" though. I timed one just now and it was 13s from turning on the switch to turning it off. I've always read that 20s is more like it. Tewdric's shot does look more "Italian" though, thicker and more foamy.

One of the reasons I bought a dosing grinder was I thought that would eliminate one of the variables. The basket is not overfilled at all, the tamped coffee is a good 7mm below the edge. I agree with you about the tamping, most baristas seem to make do with a token tamp on the grinder. Which leaves grind. I started off on 7, felt the shots were far too short so upped to 6. Initially this just pushed water out over the top of the portafilter so the shots ended up diluted. This is not so bad now, maybe I've compensated by twisting the portafilter on tighter. Before I bought my grinder I used Illy ground coffee, and if anything the pulls were shorter then.

I'm going to experiment with a finer grind this week, although I suspect I need a new basket to stop water overflowing the top of the portafilter. BTW, the machine is a Gaggia Classic and I usually use Lavazza beans.

[dasmoth]

Sorry, I'm going to disagree with Flatus.  A shot in 10s is much too fast for any espresso.

 

Look a little closer at what I said

I suggested a finer grind. I didn't say anything about a 10 second extraction.

Sorry, you said "a shorter pull" -- I interpreted this as "less time" (which I'm positive won't help, given that Rhys W says he's aiming for 20 seconds and getting "about half that").  If you mean less water in the same time then yes I guess I agree.  Sorry.

Grind and dosage are the two variables he can play with, and he should play with them until a 25-30 second extraction gives him a really good shot.

Agree 100%

[Hot Flatus]

By underextracted I mean you have pushed too much water through for the grind and dosage you have chosen. 

If you are getting a whole cupfull in 13 seconds then for sure you aren't grinding fine enough. Ditch the Lavazza beans, they are pants, and frankly Illy aren't any good either.  Try this stuff and/or this.  Hasbean premium espresso is also good.

Ignore the dosing grinder, as different manufacturers baskets hold different amounts of coffee.  For example the Mazza double basket holds more than the Rancilio equivalent.  I use a double basket for a single shot. I am not familiar with the gaggia classic, and I don't know if it holds a double basket. 

With a light tamp, experiment with grinds and dosage.  If water is spurting out and down the side of the porta body, it is often due to overfilling.

Huge caveat:  If you already like what you are producing, then ignore all of my above posts 

[Hot Flatus]

Sorry, you said "a shorter pull" -- I interpreted this as "less time" (which I'm positive won't help, given that Rhys W says he's aiming for 20 seconds and getting "about half that").  If you mean less water in the same time then yes I guess I agree.  Sorry.

Ah.. I see where the mutual confusion arose.  I think we are saying the same thing here 

[andyoxon]

Silly Q, but how do you vary your time of extraction while keeping a reasonably small volume?  Our MR Roma espresso, fills an average sized cup in around 20+ secs; I normally have the pump going for 10s ish.

[Rhys W]

By overextracted I mean you have pushed too much water through for the grind and dosage you have chosen.  

Huge caveat:  If you already like what you are producing, then ignore all of my above posts  

I do like what I'm producing, but suspect (mainly from the short pull times) that I could do better. If overextracted means "too much water, not enough taste" I think that's a fair criticism. I'll experiment and report back... I usually have two shots in a double basket btw.

[dasmoth]

Silly Q, but how do you vary your time of extraction while keeping a reasonably small volume?  Our MR Roma espresso, fills an average sized cup in around 20+ secs; I normally have the pump going for 10s ish.

Grind fine.  Very, very fine.

You can vary the dose a bit.  In general, less coffee == water comes through faster, but at least some machines do have a counter-intuitive effect whereby overfilling the basket leads to faster extraction, too.

In my experience tamp does matter a bit , but less than the other two.  You should be able to get a good extraction across a fairly wide range of tamp pressures, and all that really matters is keeping it reasonably consistent while you change other variables.  In particular, super-hard tamping certainly won't help very much if your shots are coming much too fast.

And, of course, the most important advice: have fun and enjoy your coffee.

[Tewdric]

I haz today ordered Happy Donkey Brazilian Fairtrade x 2 and Red Monkey Organic Espresso x1.  Standyby for more crema porn..

[GruB]

I go through the stuff too quickly to worry about Happy Donkey beans.    My Cubika Gaggia is doing alright. 

[geraldc]

How much sugar do you guys put in your espressos? I'm always stunned how much sugar the continental types put in.

[Tewdric]

I prefer it without, but sometimes one lump of gnarly brown.

[dasmoth]

None.  Although some espresso blends can be noticeably sweet on their own.

[fred the great]

Slightly off topic.

If I buy one of those super duper Coffee machines, for example I can buy a Severin at a reasonable price, will my coffee taste much nicer than coffee from a typical filter machine?

A difficult question to answer but the Severin is about three times the cost of my filter machine and I wonder if the results will be three times better?

I don't drink a lot of coffee but I do like a nice tasting cuppa!

[dasmoth]

Not totally sure what Severin machine you're talking about.  If it's the drip machine, then my guess is that it'll produce coffee that's pretty close to any other drip machine -- maybe slightly different if it's running at a higher/lower temperature than your current machine.

The best filter coffee I've had has come from something like this.  Takes a little bit of dedication to use, but makes a lovely cup, and looks quite decorative too!

[fred the great]

Thanks. It looks like the drip machine KA 5954.

[Hot Flatus]

The best filter coffee I've had has come from something like this.  Takes a little bit of dedication to use, but makes a lovely cup, and looks quite decorative too!

Mine smashed 

...but it does produce a crystal clear flavour that has to be tried to be believed.  The downsides are it is time-consuming, and you have to use more coffee than in conventional filters to get the same strength, maybe even double.

[Tewdric]

None.  Although some espresso blends can be noticeably sweet on their own.

I mostly like dunking the sugar lump in espresso then eating it