(GPGT)Espresso machine hoot

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Lazy_Tiger

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tyrtok said:
indeed. my deal is really good since it includes a grinder as well.
still waiting for my tamper before i can pull a nice shot.

question: how fine is an espresso grind?
Click to expand...

it really depends on your
i. dose
ii. basket
iii. tamping force
iv. beans u use
v. the style of espresso you want.

as a rule of thumb i grind fine enough i can compress the grounds with my fingers and the grounds will remain in the compressed state, but not too fine until my fingerprint is indented on the compressed grind.

make fine adjustments thereafter. keep your dose, brew time and brew weight consistent, until you are ready to do some tasting.
 
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Lazy_Tiger

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patryn33 said:
Does tamp force really comes to play? I recall not really.
Yet to go thru the links, just sharing
http://www.home-barista.com/tips/es...r-grind-vs-how-strong-you-tamp-t27966-10.html
Click to expand...

Tamping force does make a big difference as much as many people don't want to admit it. Not just the force but whether you nutate or how many times too. Just run your own experiments and you'll see.

I usually tamp once but I can lengthen brew time by about 10 secs and get the same brew weight by nutating and tamping 4 times NSEW. The force i use is the same cos I use a calibrated tamper.

I can also get different different brew times if I use a gorilla tamp vs a light weight one.

barista hustle recently recommended to tamp until you can't compress the grounds anymore. this is the max that any coffee can go and no more pressure can compress the grounds anymore. They claim this pressure is not much actually so there is no need to tamp very hard as maximum density can be reached easily with lighter than the 30pounds of tamping we are used to. https://coffeehustle.com/posts/EdP68LrWqAgyY4gsL/how-hard-should-you-tamp

This may be a good rule of thumb to follow but to say that you'll reach max density by just mere straight down tamping is of course total rubbish. just nutate you'll realise you can compress the grounds more.

I'm not advocating a very hard tamp or nutating. I just go with a normal tamp with the espro calibrated tamper usually but yeah...tamping can make a big difference.

I forgot to add....WDT and tapping the portafilter down on the counter several times to settle the grounds also makes a big difference to the brew time.

WDT will cause a faster flow. tapping down will cause a slower flow. Even with a consistent tamp.
 
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patryn33

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Lazy_Tiger said:
Tamping force does make a big difference as much as many people don't want to admit it. Not just the force but whether you nutate or how many times too. Just run your own experiments and you'll see.

I usually tamp once but I can lengthen brew time by about 10 secs and get the same brew weight by nutating and tamping 4 times NSEW. The force i use is the same cos I use a calibrated tamper.

I can also get different different brew times if I use a gorilla tamp vs a light weight one.

barista hustle recently recommended to tamp until you can't compress the grounds anymore. this is the max that any coffee can go and no more pressure can compress the grounds anymore. They claim this pressure is not much actually so there is no need to tamp very hard as maximum density can be reached easily with lighter than the 30pounds of tamping we are used to. https://coffeehustle.com/posts/EdP68LrWqAgyY4gsL/how-hard-should-you-tamp

This may be a good rule of thumb to follow but to say that you'll reach max density by just mere straight down tamping is of course total rubbish. just nutate you'll realise you can compress the grounds more.

I'm not advocating a very hard tamp or nutating. I just go with a normal tamp with the espro calibrated tamper usually but yeah...tamping can make a big difference.

I forgot to add....WDT and tapping the portafilter down on the counter several times to settle the grounds also makes a big difference to the brew time.

WDT will cause a faster flow. tapping down will cause a slower flow. Even with a consistent tamp.
Click to expand...

well everyone is entitled to their own opinions. rubbish or not they still have a job and some are willing competitions.

@ testerjp
Thanks for the video, I recalled another WBC winner has a video stating no need to level and no need to so concern with tamping.

this suggest 30-50lbs


even bed is stress.. fun watch
 
chikyblink

chikyblink

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IMO, I wouldn't say tamping makes no difference. It does make a small difference, small enough that it wouldn't matter in the cup(I'm talking about just hard and soft tamping). What one should be concerned about, which will make a very big difference, is the distribution in the basket. You will want an even density of coffee grounds all across the basket. Distribution starts the moment the first grain of coffee touch the basket from your grinder. The bottom part is where distribution matters the most. Once you've got a good distribution, tamping will make little or no difference.

Newbies when starting out will usually overthink and do unnecessary things. I know this because I've been there. But its good because you'll know what works and what doesn't for your setup.
 
testerjp

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Maybe i been lucky, I don't have channeling issues with light tamp and no distribution.

A convex tamper makes everything 50% easier.
 
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Rprime

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I use short cut way in the morning without levelling by finger

Grind 18g, tap until roughly level on 18g VST
Put tamper on without pressing down,
twist the tamper around without applying force before tamping,
tamp,
twist and polish again

Consistent results without channeling.
I Think it is not so important so long as u are consistent
Used to be a calibrated tamper from espro, dumped it for custom fit 58.4mm
 
testerjp

testerjp

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Taobao normally no warranty no servicing even if purchase in China.

Even if send back to China for repair, gd luck.
Get ready to be taxed gao gao n be required to submit a shitload of permits.
 
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patryn33

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Some ppl willing to risk the warranty, if need to fix they don't mind paying for it to get it done locally.

Unless u saying locally they wouldn't touch the machine and must ship overseas
 
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rosli8079

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Anyone ever had stone found in their coffee?

I heard a thud in my grinder then some white stuffs grind out. I inspect the rest of the beans and found a small stone inside.
So i been thinking, the earlier thud most likely came from hitting another stone.

How do local rosters ensure that the beans are free from stones?
 
testerjp

testerjp

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rosli8079 said:
Anyone ever had stone found in their coffee?

I heard a thud in my grinder then some white stuffs grind out. I inspect the rest of the beans and found a small stone inside.
So i been thinking, the earlier thud most likely came from hitting another stone.

How do local rosters ensure that the beans are free from stones?
Click to expand...
Found this video on this thing call destoner.



If the stone is the same size, same density, same color as the coffee, maybe it will still fool the machine

I don't remember seeing the roasters in SG use it though
 
Darknights

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chikyblink said:
IMO, I wouldn't say tamping makes no difference. It does make a small difference, small enough that it wouldn't matter in the cup(I'm talking about just hard and soft tamping). What one should be concerned about, which will make a very big difference, is the distribution in the basket. You will want an even density of coffee grounds all across the basket. Distribution starts the moment the first grain of coffee touch the basket from your grinder. The bottom part is where distribution matters the most. Once you've got a good distribution, tamping will make little or no difference.

Newbies when starting out will usually overthink and do unnecessary things. I know this because I've been there. But its good because you'll know what works and what doesn't for your setup.
Click to expand...
i think the most important part of tamping is consistency. always use the same amount of strength to tamp, and adjust other variables such as grind size to control the taste of the coffee.
 
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Lazy_Tiger

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testerjp said:
Found this video on this thing call destoner.



If the stone is the same size, same density, same color as the coffee, maybe it will still fool the machine

I don't remember seeing the roasters in SG use it though
Click to expand...

Usually the beans are destoned at the processing facility at origin before they ship the green beans.
 
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