(GPGT)Espresso machine hoot

patryn33

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Do you guys service/clean your grinder? Is it required?

I do that weekly, highly recommended if u want it to grind your beans right and reduce stale coffee trapped in the burrs.

When time to change burrs its will be easy, I got a grinder used, owner only clean once a year! U may think it's ok but dude is operating a cafe biz! So much coffee and oils trap, removing burrs and unscrewing becomes a bitch! I end up scratching the screws and what but they are easily avail to replace. Took me a good 4-6 hrs over 2 days to clean.
 
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compuser

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I use grindz to clean once every half a year.
Urnex : Grindz
If i ever bother and remember.. Least to say, my coffee is still tasting good :)
Ever tried to do it once a month then realise i was just getting finicky to create all the fuss.

I actually read somewhere before there's someone who had not cleaned his Rocky grinder for the past 20 years and it still works.
Says so much about how much punishment a grinder can last.
The only difference he felt after cleaning with grindz was he can go to the finer adjustments.
As for me, the only difference i felt was nothing.

I think generally, use the cleaning brush and declog the sticking bits stuck at the inlet and outlet. That's most important.
As for between the burrs, i believe with so much rough movements inside with so much vibration. There should not be much clogged. There may still be some tiny bits but that some tiny bits won't cause a whole world of difference. :s13:
You can tilt and let it run to let it drop out if you are really concern, i won't.

I won't disassemble whether it's a hand or electronic grinder cause it means you may have to recaliberate the grinder and have even more wastage.
 
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calbay

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Use the grinder to grind your beans, not grind your life :)

I personally think it's not necessary to clean unless it's really affecting the distribution.
Normally it's stuck at the output nozzle area.
That's why most grinders come with a long brush to reach that spot.

I see most veteran cafes don't bother and schedule to replace their burrs every few years, whether they need or not than schedule a cleaning routine.
 

derazor

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16g for a single or double?

I don't like too much powder.
1) too excessive caffeine. If I take three of such heavy dose in a day, I'll feel very frustrated. I'll usually have one in the morning and another 2 later in the afternoon.
2) too thick. Will feel sick of it easily.
3) increased cost

16g for a double shot should be fine for me.
I think your wife likes the shot with the lesser dose, maybe because it's smoother.

16g for 2 shots ( Mine is 2 spout ). BTW, my silvia is v3 single hole.

Also, today I tried to introduce air 1s longer and put it at the center, seems the concentration just nice :) I'd do more and see if it's repeatable.
 

derazor

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I do that weekly, highly recommended if u want it to grind your beans right and reduce stale coffee trapped in the burrs.

When time to change burrs its will be easy, I got a grinder used, owner only clean once a year! U may think it's ok but dude is operating a cafe biz! So much coffee and oils trap, removing burrs and unscrewing becomes a bitch! I end up scratching the screws and what but they are easily avail to replace. Took me a good 4-6 hrs over 2 days to clean.

after disassemble and re-assemble, will settings be off?
 

chikyblink

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after disassemble and re-assemble, will settings be off?
depends on your grinder's adjustment mechanism. grinders like the eureka mignon and ceado's grinders, their adjustment is on the bottom burr, so if you unscrew the top burr to clean, it won't affect your grind setting.
most other grinders, yes, the setting will be affected, you'll have to dial in again after fixing it back.


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calbay

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16g for 2 shots ( Mine is 2 spout ). BTW, my silvia is v3 single hole.

Also, today I tried to introduce air 1s longer and put it at the center, seems the concentration just nice :) I'd do more and see if it's repeatable.
If you are doing latte art, you don't need a lot of froth.
It's more important to fold the bubbles with the milk to keep the surface light.

Introducing lesser air makes your milk more liquid and smoother if that's what your wife is asking. You can also consider making a flat white with no foam, alot of aussies prefer this. Just dip it in and don't introduce air.

Back to the foams, if it's a single tip, position it close to the side and let it swirl. I believe use your eyes is better than follow timing.

Go observe the side of the pitcher and notice how much it rised before you fold.
Do a few times and see which viscous level you prefer.
 

derazor

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If you are doing latte art, you don't need a lot of froth.
It's more important to fold the bubbles with the milk to keep the surface light.

Introducing lesser air makes your milk more liquid and smoother if that's what your wife is asking. You can also consider making a flat white with no foam, alot of aussies prefer this. Just dip it in and don't introduce air.

Back to the foams, if it's a single tip, position it close to the side and let it swirl. I believe use your eyes is better than follow timing.

Go observe the side of the pitcher and notice how much it rised before you fold.
Do a few times and see which viscous level you prefer.

Thanks for your ideas.

Ignore the brand of the pitcher, if I put the want in the center it would be like this and if I were to put it between center and perimeter of the pitcher, it will swirl ( hurriance ).

When it swirl, I feel too much foam. It could be that previously I was tilting the pitcher also. I will experiment again tomorrow with a straight pitcher and a straight wand

BTW, the signs to stop frothing is the level of the foam or the temperature?
 

calbay

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Thanks for your ideas.

Ignore the brand of the pitcher, if I put the want in the center it would be like this and if I were to put it between center and perimeter of the pitcher, it will swirl ( hurriance ).

When it swirl, I feel too much foam. It could be that previously I was tilting the pitcher also. I will experiment again tomorrow with a straight pitcher and a straight wand

BTW, the signs to stop frothing is the level of the foam or the temperature?

Surely it's temperature, else the milk will taste flat.
It's always better to froth to not as hot than overheat.

I think you introduced too much air and frothed too long, can see it should stop at around 42 secs. It's like a cappuccino.

It doesn't really matter where you position it, as long as it swirls and folds. I believe you put at the centre but it's at an angle. Starting don't sound right, positioning issue.

Your hands are shaky and keep your hand at the bottom of the pitcher away from where the jets are spraying. Size of pitcher is okay but there's too much volume from the too much frothing, so it's going to be an irregular bigger size cup
 

Lazy_Tiger

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Thanks for your ideas.

Ignore the brand of the pitcher, if I put the want in the center it would be like this and if I were to put it between center and perimeter of the pitcher, it will swirl ( hurriance ).

When it swirl, I feel too much foam. It could be that previously I was tilting the pitcher also. I will experiment again tomorrow with a straight pitcher and a straight wand

BTW, the signs to stop frothing is the level of the foam or the temperature?

Bro it seems you started to introduce air in to the mix quite late in the process. The air needs to be introduced very quickly at the start for about 3-5 secs for a silvia and then to plunge lower for the rolling to integrate the air you have just introduced. If you introduce air too late when the milk is already hot the air bubbles becomes very difficult to integrate.

Also I think your pitcher is too large for a silvia. Can see the milk is not rolling enough.

Lastly (I could be wrong) but it seems that you have heated the milk past the correct temp. Once you hear the jet engine sound you should already stop. Like calbay mentions better earlier than late. If the milk is too hot you will boil the milk and see large bubbles.
 

patryn33

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after disassemble and re-assemble, will settings be off?

Mine, the adjustment is in the lower burr. Removing the top and cleaning does not impact my adjustment.

Better grinders all build like so.

If u spend on cheaper grinder and have to use a usd$10 tablet package and later do some flashing to clear out remainder, there is waste naturally plus u might as well up budget get a nicer grinder.

As stated some home owner used their rocky for 20 yrs no cleaning still works, my mcf was used in Starbucks like coffee shop and was clean annually. I am sure it went thru just as much coffee as a 20yr old grinder.

It's important to remove the oils stuck in the screws and btw burrs. Will tablet do it, u have use it open up to inspect. Not use it before cannot comment.
 
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Lazy_Tiger

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Just to share, in 2011, James Hoffman talks about pressure profiling.

http://www.jimseven.com/2011/02/08/continued-thoughts-on-pressure-profiling/

Quoted: "What is interesting is that the longer your preinfusion (to a point) – the faster the resulting flow rate. To give you an idea of preinfusion times on lever machines I’ll borrow Gwilym’s technique of an 8 second preinfusion. The rule of thumb is that you want to completely soak the cake before the brew. This is going to be a function of your dose (the depth of the puck) and the preinfusion pressure. 20g at 2 bars takes around 8 seconds.

This means that you can grind your coffee finer, for the same dose, when using preinfusion. This, I think, is excellent news if you are brewing a modern recipe where you need to extract a lot of coffee without using too much water."

The experiment with the slayer which i previously posted the video seems to verify this. The group head with pre brew (slower initial flow rate) was surprisingly able to catch up and over take the group head that was using the full 9 bars all the way! This means you can grind finer and possibly get a higher extraction from the coffee while still maintaining a decent extraction time. May be good with light roasted coffee which are harder to to get a good extraction of the solubles.....
 
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chikyblink

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you know e61 levers got 3 position right? and e61 have a few secs of "preinfusion" at 3 bars b4 ramming up to the full 9 bars.
what if after the preinfusion, right b4 it starts to ram up to 9 bars, quickly switch the lever down to the 2nd/middle position, let the puck soak for the time required, den proceed to do the full extraction.
is this way gonna work?

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patryn33

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English not great but I get his pt.. while slam drinking latte. drinking coffee in various forms brings out different favor.



warm cup.... here cold cup used.. filtering grinders
 
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Lazy_Tiger

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you know e61 levers got 3 position right? and e61 have a few secs of "preinfusion" at 3 bars b4 ramming up to the full 9 bars.
what if after the preinfusion, right b4 it starts to ram up to 9 bars, quickly switch the lever down to the 2nd/middle position, let the puck soak for the time required, den proceed to do the full extraction.
is this way gonna work?

Sent from GAGT Android App

Worth a try to test this out.... The principle is the same. To soak the puck with low pressure or slow flow rate first to prevent fines migration to the bottom of the portafilter and prevent choking.
 

chikyblink

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Worth a try to test this out.... The principle is the same. To soak the puck with low pressure or slow flow rate first to prevent fines migration to the bottom of the portafilter and prevent choking.
had a chance to try it out this morning.

highlander supremo blend
18gm dose.
brewing temperature : started at 95°c , end with 90°c.
preinfusion time about 20secs
total brew time 59secs
output weight: 27.1gm

resulting taste is surprisingly sweet just as slayerespresso described. previous shots without the prolonged preinfusion tasted bold, dark, bitter just as the label described.

I'll do more testing to confirm this is not a one-off thing but this looks very promising.

Sent from GAGT Android App
 

Lazy_Tiger

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had a chance to try it out this morning.

highlander supremo blend
18gm dose.
brewing temperature : started at 95°c , end with 90°c.
preinfusion time about 20secs
total brew time 59secs
output weight: 27.1gm

resulting taste is surprisingly sweet just as slayerespresso described. previous shots without the prolonged preinfusion tasted bold, dark, bitter just as the label described.

I'll do more testing to confirm this is not a one-off thing but this looks very promising.

Sent from GAGT Android App

Woo hoo! I'll give it a try too. Is your machine direct plumbed?
 

chikyblink

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nope, running on tank. yours is plumbed right? I suppose you'll have more control over the preinfusion part.

Sent from GAGT Android App
 
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