Coffee Appreciation

Honestly no point talking about anything until you start weighing in and out.
Edit: sorry that sounded more bellendy than I planned, I just mean once you start weighing everything it’s much easier to work on solutions and get consistent recipes down to a tee

I thought you weren't meant to tramp mokka pots

I haven't only because I had heard that they just make clean up a little easier rather than having any affect on the shot quality. Do you notice a difference in the cup?

That's what I thought until I tried it, works a treat.

notably better in my gaggia classic for regular/consistent flow through a naked portafilter - not sure if would have the same effect in spouted

That double tamping thing will probably cause weird flow through the coffee as you’ll have a dense-loose-dense-loose distribution. If you’ve got so much going in that you can’t tamp it without it going all over the counter then adjust the dose down and grind finer to compensate, but normally if you’re really over-dosed then you can’t get the portafilter to lock in. If that’s not the case then just try to be a bit neater.

As there’s been a bit of discussion about tamping minutiae, I don’t do much re-distribution. Just a gentle shake if the coffee is mounded off centre then sort of gently tease the tamper down so the coffee can find its own way level, then a bit of gentle pressure once you’ve felt it compress. I feel like if you just welly it straight off then you’re going to get a dense area in the middle, but if you’re gentle then the high spots will tumble outwards evening everything out. Can’t be messing about with distribution tools in busy service.

bit of gentle pressure once you’ve felt it compress. I feel like if you just welly it straight off then you’re going to get a dense area in the middle, but if you’re gentle then the high spots will tumble outwards

had to double check which forum I was in when I read that

Which width did you get? I have a Classic too, and wondering if I should get the 58.4mm version to overcome the slight oversizing of the basket?

You should, I got a 58mm which was a bit silly... I got a bloody 58.4mm tamper about a fortnight later...

Edit: I didn't know a 58.4mm leveller actually existed til you said that... Balls!!! Still works tho', just needs a very gentle tap to knock the edges in before you tamp...

Ok, cheers! Will give it a go and report back.

Any better or worse than:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TOPINCN-Stainless-Espresso-Distributor-Non-slip/dp/B07L3NQ9RY/

?

Imagine it's pretty much the same. Once it's height adjustable it should do the trick.

James Hoffman's take on that study about espresso should be ground coarser
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoYBLn9hRqs

Can you condense that 17min into one sentence? #twittergen

err, basically he can kind of replicate their results; the coarser grind needs a lower pressure extraction, 6 bar rather than the usual 9, and the amount of solids in the espresso at the end is lower meaning it's less thick, a little more diluted than an espresso you may be used to but can still taste good; it could best be used by cafe's that churn out a lot of drinks very quickly because you're looking at a 15 second extraction rather than 30 and if it's a milky drink then it's near impossible to tell the difference anyway.

As you were

Nice one, ta!

Weren’t some cafes doing this a couple of years ago? Maybe not 15 seconds, but definitely had some very big, weaker espressos (and I don’t mean “coffee shots”)

Are there mutiple models of this? There seems to be 3 models of IMS screen for the gaggia which one do you have?

On espresso shop there's an IMS precision, a woven wire mesh and a 'nanotech' 55mm version.

Also have you tried the brass plate holder too?

Mine's the Precision and yeah, I put the brass plate holder in at the same time... All the upgrades!!

Not any third wave places that I know of.

Thanks, think I'll give it a try.

I also looked up how to adjust the pressure valve on the Gaggia too. Looking forward to playing with that this weekend too.

Apparently they're shipped to operate at 15 bar!? Mine's a very early version though so it'll be interesting to know.

err, basically he can kind of replicate their results; the coarser grind needs a lower pressure extraction, 6 bar rather than the usual 9, and the amount of solids in the espresso at the end is lower meaning it's less thick, a little more diluted than an espresso you may be used to but can still taste good; it could best be used by cafe's that churn out a lot of drinks very quickly because you're looking at a 15 second extraction rather than 30 and if it's a milky drink then it's near impossible to tell the difference anyway.

tl;dr

Does anyone know the reason for blooming coffee looking more like bubble bath than crema? Big bubbles instead of foam. Last time it happened I was using not very fresh supermarket beans but now I think it's probably my grind. Finer or coarser?

Or maybe it's mostly aesthetic, like curdling cake batter?

https://youtu.be/7A-L00q5a1o

Fascinating!