Coffee Appreciation

You should always be tamping with the same pressure, only change the variables like grind weight and size. As it's preground coffee it won't have nearly as much shelf life as whole beans, and as it oxidises it looses oilyness and the extraction will happen quicker.

It's possible you're not tamping hard enough at the moment, so do try that first, and make sure you're not doing anything that may cause channeling like banging the portafilter after tamping. or tamping at an angle. Otherwise you may need to get a grind of some kind to have better control.

a 22g dose

That seems like a massive dose. Is there any chance you're over-filling and when you put the portafilter in and rotate, the puck is rubbing against the shower screen?

I understand that I should be in the 20-30 second bracket.

Yep, I normally aim for around 26-28 as a starting point then go from there using taste

My thinking is to tamp with more pressure to slow the extraction.

Likely won't make much difference as the water will be exerting more pressure anyway. Any chance the tamping isn't level so you're getting channelling down the side? Or are you knocking the portafilter with the tamper to get grounds of the side? That can also cause channelling by cracking the puck.

Thanks for the prompt responses.

That seems like a massive dose. Is there any chance you're over-filling and when you put the portafilter in and rotate, the puck is rubbing against the shower screen?

This could be something to look at - I'll look to try a smaller dose (around 18g). I have noticed some grounds on the shower screen when cleaning so it could be that the puck is making contact with it. That's not something I'd considered.

Any chance the tamping isn't level so you're getting channelling down the side? Or are you knocking the portafilter with the tamper to get grounds of the side? That can also cause channelling by cracking the puck.

I'm happy that the tamping is OK and I'm taking care not to knock the portafilter, but I'll pay more attention to this in the future.

Yep, I normally aim for around 26-28 as a starting point then go from there using taste

That's funny, 27s is my benchmark time :)

could be that the puck is making contact with it

You will typically see a depression in the top of the puck from the screw that holds the shower screen in place, if you've overfilled it.

RE cold brew - the Hario (and quantities suggested - 50g for 600ml) makes absolute rocket-fuel reminiscent of bad amphetamines. I'm going to have to dial the quantity of coffee right down to get something that isn't giving me heart palpitations!

dilute the coffee at least 50/50 with cold water before you drink it.

I've been going 50/50 with milk and it's still making me slightly edgy! Wouldn't diluting it that much lose most of the flavour too?

I was getting a drink I thoroughly enjoyed using probably 20g coffee and ~400 mls water so going back to something closer to that...

I've been doing a brew a day so been drinking basically a pint of this before lunch along with a normal coffee and my high-caffeine pre-workout. Literally not noticed a thing. Hahaha

If you're this sensitive to caffeine why not try it with a decaf bean?

Yeah you risk losing some flavour, there's definitely a sweet spot. I prefer to make the brew slightly weaker and dilute less. I've had ones from cafe's before that were a strong brew and undiluted, I just find them too much, I'd rather have something that's easier drinking and doesn't give me heart palpitations.

Just brew it as you like, play with it a bit, there's no point just sticking to some else's recipe as you've got different beans, water, fridge tempurature etc.

This is the first time I've ever felt a physical effect from caffeine! Very happily drink multiple coffees after a meal and don't worry about sleeping. As many cups of normal brew as I want and never understood people describing caffeine-y symptoms. This stuff just seems to be something else... very strange!

Yeah I've mentioned above that too much can definitely kick your heart up a gear in a very uneasy fashion.

I think it takes a while to either get used to it or just regulate your dosage!

I stop caffeine intake at lunchtime-ish and definitely seem to get to bed earlier than I used to on average these days. But it's only my pre-workout I notice anything nearing a buzz from. Using the wrong dose of pure caffeine I was sweating before I got on the turbo but I've not had heart palpitations or any weird shit.

@StevePeel

Do you have anymore stock of the Ethiopia Hambella / are you planning on getting something similar in soon?

I have noticed some grounds on the shower screen when cleaning so it could be that the puck is making contact with it.

Having grounds on the screen is normal in a pump-driven machine, when the shot finishes you'll have some back pressure that sucks liquid back up through the pipes as well as getting some grounds sucked into the screen. Always good to get a little brush to keep those shower screens clean as they can get pretty grimy if you don't keep on top of it.

One way to check about the puck hitting the screen is to just load up the portafilter, pop it in and twist as if you were about to pull a shot, then take it out again. Should be undisturbed (you may see some water that has dripped onto it but that should be it).

Sorry just out of natural Ethiopias but today I took delivery of and trial roasted a natural Rwanda, a washed Kenya and a honey process Ethiopia which I had 2 years ago and was one of my favourite coffees Ive ever had.

Should have those on the website in about a week once I’ve nailed the roast recipe

Great, thanks. I’ll check back next week, sounds promising.

Do a post when that honey Ethiopia is ready.

Do you have a pressurised portafilter or regular? With a regular one there's really no way around grinding your own beans with a grinder you can fine-tune. A small change in grind can have a big effect on extraction time.

Excited to get into these! No issues with postage in the end, postie just knocked.

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Does anyone here make caffè crema? I feel like bringing some 1980s Swiss ski holiday taste into my kitchen.

Could you give me a run down of your brew method? I have exactly the same machine, but am struggling to get an extract time of around 25 seconds.

I have noted the manual states to pull the shot for 15-20 seconds, and the coffee tastes about right at 18 seconds. I'm wondering if this machine just extracts a bit quicker than higher end machines and it's something I just need to HTFU about and accept.

What machine is it?

Dualit Espressivo https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dualit-Espressivo-Machine-Polished-Stainless/dp/B00BUQ8FAK