Coffee Appreciation

Trying out some Doppio blends for the first time. Not bad, but I'm not sure about the inclusion of robusta in an espresso blend, it adds an unpleasant burning rubber not for me. It's largely mitigated by milk, but still not ideal.

If you can't grind finer you can try increasing the dose a little bit (up by 1 gram?), are you sure the distribution/tamping is good though? ie. are there any holes etc. in your spent puck, is it possible to get a naked portafilter to see how the thing develops?

It could be the beans, some machines (cough Sage cough) need really fresh beans. How does it taste?

It tastes actually pretty good, considering they're fairly cheap beans from Solimo bought in 5kg batches and just a medium-dark roast. Grinding finer is my next step as I don't want to go too big with the dose. I wondered if it is the grounds swelling during the pull, which means the gaps get bigger and there's less restriction for the water.

Machine is a Gaggia Classic with filtered water. I haven't noticed it being too fussy needing really fresh beans unless it is a light roast.

Got me a Wilfa Svart incoming for xmas. It took a bit of explaining why £130 on just a coffee grinder is worth it.

Not bad, but I'm not sure about the inclusion of robusta in an espresso blend

100% Arabica is a modern thing, no? If you consider espresso an Italian invention then a blend of the two varieties came first. I appreciate the mix, need a bit of bitterness to moderate my naturally sunny disposition.

I tend to associate that rubbery taste with over-roasted beans. Would that be correct? I've definitely had it in 100% Arabica. Robusta tends to have a tannic astringency iirc - maybe someone who did the latest wlct can describe it better because there was a 100% robusta in the tasting [just watched it back and he does describe it as rubbery/plasticy/leathery. Jump to 56:30]

Burnt stale popcorn was the overriding flavour I had from the robusta at the tasting.

These aren’t freshly roasted beans, they’re a cheaper bulk-roasted bean that I’m using to get a ballpark setting for my machine before I start using more expensive beans.

Not sure I'd bother doing this in all honesty. I started off by doing this when I got my 1zPresso JX / Robot but then I was like.. hang on... why am I doing this? I have no intention of ever using this coffee... it is darker than any coffee I'd ever drink... it's older than any coffee I'd ever buy etc. So even if I got in the ballpark of those beans, the ballpark of the beans I actually want to use might be totally different. And they were.

You should be able to get in the ballpark pretty quickly even using nice coffee. Maybe three shots to get close and then fine dialing? It's worth it I reckon.

Wholeheartedly agree with this

interesting...

https://www.wacaco.com/pages/pipamoka

My Sette finally turned up yesterday. Grind on the finest setting is too course out the box so will fit one of the shims and see how it goes.

When / where did you order from?

I ordered one in mid-September

Nice! I think out of the box I was happy with around 2-3 for espresso. Have since popped a pair of shims in there. I went for the filter burr too which came with a pair of shims fitted which put it up around 26-27 so popped those on the espresso burr so they're both roughly middle of the range. I guess they set them up so you can use the supplied burr for both espresso and filter and just aren't accounting for how light a roast some people use for espresso.

Ordered it from Coffee Hit on 07 September and was supposed to receive it within a couple of days. When I went back onto the product page to check something it had been updated to preorder only and they confirmed that they were expecting delivery by the end of October at the latest. I chased up again on 02 November and was told that their forwarder had just advised them of severe delays at the port and they hoped to have the stock by the 11th.

I'm using YB espresso, on the finest setting with 18g I was getting 48g out in 20 seconds. Have put a shim in and will see what happens.

there is a rubber ring/seal where my portfilter spout attaches (Sage Barista Express) it has degraded and causes some coffee to leak, my googlefu is struggling, has anyone replaced something similar or should I measure and order from some generic o-ring place (recommendations?).

It's a known issue in all portafilter-style machines, the thing is called "brew group seal gasket" or something like that, they even make silicone versions of them (I'm not sure if there's one for SBE) that's longer-lasting.

If it tastes fine but high volume... maybe you can split the shots ;)

I remember getting Solimo to practice my dialling in (and "seasoning" the grinder/burrs) first time I got the kit too, the price seems to fluctuate though.

Group head gasket? Relatively simple and common replacement. Avoid leaving the potafilter fully locked in when not in use to prevent unecessary wear.

Yellow Bourbon t-shirt added to tonight's refill order.

Nice.

Had to switch back to the stovetop today, as I'm down to emergency pre-ground espresso that don't play well in the La Pavoni lever machine.

Blech is all I can say. So much burnt car tyre taste.

2 types of espresso beans from Assembly Coffee due tomorrow morning.

And notification that my Sette 270 is going to be delivered soon!

@disq @mmccarthy Not the group head gasket (already found these in my google-ings) there is a seal where the spout of the portafilter screws on, wondered if this was a 'standard' size before i get my calipers out.

There shouldn't be any pressure at the spout, so any o ring that can fit snugly over the threaded section should suffice I'd have thought. Surprised it leaks to be honest. Have you tried removing it and just doing the thread up tight?

Googling "portafilter spout gasket" seems to give plenty results, short of finding an OEM replacement, surely a food/temp safe one that's the right size should be fine.

Ah my mistake!

Sounds like a good excuse to get yourself a bottomless portafilter! ;)