Coffee Appreciation

just had a really nice "guilty pleasure" cup

filled porlex to the top with costa rican, one click from tight on the grinder. added same volume in water as the ground coffee to the aeropress, stirred, short brew, pressed into large mug of hot milk, added two teaspoons of unrefined caster sugar. YUM!

Day one of my porlex grinder, gaggia evolution and bag of hasbean jailbreak has been under extracted (I think) acidic shots. The second was a little better but still not great, hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Only got a double basket at the moment but when the single arrives things should be a little easier.

Only got a double basket at the moment but when the single arrives things should be a little easier.

You'll find you need to adjust the grind when you move to a single basket. I tend to just stick with the double when making a large mug drinks.

Some of Hasbean's roasts are relatively light which may taste slightly more acidic. Good for filter/press though. I haven't tried their espresso blends though.

I like this picture for describing extraction:

You'll find you need to adjust the grind when you move to a single basket. I tend to just stick with the double when making a large mug drinks

This.

Moog - are you using scales for your dosing? As bombcup [doffs hat] has mentioned elsewhere, dose also has a huge impact on flavour of the final shot. I find that if it's acidic, then increase by a gram a see what happens.

Wow!

What a difference the Porlex makes. I always wondered why my coffee tasted a lot bitter than one from a decent/proper coffee shop. I just assumed that at home I was making it a bit stronger.

Completely fluked the grind first go, got a perfect pour from my adjusted Classic.

My right arm hurts though....

I told you so. :)

To go from making good to great coffee at home is pure win.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-06/aussies-bring-cafe-culture-to-london/3761666

Aroogah - for the second cup I used scales, I'm not sure how accurate they are but it's better than just using a spoon. I'll up my dosage a bit and see how it changes the shot.

thanks

Any Gaggia Classic owners need a new/spare water tank?

Day Two:

After yesterdays fast extraction I upped the does by 1g (up to 15g) and also changed the grind from 4 off maximum to 3 off.

The machine struggled for the first 15s or so and took a while to get a consistent flow of coffee (maybe I over tamped?), after about 25s it started to blonde so I turned it off.

It had ok crema just after I pulled it but that soon disappeared, the taste still seems quite acidic an sour (maybe less so than yesterday?), I'm not really sure how much I can trust my palette at the moment. I struggle to pick out distinct flavours in coffee/wine. The 'odd' taste could also be because I usually drink milk drinks with one sugar, I've decided to nail espresso (sans sugar) before I tackle milk so there are less variables in the final drink.

Next cup I think I'll go for 15g of beans but back on the lightly courser grind.

Any tips would be great, apologies if this is boring but it's a good record for myself so I can track improvement and hopefully get some advice at the same time.

Moog - how old are the beans? Older beans can make things sour as well. Have a look at this for some ideas on where to start.

http://www.home-barista.com/espresso-guide-diagnose-extraction-problems.html

Roasted on the 19th, opened yesterday.

I read that the other day but I'll go through it again now I've tried a few shots.

You might need a larger dose then. My shots for a double basket are in the 18-19g range, but on a much finer grind than yours - 1 click back from set.

I'd also try reducing the dose too, and adjusting the grind further, but keep a note of what does what. When I was first dialling in with my grinder, I took a sip from every shot, but binned many.

It shouldn't really be sour, but some roasted beans can be sour for espresso. If you ever doubt the beans, try some Monmouth espresso blend as it's quite easy to brew.

Also, watch out for the usual "teach your grandmother how to suck eggs" stuff; leave the machine on for quarter of an hour beforehand with the portafilter fitted to settle to temperature. Pour a shot of water first, dry basket, get going.

who was saying Lavazza was too fine a grind for a Moka pot? - I'm finding this is the case, it just doesn't come through......meh.

My New Gaggia Classic is spluttering coffee out instead of dripping slowly like it should... I thought the frothing jet device might be missing but I took a look at another Gaggia in Divertimenti yesterday and the filter holder in there looked identical to mine... Any ideas?

This is a drag... I got three or four perfect cups out then it started going weird after I'd over-filled the holder with coffee... Maybe I've accidentally thrown out the frothing jet device or maybe the filter has just become clogged? Grind too fine?

^I have never had any problems with my classic but before I got it I had a Cubika that went wrong in much the same way you describe. I contacted gaggia's distributors who were unbelievably helpful and got the problems sorted very quickly. Unfortunately I think that they went bust so I'm not sure it would be much help to you, worth a shot though.

/csb

Could be an air block in the pipe. I've had this problem with a couple of machines in the past.

Day Two:

After yesterdays fast extraction I upped the does by 1g (up to 15g) and also changed the grind from 4 off maximum to 3 off.

The machine struggled for the first 15s or so and took a while to get a consistent flow of coffee (maybe I over tamped?), after about 25s it started to blonde so I turned it off.

It had ok crema just after I pulled it but that soon disappeared, the taste still seems quite acidic an sour (maybe less so than yesterday?), I'm not really sure how much I can trust my palette at the moment. I struggle to pick out distinct flavours in coffee/wine. The 'odd' taste could also be because I usually drink milk drinks with one sugar, I've decided to nail espresso (sans sugar) before I tackle milk so there are less variables in the final drink.

Next cup I think I'll go for 15g of beans but back on the lightly courser grind.

Any tips would be great, apologies if this is boring but it's a good record for myself so I can track improvement and hopefully get some advice at the same time.

as aroogah said, go for about 18g and up the grind size.

Turns out I'm missing a part, part ordered...

TS - what went kaboom? Or were you missing the shower head?

I must've lost the perfect crema pin (left) down the sink... They changed the design of the basket a year ago and lots of these have gone missing, Google is awash with disgruntled Gaggia Classic owners who've lost their perfect crema pin...

perfect crema pin = the little black thing that sits under the basket?

Perfect crema does not come from a pin. Have you looked at going naked portafilter?

I've never seen one of those pins before. Recent change?