dosing?

[don_nairn]

hi people,

consistency seems to be a good part of coffee making.

my dosing technique seems variable. (OK its terrible)

I have an EM480 grinder,

What is a good way to get a consistent dose? (is there some sort of Freudian slip there)

The machine is a gaggia carezza

[Dimal]

Re: dosing?

Have you checked out the ECA How-To videos?

http://www.espressocompany.com.au/gr...sing-video.htm

The method described by Scotty is a good basis to kick off with. In my case I dont tap the Group Handle as much as he does though - Id never get the GH to lock-in to the Group.... :P

Mal.

[don_nairn]

Re: dosing?

thanks Mal another insightful and useful piece of information from an interesting video.

He mentioned grinding fresh but puts ground coffee back into the doser.

Is it typical practice to use 15 measures of the doser to fill a group handle?

Am I anal retentive to also ask if the coffee stain in the spout represents good hygiene practice?

would using different beans all the time also complicate getting a consistent dose?

The amount the coffee settle with tapping the handle seems very inconsistent when I do it.

or is a smart grinder upgrade the easiest way to fix the problem?

would my wife notice ;D

[Dimal]

Re: dosing?

Gday Mate....

Dont get caught up in any of the "fluff" as I doubt any of the brews being made are being consumed by anyone.

With tapping, Ive found that the easiest method to attain some level of consistency, is to tap the least amount necessary to visibly settle the grounds. In my case it is three taps after the first Filter Basket fill, once again after the second fill; top up and level off the Basket, then Tamp.

Dont worry about the number of times Scotty works the Doser Dispensing Lever since this will vary with the amount of ground coffee in the Doser. More important, is to take notice of the height that the Basket is filled to, before tapping - Fill again to the same level and tap again, top-up then level off and Tamp. Try doing this a few times until you get the hang of it, its not that difficult once you get the idea...

If you learn to Dose by volume rather than weight, the use of various beans, blends and roast depths, etc will have little effect on the outcome. You control the pour duration by adjusting the grind setting only....

Just practice a bit mate and it will soon sort itself out. Dont go through a gazillion Kilos of coffee doing this though, just break up the pucks back into a powder and dump back into the Doser. Once you reckon youve got it all under control, clean your grinder out, use some fresh beans and try pulling a few shots. You only adjust the grind setting, NOT the Dose when dialling-in the espresso shots.... Very important to remember that.

All the best mate and hope some of this is helpful....

Mal.

[emckissock]

Re: dosing?

Well my dosing is completely different. I did previously look at the ECA videos, but I now grind on my grinders auto setting into a plastic container. I use Weiss distribution technique so tip into the basket with youghurt container cuff fitted, stir with a straightened paper clip, remove the yoghurt container, level off with same paper clip (saving waste grounds for future seasoning shots as per another suggestion on CS), tamp and good to go. No further tapping or messing around. I find I get very consistent dosing this way, even though Im sure there is room for improvement. Of course the WDT does take some time (about an extra 15 secs for me), but for a couple shots a day I can live with that.

I also tamp quite hard compared to standard and this seems to help shot consistency as variation between a hard and very hard tamp is much less than between a light and medium tamp, if you get my meaning.

[don_nairn]

Re: dosing?

Is may be the gaggia carezza but I thought I had things just right I then overdosed and then choked the machine.

even if it is not perfect the coffee I make is a lot better than most i have bought.   ;D