Sloppy Pucks

[rollo]

Ok, so I know this has been asked a hundred times before, but I need help.

I have just purchased a new set-up a Maver Makin and a manual mini mazzer. (thanks to 2mcm for looking after me with that purchase)

Obviously Im extremely happy with the quality of coffee Im getting compared with my old set-up, however Im having problems with sloppy pucks. To begin with I was getting nice pucks with nice results, now Im finding that pretty much every shot I pull is resulting in a horrible black mess at the end.

Any ideas?

[dailybean]

Re: Sloppy Pucks

hmm. sounds like a dosing issue. perhaps dose up more coffee into the basket?

[rollo]

Re: Sloppy Pucks

tried updosing, just about couldnt get the pf in, might try again and see if i get better results this time

[fatboy_1999]

Re: Sloppy Pucks

It could also be a grind issue.
Are the timings of your pours still good?
IE: 30ml/30 seconds or 60ml/30 seconds for a double?

If theyre a bit fast, make the grind finer.

Apologies if you have already tried this.

[rollo]

Re: Sloppy Pucks

yeah the timing on the pours is alright, when its faster the sloppy factor is definately worse. I just pulled a shot, the timing was pretty good but didnt get a consistent pour out of it, not sure if this really matters but it kinda dripped but still got the timing pretty well spot on.
Also tried updosing a bit, the puck wasnt really sloppy but just had a pool of water sitting on top

[fatboy_1999]

Re: Sloppy Pucks

Do you have a tamper?
I should say - Do you have a good tamper?
For some reason, both my Silvia and my Expobar came with a crappy $1.50 piece of plastic to complement the machine.

The non-consistent pour can be a symptom of too fine a grind or possibly the dose is not evenly distibuted.

A good quality tamper can make a world of difference.

Again, apologies if Im telling you stuff you already know.

Brett.

[luca]

Re: Sloppy Pucks

Hi Rollo,

I have only had sloppy pucks with my Makin Espresso when dosing down with a fine grind. As an aside, I sometimes do this to get more sweetness out of a light roast and dont especially care that I end up pouring out soup because the shots are great!

One trick that seems to help on pretty much every machine is to let the puck sit in the group for a minute or two before banging it out. This will often be the case when you extract a shot and then let the puck sit there while you steam the milk.

As others have said, coarser grind + higher dose is the way to stop sloppy pucks. A sensible method that I used to use a lot is to dose level, rap to settle, then dose a bit more, strike off level and tamp.

Bottom line, though; if youre pulling good shots,, why do sloppy pucks matter?

Cheers,

Luca

[rollo]

Re: Sloppy Pucks

Do you have a tamper?
I should say - Do you have a good tamper?

Yeah Im using a pullman so I dont think that is the problem.

Luca, thanks for your input. And yes at the end of the day the sloppy pucks where just annoying more than anything and had me thinking that it could be effecting the end product. But I geuss if Im getting a good pour and good timing then it is nothing but annoying. So I geuss ill just keep another cloth handy for any extra mess.

One thing that i think i will have to do is come up with a more consistent way of leveling off at the moment im just using my finger which doesnt always work so well.

Thanks for your help guys!