Originally posted by herzog
View Post
Originally posted by OCD
View Post
Mind you, the CBD one would have been no worse if done by a denizen of the deep!
Originally posted by herzog
View Post
Originally posted by herzog
View Post
I rarely disagree with Jim S, however here goes a few more thoughts.
Although I regard the puck as really only indicating channeling, it is intriguing that John @ Decent changed the group on the DE1 from V1.0 to V1.1 and one of the changes was to make the puck less muddy. My own DE1 is the V1.1 group, whilst my Qld mates DE1 is a V1.0 - and he reckons his pucks tend towards mud when he optimises his shots correctly. Both of us are using Mahlkoenig Varios - mine are gen2 and gen3, his is a gen3. We have had a lot of email and phone contact since Feb this year (when my DE1 arrived) as he was having optimisation issues with his Vario / DE1 combo - with hindsight, some of that was trying to keep his puck drier. Taste in the cuppa rules.
I haven't used the Slayer, however I have been grinding a lot finer than traditional espresso across a range of grinders / machines (including Varios, EK43s & Dittings into LM Lineas and Stradas) with my VSTs for years and although the puck may not come out 100% cleanly, bashing the lip of the basket & p/f combo against the knockbox bar is still a no-no in my world. I should add, rinsing any remaining grounds out is de rigeur, as is drying the basket prior to the next shot.
Oh, I should add my Major was giving "VST extraction ratios" of 22% to 23% in late 2013 / early 2014 when I purloined another friend's medical stainless workshop for a weekend - complete with a medical laser refractometer. Those shots were brilliant, and no puck slurry for the whole day. At the time two 24% extractions were so bitter it was crazy, so I reckon I was pushing that setup to its limit. The best shot out of my "quality commercial baskets" was barely 16%, and that may have been a fluke as all the other drinkable "non VST shots" were below 15%.
Long preinfusions: I used to do up to 40 seconds preinfusion with my Electra manual lever - muddy pucks in that were rare, and always well past terminal. My Guatemalan of today in my DE1 has 17 second preinfusion @ 0.8ml flow, an 8 second pause and then a slow flow shot and the puck comes out relatively cleanly. Considering the DE1 adds a bit of "no pressure water" at the end of the shot anyway (to help keep grounds out of the group) the only "puck slurry" shots the DE1 has pulled have been while I am setting up a new roast, and they have also been terminal.
Back to Jim S. I can only (loosely) assume that muddy pucks may actually be espresso machine specific. Perhaps whatever he uses may tend that way, just like my mates V1.0 DE1 group. It will be interesting to see what a V1.3 DE1 group does.
TampIt



Leave a comment: