Budget equipment with pressurized baskets makes it easier to not go wrong making espresso. However, it also makes it exceedingly difficult to make a good espresso. Restricted shots (cafe ristrettto) are particularly difficult as you will be walking the fine line between choking the basket and getting a pour. Ive learned much in the past few months. After going two kilograms of practice beans, I have some tips I would like to share with the community.
This guide covers the more advanced aspects of espresso making. Id reccommend going through at least 1kg of beans before reading this guide.
I am using a Sunbeam EM4800C with a EM0480 burr grinder.
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Intro: Its All About Consistency
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Once upon a time, i thought that I my espresso making ritual was consistent enough.

Left: 25s pour. 20kg tamp. ~5ml. Grinder at reference point. <-- Far overextracted. Bitter. Undrinkable.
Middle: 10s pour. 20kg tamp. ~15ml. Grinder +1 click. <-- Underextracted. Sour and acrid.
Right: 10s pour. 20kg tamp. ~25ml! Grinder at reference point. <-- VERY underextracted.
The results dont make sense. The first pour was way overextracted. So i set my grinder one step courser. The pour time to blonding for 15ml was 10s. It was a gusher and was way underextracted. So i set my grinder back one step finer. To my surprise, the time to blonding was still about 10s, but this time, 25ml had gushed through!!!
This article is a summary of what i discovered about the quirks of my budget espresso setup while trying to figure out what went wrong. It is difficult, but achieving good espresso, even with pressurized baskets, IS possible. Its not "luck" on the budget machines as some may assume. So why were the three shots above so different? Read on...
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Part One: Getting A Consistent Grind.
--------------------------------------------

If you are like me, and only take about two coffees a day. The grinds stuck to the insides of your grinder could make a big difference in your shot. The picture above shows the amount of ground coffee stuck inside the grinder. They were dislodged by rocking the grinder back and fourth - the vibration from its rubber feet stomping let out more than two teaspoons of grounds. Also, if left overnight it will go acrid and your coffee the next day would be sour.
TIP #1: ALWAYS remove stuck grounds from your grinder when changing your grind settings / or after you are done using your grinder.
This guide covers the more advanced aspects of espresso making. Id reccommend going through at least 1kg of beans before reading this guide.
I am using a Sunbeam EM4800C with a EM0480 burr grinder.
--------------------------------------------
Intro: Its All About Consistency
--------------------------------------------
Once upon a time, i thought that I my espresso making ritual was consistent enough.

Left: 25s pour. 20kg tamp. ~5ml. Grinder at reference point. <-- Far overextracted. Bitter. Undrinkable.
Middle: 10s pour. 20kg tamp. ~15ml. Grinder +1 click. <-- Underextracted. Sour and acrid.
Right: 10s pour. 20kg tamp. ~25ml! Grinder at reference point. <-- VERY underextracted.
The results dont make sense. The first pour was way overextracted. So i set my grinder one step courser. The pour time to blonding for 15ml was 10s. It was a gusher and was way underextracted. So i set my grinder back one step finer. To my surprise, the time to blonding was still about 10s, but this time, 25ml had gushed through!!!
This article is a summary of what i discovered about the quirks of my budget espresso setup while trying to figure out what went wrong. It is difficult, but achieving good espresso, even with pressurized baskets, IS possible. Its not "luck" on the budget machines as some may assume. So why were the three shots above so different? Read on...
--------------------------------------------
Part One: Getting A Consistent Grind.
--------------------------------------------

If you are like me, and only take about two coffees a day. The grinds stuck to the insides of your grinder could make a big difference in your shot. The picture above shows the amount of ground coffee stuck inside the grinder. They were dislodged by rocking the grinder back and fourth - the vibration from its rubber feet stomping let out more than two teaspoons of grounds. Also, if left overnight it will go acrid and your coffee the next day would be sour.
TIP #1: ALWAYS remove stuck grounds from your grinder when changing your grind settings / or after you are done using your grinder.









I suspect the consensus here is that refrigerating beans is not a good way to store them.


. Its a long, long time since I last experienced anything fresh from Mocopan.
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